observations

Global distributions of seasonal mean dimensionless wave-induced stress. (a)–(d) represent spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. Credit: Science China Press Recently, a study by Ph.D. student Jing Ren from Ocean University of China and Associate Prof. Sheng Chen and Prof. Fangli Qiao from First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources was published in Science China Earth Sciences.…

Net globally-integrated coastal fluxes of (a) CO2 , (b) N2O and (c) CH4 over the wide and narrow coastal oceans. Figure shows individual products and models (symbols) and their median and interquartile ranges. Models are shown for the full ensemble available (11 models for CO2 and 4 for N2O) and a subset of higher resolution models (4 models for CO2 and 2 for N2O, see Methods and Table 2 for details). Previous estimates available for the narrow…

Atmospheric rivers, filaments of intense moisture transport in the atmosphere, can now be automatically detected in satellite observations. Credit: NOAA Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are filaments of intense moisture transport in the atmosphere. These weather systems drive a large fraction of the extreme precipitation events over coastal regions. Detecting ARs in satellite observations has long been a challenging task due to the…

Lauren Oyler is an American writer, very tall and very smart (or so I read). In 2021, she published her first novel, Fake Accounts, a plotless story about a young woman not unlike herself who is, as they used to say, very online. But she’s best known, at least in the US, as a critic whose work has appeared in the New Yorker, and whose 5,000-word takedown for the London Review of Books of Trick Mirror, a collection of essays by another thirtysomething American writer, Jia Tolentino, reputedly went viral (I am unable to…

The James Webb space telescope has amassed what the ESA is calling a “treasure trove” of new images of spiral galaxies. While the images themselves are beautiful, Webb’s observations of these 19 galaxies have revealed unknown structures within them, leaving scientists scrambling to learn more.The images were taken using the near- and mid-infrared systems on the James Webb, and they have provided us with a ton of detail to look at. Not only do they showcase the dust, gas, and stars within the galaxy, but they…

The chart shows the use of Mode-S data and other aircraft data in operations for a 30-minute period on 10 January 2024. It illustrates that the number of Mode-S data is still very much higher than that of other aircraft data sources used in Europe. Credit: European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) has started to use Mode-S aircraft observations…

African biomass burning plumes seen from the wing the NASA DC-8 as it descends to Ascension Island during the ATom-1 mission. Credit: Samuel Hall, NSF NCAR The forests and grasslands of northern tropical Africa take in about as much carbon dioxide in the wet season as they release in the dry season, according to a new study based on observations from aircraft. The findings contradict earlier research that relied on satellite…

Astronomers have found early ring and spiral structures in young planetary disks, indicating that planet formation begins much earlier than previously thought. This groundbreaking discovery, revealed through ALMA data, challenges existing models of planet formation and suggests a much faster timeline for the emergence of planetary structures. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.comEarly Evolution of Planetary Disk Structures Seen for the First TimePlanet formation may occur much more rapidly than previously…

(a) Latitudinal variability in the temperature responses to LCCs (ΔTLCC) and in the ratios of ΔTLCC to the overall temperature variation (ΔT) at the same location over the same period; (b) seasonal ΔTLCC patterns in four latitude zones. Credit: Science China Press Land cover changes (LCCs) affect surface temperatures at local scale through biophysical processes. However, limited by the coarse spatial resolution of available…

The first time I saw The Princess Bride, I was a kid, and though I watched it on VHS, it was -- I'm dating myself here -- still a fairly new movie at the time, as I recall. Obviously it was out long enough that it was available to rent, but it was also still new enough that I hadn't heard of it until then. Child-me had no idea that I was about to watch one of the best romantic comedies, and what would be one of my favorite movies of all time. This 1987 film -- based on a book by William Goldman --  would stay with me for…