Perth, Australia (SPX) Apr 23, 2021 New research led by Curtin University has revealed how radar satellites can improve the ability to detect, monitor, prepare for and withstand natural disasters in Australia including bushfires, floods and earthquakes. The research used Synthetic Aperture Radar data obtained by the European Space Agency Sentinel-1 satellite, amongst others, to evaluate Australia-specific case studies.http://dlvr.it/RySNMq Continue reading Radar satellites can better protect against bushfires and floods

Paris (AFP) April 24, 2021 Anti-vaccine campaigners once confined to relatively obscure groups have exploited the coronavirus pandemic to reach a wider audience online, feeding on public fears to sow doubt about the drugs now available. But while the “anti-vax” camp has long understood the importance of the information battle, says science historian Laurent-Henri Vignaud, the health authorities are often a step behindhttp://dlvr.it/RySN5P Continue reading Pandemic a shot in the arm for anti-vaccine movement

Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Apr 26, 2021 Cows don’t seem to have a whole lot going on most of the time. They’re raised to spend their days grazing in the field, raised for the purpose of providing milk or meat, or producing more cows. So when students in UC Santa Barbara ecologist Doug McCauley’s lab found themselves staring intently at satellite image upon image of … Continue reading Spotting cows from space

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 24, 2021 In a decade filled by record-breaking events including raging wildfires, numerous hurricanes, unseasonal flooding and historically cold temperatures, NASA has continued to learn more about how the planet is changing and the effect it has on Earth’s systems. In the satellite era, a fleet of Earth-observing satellites have gathered data on world-wide rain and snowfall, air and ocean temperathttp://dlvr.it/RyPJHm Continue reading NASA Data Helps Builds Resilience as Disasters Grow More Intense

St. Louis MO (SPX) Apr 26, 2021 The Andes Mountains of South America are the most species-rich biodiversity hotspot for plant and vertebrate species in the world. But the forest that climbs up this mountain range provides another important service to humanity. Andean forests are helping to protect the planet by acting as a carbon sink, absorbing carbon dioxide and keeping some of this climate-altering … Continue reading Andean forests have high potential to store carbon under climate change

Tierra Del Fuego , Chile (AFP) April 23, 2021 The Karukinka natural park on Chile’s side of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago guards a treasure trove of ancient beech trees saved from the chainsaws of loggers. Today, the leafy giants face a new threat: a flourishing community of beavers brought to Patagonia from Canada 75 years ago with the idea of promoting human settlement, centered … Continue reading Brought in by humans, beavers threaten Patagonia forest

Portsmouth, United Kingdom (AFP) April 24, 2021 Decimated by over-fishing and pollution, British oysters could make a comeback as a hatchery in the Channel port city of Portsmouth is helping to revive a native species. At Portsmouth University’s Institute of Marine Sciences, huge piles of empty oyster shells are stacked in the courtyard, ready for the young oyster larvae to move in. “In the wild … Continue reading Hatchery reviving Britain’s near-extinct local oysters

Karapinar, Turkey (AFP) April 22, 2021 Sinkholes wide enough to swallow a bus dot the drought-stricken breadbasket of the Turkish plains, worrying farmers as they spread and creep closer to residential homes. “The drought situation is getting worse,” said farmer Tahsin Gundogdu, whose harvest includes potatoes he sells to the US food giant PepsiCo. The 57-year-old has seen the huge holes yawn open in the … Continue reading Sinkholes fill Turkey’s breadbasket in drought

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Apr 23, 2021 NASA is responsible for collecting much of the data that people use to explain humanity’s environmental impact on Earth, from documenting climate change and its impacts on ice, sea level and weather patterns, to monitoring the health of forests and the movement of freshwater. But NASA doesn’t just report the data. It also acts on it. NASA facilities across … Continue reading On a changing planet, NASA goes Green

From coin shortages and curbside operations to contactless transactions, how consumers pay for their purchases has been completely transformed during the pandemic. Marketers expect that transformation to continue and expand. It is not just family staples that are seeing a jump in consumer digital payment options. The retail and gaming sectors are also leading the digital charge.http://dlvr.it/RyFBfm Continue reading Digital Payments Lead March Toward a Cashless Society