Biogeography

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

September 11, 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 8, 2020September 8, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

Some benthic species are spawning earlier due to ocean warming.

Screenshot from the Sounds of the Forest web map, taken September 4, 2020.

Map of the World’s Forest Sounds

September 4, 2020September 4, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

Sounds of the Forest is a web map that showcases sounds recorded from woodlands and forests from around the world.

Examples of the physical basis for geographic locations likely to experience reduced rates of climate change. Source: Morelli, T. L., Daly, C., Dobrowski, S. Z., Dulen, D. M., Ebersole, J. L., Jackson, S. T., ... & Nydick, K. R. (2016). Managing climate change refugia for climate adaptation. PLoS One, 11(8), e0159909. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159909. CC BY 4.0

Mapping Climate Refuges

August 31, 2020August 26, 2020 by Mark Altaweel

Climate refugia are places which can withstand climate change better than other regions and buffer the impacts of climate change.

Source: National Research and Development Institute for Soil, Agro-chemistry and Environmental Protection, Sectorial Programme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, 2007 via Combating desertification in the EU: a growing threat in need of more action, European Court of Auditors, 2018.

Desertification in Romania

August 24, 2020August 24, 2020 by Katarina Samurović

In their Sixth National Communication on Climate Change and First Biennial Report from 2013, the Romanian authorities estimated that the area affected by desertification makes up for about 30% of the country’s total area.

ECOSTRESS temperature map shows the land surface temperatures throughout Los Angeles County on Aug. 14, 2020. Map: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Mapping California’s Heatwave from Space

August 19, 2020August 19, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

NASA’s Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment (ECOSTRESS) has been mapping temperatures across parts of California from space.

Map and graphs showing global distribution of mangrove loss and its drivers. From the study: "(a) The longitudinal distribution of total mangrove loss and the relative contribution of its primary drivers. Different colors represent unique drivers of mangrove loss. (b) The latitudinal distribution of total mangrove loss and the relative contribution of its primary drivers. (c‐g) Global distribution of mangrove loss and associated drivers from 2000 to 2016 at 1°×1° resolution, with the relative contribution (percentage) of primary drivers per continent: (c) North America, (d) South America, (e) Africa, (f) Asia, (g) Australia together with Oceania." Source: Goldberg et el., 2020. CC BY 4.0

Mapping the Causes of Mangrove Loss

August 18, 2020August 18, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

A joint NASA-USGS initiative has created the first worldwide map of the causes of change in mangrove habitats between 2000 and 2016.

Yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus rupestris). Photo: Marcial Quiroga-Carmona

The World’s Highest-Dwelling Mammal Found Atop of the World’s Second-Largest Active Volcano

August 10, 2020July 31, 2020 by Caitlin Dempsey

Scientists were able to document that the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus rupestris) is the world’s highest-dwelling mammal.

A school of sicklefin devil rays. Source: NOAA, public domain.

Marine Species are Shifting Towards the Poles

July 21, 2020July 21, 2020 by Elizabeth Borneman

A review of research found that marine species were shifting their habitats toward Earth’s poles on an average of six kilometers (3.7 miles) per year.