national oceanic and atmospheric administration

Powerful, disruptive tsunamis can occur with little advanced warning which makes real-time social media alerts noting their appearance all the more critical. That critical safety measure was put at risk over the weekend. On Friday, the National Weather Service’s tsunami alerts Twitter page said the company had begun limiting its automated tweets which affected its ability to post-tsunami warnings, advisories, watches, and information statements.“During a #tsunami event, our primary mission is to message our Warning Points…

Artist’s depiction of Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID).Illustration: NASAThe final flight of an Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California will see the launch of an advanced weather satellite, in addition to the heat shield experiment. Star Wars: Shatterpoint Announcement Trailer02:27The First Things To Do In VR, Part 3Today 9:39AMThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) mission and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test…

Vegetation grows in front of the partially snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains on February 20, 2022 near Lone Pine, California.Photo: Mario Tama (Getty Images)Don’t expect much relief from the ongoing drought out West this coming winter.La Niña is returning for its third consecutive year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced this week. This means that Western states will continue to see drier-than-average conditions this winter.“Drought conditions are now present across approximately 59% of…

Image: NASAThese images of Yellowstone National Park, which were shared jointly as Image of the Day on June 23, illustrate the recent flooding which NASA believes is due to an atmospheric river. For reference, the left image was taken on June 16, 2021 while the right image was taken on June 16, 2022, and both were taken using Terra’s MODIS instrument. Image: NASAThese images of Yellowstone National Park, which were shared jointly as Image of the Day on June 23, illustrate the recent flooding which NASA believes is due…

Deepwater octopus, Graneledone verrucosaPhoto: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and ResearchThe Biden administration this week announced its intent to designate a new marine sanctuary about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of New York City. The Hudson Canyon is a large underwater canyon more than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. It’s home to a variety of species, including vulnerable sperm whales.In case you missed it, President Bidendeemed June as National Ocean Month, and earlier…

Experts at the Kenya-based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has raised an alarm marking the worrisome rate at which sand is getting depleted from the face of Earth.  Sand is deemed the most-extracted solid material in the world, and the second-most used global resource behind water. However, sand's use is largely ungoverned. Unregulated extraction of sand has created  a huge gap in the utilisation and generation process. Sand takes thousands of years of…

A new report by US government agencies has warned that coastal flooding is bound to increase significantly over the next 30 years because of “alarming” rise in sea levels. It says the sea level along the coast of the US could increase by as 10 to 123 inches, or almost a foot, above today's levels by 2050 because of rapidly melting glaciers and ice sheets, a direct result of climate change. This rise in sea level is a frightening scenario for those living near the shores. The report — an update to a 2017 report — has…