Physical Geography

October 2020 will see two full moons. Image: NASA, public domain.

Blue Moon on Halloween 2020

October 17, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

For the first time since 2001, October will have two full moons.

Freshwater habitats are in decline and under threat. Lindsey Slough in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is being choked by invasive aquatic vegetation. Photo: USGS, public domain.

WWF Report: Wildlife Has Declined 68% Since 1970

October 16, 2020 by Katarina Samurović

In their latest Living Planet 2020 report, WWF revealed that global wildlife is facing catastrophic decline.

How to Recycle Sneakers

October 11, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

There are a few options for recycling or donating your old sneakers.

Attu Island, Alaska, July 4, 2000. Source: NASA Terra Satellite, public domain.

This Island is the Westernmost Point of the United States

October 10, 2020October 10, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

Located towards the end of the Aleutian Island chain, this Alaskan island is the westernmost spot in the United States.

As the light of the day beings to weaken, crows start to gather near their roosting spots. Photo: Caitlin Dempsey

Why Do Crows Flock in Large Numbers?

October 1, 2020September 26, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

Why do crows start gathering in large numbers at certain times of the year?

Paulette Returns as a Zombie Storm

September 26, 2020September 24, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

Paulette briefly evolved back into a tropical storm, making it a zombie storm according to NASA and NOAA.

NOAA/NASA's Suomi NPP captured this image of a rare tropical-like storm system in the Mediterranean Sea intensifying off of Italy's southern coast on November 18, 2017. The image shows a well-defined eyewall as the storm entered the Ionian Sea between Italy and Greece. Image: NOAA, public domain.

What is a Medicane?

September 29, 2020September 16, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

Medicane is a tropical-like cyclone that forms in the Mediterranean Sea.

Carbon Monoxide from the California Wildfires

September 26, 2020September 15, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

As wildfires burn in California, carbon monoxide is rising high up into the atmosphere where a NASA satellite is capturing readings.

This animated satellite view of the Atlantic Basin shows hurricanes Sally and Paulette, along with tropical storms Rene and Teddy, and tropical depression Twenty-One (which was named later in the day on September 14, 2020 as Tropical Storm Vicky).

Five Tropical Cyclones in the Atlantic Basin

September 14, 2020September 14, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

There are currently five tropical cyclones active in the Atlantic Basin.

Amazon River, modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2019), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO,https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/09/Amazon_River

Satellite Imagery of the Widest River in the World

October 16, 2020September 11, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission captured this satellite image of the Amazon river that has been processed by the combining of two polarisations into one image.

Composite image of Europe at night, 2016. Credits: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Suomi NPP VIIRS data from Miguel Román, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Germany Plans to Curb Light Pollution to Save Insects

October 2, 2020September 10, 2020 by Katarina Samurović

In the latest bid to reverse the dramatic insect decline, Germany is planning on dimming its lights.

Map of ocean heat content in the upper ocean (from the sea surface to a depth of 700 meters, or 2,300 feet) for 2017 relative to the 1993–2017 baseline. Source: NASA.

Ocean Warming is Drive the Wrong-Way Migration of Some Benthic Species

September 26, 2020September 8, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

Some benthic species are spawning earlier due to ocean warming.

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