Tag Archives: European Space Agency

Ozone hole in Antarctica shrinks significantly, but not a record low as erroneously reported elsewhere

Posted on February 13, 2013 by

While this is good news any way you look at it,  I note there are a number of news reports saying that the “Ozone Hole Shrinks to Record Low” which are non thinking media regurgitations from a LiveScience article by … Continue reading →

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Posted in Antarctic, CFC's, Ozone | Tagged , , , , , | 69 Comments

Ice loss model verification via satellite observations

Posted on February 13, 2013 by

European satellite confirms UW numbers: Arctic Ocean is on thin ice By Hannah Hickey (via university of Washington press release) The September 2012 record low in Arctic sea-ice extent was big news, but a missing piece of the puzzle was … Continue reading →

Posted in Arctic, Modeling, Sea ice | Tagged , , , , , | 97 Comments

Why ice loss and sea level measurements via satellite and the new Shepherd et al paper are highly uncertain at the moment

Posted on December 3, 2012 by

There’s a paper (Shepherd et al) on ice loss and sea level rise that has been making the rounds in media (such as this article in Science Recorder, claiming it validates global warming) that is causing some stir, mainly because … Continue reading →

Posted in Gravity, Greenland ice sheet, Sea level, Space, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 199 Comments

Earth, with some MSG added

Posted on August 8, 2012 by

PR 25 2012 – Today, the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) instrument on MSG-3 captured its first image of the Earth (August 7th). This demonstrates that Europe’s latest geostationary weather satellite, launched on 5 July, is performing well … Continue reading →

Posted in Space, Technology | Tagged , , , | 46 Comments

‘Doppler radar’ for solar storm detection

Posted on July 5, 2012 by

Rice researcher part of team that used Doppler shifts to ID phenomenon; may help predict space weather  HOUSTON – (July 2, 2012) – Doppler measurements that help track storms on Earth may also be useful for understanding storms on the … Continue reading →

Posted in solar flare, Spaceweather | Tagged , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

30 years of soil moisture imaged from satellite data

Posted on June 19, 2012 by

From the Vienna University of Technology, a first. A very cool video follows. Since soil moisture is an indicator of evapotranspiration, I’d love to see a closeup around Mount Kilimanjaro, whose ice cap loss is said to be more related … Continue reading →

Posted in Earth, Science, Space | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

SMOS Satellite imagery suggests NE passage to open soon – ‘primarily attributable to the wind’

Posted on June 13, 2012 by

From the Alfred Wegener Institute:   North-East Passage soon free from ice again? Winter measurements show thin sea ice in the Laptev Sea, pointing to early and large scale summer melt Bremerhaven, 8 June 2012, The North-East Passage, the sea … Continue reading →

Posted in Arctic, Sea ice | Tagged , , , , , , , | 84 Comments

Transit of Venus today may reveal the “Mysterious Arc of Venus”

Posted on June 5, 2012 by

From Dr. Tony Phillips Science at NASA When Venus transits the sun on June 5th and 6th, an armada of spacecraft and ground-based telescopes will be on the lookout for something elusive and, until recently, unexpected: The Arc of Venus. … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 94 Comments

CryoSat repurposed from sea ice to bathymetry

Posted on May 30, 2012 by

From the European Space Agency: CryoSat goes to sea CryoSat was launched in 2010 to measure sea-ice thickness in the Arctic, but data from the Earth-observing satellite have also been exploited for other studies. High-resolution mapping of the topography of … Continue reading →

Posted in Oceans, Space, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 55 Comments

ENVISAT declared dead in space

Posted on May 9, 2012 by

ESA declares end of mission for Envisat From the European Space Agency: PR 15 2012 – Just weeks after celebrating its tenth year in orbit, communication with the Envisat satellite was suddenly lost on 8 April. Following rigorous attempts to … Continue reading →

Posted in Space, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 36 Comments

Crippled ENVISAT imaged in orbit, still incommunicado

Posted on April 25, 2012 by

From the European Space Agency: Investigation on Envisat continues Optical, radar and laser observations of the Envisat satellite show that it is still in a stable orbit. Efforts to regain contact with the satellite have been under way since 8 … Continue reading →

Posted in Space, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Envisat’s satellite failure launches mysteries

Posted on April 12, 2012 by

I’ve been watching with interest and concern some of Steve Goddard’s postings on Envisat on the abrupt changes in their recent sea level data. To me, something didn’t seem quite right, and I expressed concerns privately along those lines that … Continue reading →

Posted in Sea level, Space, Technology | Tagged , , , , | 125 Comments

More crack in the Antarctic

Posted on April 5, 2012 by

From the European Space Agency (ESA): Satellite observes rapid ice shelf disintegration in Antarctic 5 April 2012 As ESA’s Envisat satellite marks ten years in orbit, it continues to observe the rapid retreat of one of Antarctica’s ice shelves due … Continue reading →

Posted in Antarctic | Tagged , , , , , , , | 135 Comments

Ozone layer discovered on Venus

Posted on October 7, 2011 by

From the European Space Agency: ESA finds that Venus has an ozone layer too ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft has discovered an ozone layer high in the atmosphere of Venus. Comparing its properties with those of the equivalent layers on Earth … Continue reading →

Posted in Ozone, Space | Tagged , , | 40 Comments

Comet water discovered to be nearly identical in composition to Earth’s oceans

Posted on October 6, 2011 by

 Suggests comet bombardment contributed to forming oceans From the European Space Agency: Did Earth’s oceans come from comets? ESA’s Herschel infrared space observatory has found water in a comet with almost exactly the same composition as Earth’s oceans. The discovery … Continue reading →

Posted in Earth, Oceans, Space | Tagged , , | 118 Comments

Cryosat produces its first Arctic ice thickness map

Posted on June 21, 2011 by

From the European Space Agency (ESA): New ice thickness map of the Arctic unveiled The first map of sea-ice thickness from ESA’s CryoSat mission was revealed today at the Paris Air and Space Show. This new information is set to … Continue reading →

Posted in Arctic, Sea ice | Tagged , , | 54 Comments

Arctic Ozone “Hole” in March

Posted on April 5, 2011 by

From the European Space Agency, a story of significant cold and wind patterns that have created an ozone “hole” in the Arctic where there normally isn’t one. The last time this happened was in 1997. It isn’t really a “hole” … Continue reading →

Posted in Arctic, CFC's, Ozone | Tagged , , , | 64 Comments

Cryosat ice mission returns first science data

Posted on December 22, 2010 by

NOTE: The image below is NOT sea ice thickness, but ocean topography. Radar data from the European satellite has been used to make a map of ocean circulation across the Arctic basin. Cryosat’s primary mission is to measure sea-ice thickness, … Continue reading →

Posted in Sea ice, Space, Technology | Tagged , , , , | 52 Comments

More satellite images of snow-bound UK

Posted on December 4, 2010 by

Snow from space: University of Leicester releases satellite images of snow-bound UK Satellite images of UK under snow available IMAGE: This is an image of snow-bound UK from space by MERIS on Nov. 29.  Click here for more information. Earth … Continue reading →

Posted in snowfall, Weather | Tagged , , , | 76 Comments