Latest news with #MODIS
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA satellite sees sea ice crack apart in Canada
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. NASA satellites looked down on huge cracks forming in sea ice in Canada's far north. The Amundsen Gulf is named after Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer who, in the early 1900s, embarked on a voyage into the Northwest Passage, a winding narrow passage through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Amundsen was hoping to use the Northern Passage as a shortcut, reducing travel time, according to NASA's Earth Observatory. After facing several hazards, his ship and crew successfully emerged from the passage, becoming the first people to successfully navigate the dangerous terrain. Amundsen's ship, called the Gjøa, was only crewed by six men, all of whom helped conduct meteorological observations while sailing. The Amundsen Gulf lies in the Northwest Territories of Canada. While Roald Amundsen and his crew paved the way for other ships to navigate the Northern Passage, the route still poses dangers for ships due to the shifting sea ice. Seasonal changes can cause sea ice to melt and break apart, drifting in the cold arctic waters. While this in itself may not be necessarily dangerous, if the sea ice accumulates enough, it can create "choke points" that block ships from sailing through. In this image, taken by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA's Terra satellite, much of the sea ice is still "fastened" to the coastline, but other chunks have migrated into the Beaufort Sea. This ice break up will continue for several months as warmer temperatures and wind help to crack apart the thick arctic ice. The cycle usually begins in March 2025, according to NASA's Earth Observatory You can read more about sea ice levels in the arctic as satellites like Terra and other continue to observe Earth's many beautiful structures.
India.com
11-06-2025
- Science
- India.com
Earth is getting hottest at this place on earth, it is located in...., NASA map will fill you with fear
Earth is getting hottest at this place on earth, it is located in...., NASA map will fill you with fear Right now, many parts of India are suffering from a terrible heatwave. From the north to the south, people are hoping for monsoon rains to bring some relief. But the weather department says that the heat will continue for some more time. And in the middle of this, NASA has shared a shocking fact i.e. a place on Earth that is hotter than anywhere else. Let's find out more about it. NASA says that the hottest place on Earth is the Lut Desert (also called Dasht-e Lut ) in Iran. The salt desert is notable for its rich variety of landforms and some of the world's tallest sand dunes. Using its Aqua satellite, NASA recorded the surface temperature in this desert between the years 2003 and 2009. The temperature reached 70.6 degrees celsius (which is 159 degrees fahrenheit). This desert is in the southeastern part of Iran. It is known for its dry, hot winds that blow strongly between June and October. These winds make the already hot land even hotter. The Lut Desert is huge. It covers an area of about 2.27 million hectares, and it has a buffer zone around it that covers another 1.79 million hectares. The area is surrounded by mountains and lies in a deep valley. The land here is mostly made up of sand, salt, and massive rock formations. There are also salt flats and dried-up lakes. While most of the desert is empty and lifeless, some people do live in nearby hills and valleys. Sand in Lut has been blackened by volcanic lava, making it heat-absorbing, and its mountain-surrounded terrain limits air movement. In a study using 18 years of MODIS land surface temperature data, the Lut Desert ranked as having the hottest surface on Earth, tied with the Sonoran Desert in Mexico. Even though Earth has many hot places, the Lut Desert has earned the title of the hottest. NASA's data clearly proves it.
New Indian Express
05-06-2025
- Climate
- New Indian Express
Forest fires surge in Northeast India due to climate variability, shows study
BHUBANESWAR: Forest fire has emerged as the latest threat to the lush, green expanse of Northeast India, often called the 'Seven Sister States'. A new scientific study has revealed an alarming rise in the intensity of forest fires in this ecologically fragile region due to climate variability. A team of climate and geospatial experts from India and Brazil have mapped over 3.6 lakh fire incidents across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura during 2001-2022 and analysed active fire points by using NASA's MODIS satellite, linking fire patterns to climatic factors like temperature, rainfall, solar radiation, and wind speed. Approximately 80% of annual forest fires were observed between March and April, with the years 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010 marked by anomalously high fire incidences. Fire events were predominantly recorded in woodlands, shrublands, regrowth areas, evergreen forests, and cropland mosaics. The highest frequency of fire occurrences was reported in 2009, contributing 7.40% to the overall. This was closely followed by 2006, which contributed 7.34%. Among the Seven Sister States, Mizoram experienced the highest number of fire incidents, accounting for 24.2% of the total 3,60,383 incidents recorded during last two decades. It was followed by Assam (19.8%), Manipur (16.3%), Nagaland (11.8%), Arunachal Pradesh (9.1%) and Tripura (6.6%). The study has identified a strong correlation between fire occurrence and climatic factors, particularly low rainfall and high solar radiation.
NDTV
21-05-2025
- Science
- NDTV
NASA Satellite Shows World's Largest Iceberg Breaking Into Thousands Of Pieces. What Happens Next
The world's largest iceberg, A23a, is breaking apart into smaller pieces, posing a threat to humans and the millions of penguins in the nearby Antarctic sanctuary. NASA's Aqua satellite, equipped with MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), has captured striking images of the massive iceberg A23a breaking apart. The photos show thousands of smaller ice chunks detaching from the iceberg's northern edge, creating a hazardous icy landscape in the surrounding area. The image highlights the iceberg's enormous size, comparable to South Georgia Island (approximately 1400 square miles), which is famously known for Ernest Shackleton's rescue mission after the Endurance shipwreck. "Thousands of iceberg pieces litter the ocean surface near the main berg, creating a scene reminiscent of a dark, starry night," wrote representatives with the space agency, NASA wrote in a statement. The "megaberg" A23a, currently the world's largest iceberg, has a surface area of approximately 1,200 square miles. It calved from Antarctica's Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in 1986 but remained trapped until 2023. After breaking free, it regained the title of largest iceberg in June 2023. A23a became stuck again in a vortex in early 2024 but broke free in December. It is now grounded off South Georgia Island, where it will likely remain until it melts or breaks apart in the "iceberg graveyard" of the Scotia Sea. As per NASA, the massive iceberg is breaking apart into smaller pieces through a process called "edge wasting." Although the new icebergs appear small compared to A23a, many are still around a kilometre across, posing a risk to ships. The largest piece to break off, dubbed A23c, measures approximately 50 square miles. Since getting stuck in March, A23a has shrunk by about 200 square miles. It's expected to take months or years for the iceberg to fully disintegrate. A23a's size lead is also narrowing, with another iceberg, D15A, closing in on its record. The Impact South Georgia Island is home to a diverse wildlife population, including seals, seabirds, and over 2 million penguins, but has a sparse human presence with only a few dozen researchers visiting annually. The massive iceberg A23a, currently grounded offshore, could potentially disrupt the ecosystem by forcing penguins to travel longer distances to find prey and altering the surrounding water temperature and salinity with its meltwater. Some of these fragments measure over half a mile wide and could therefore "pose a risk to ships," according to NASA. However, its relatively distant location from the coast may mitigate the impact. Some researchers suggest the melting iceberg could also have a positive effect by releasing nutrients into the ocean, benefiting the marine ecosystem. Scientists warn that similar events, such as massive iceberg break-offs, may become more frequent in the future because of climate change. This acceleration of ice shelf melting could have significant implications for global sea levels, ocean ecosystems and the planet's climate as a whole.
New York Post
20-05-2025
- Science
- New York Post
World's largest iceberg is breaking into thousands of pieces — putting people and wildlife at risk
The iceberg goeth? The world's largest iceberg, A23, is fragmenting into smaller pieces, potentially jeopardizing both humans and the millions of penguins in the neighboring Antarctic refuge. Alarming photos snapped by NASA's Aqua satellite have revealed that the periphery of the frozen mass is beginning to break apart, particularly along its northern edge, turning the surrounding area into an icy minefield. Advertisement 'Thousands of iceberg pieces litter the ocean surface near the main berg, creating a scene reminiscent of a dark starry night,' wrote representatives with the space agency, Live Science reported. 4 The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of the berg, named A23, on May 3, 2025. NASA This marks the culmination of an epic voyage for the so-called mega-berg, which boasts a surface area of 1,200 square miles — making it the largest iceberg in the world. Advertisement After being trapped on the ocean floor since 1986, the colossal ice cube broke away from its position several years back, and drifted into the Southern Ocean. A23's floe state was interrupted again in 2024, when it became stranded in a spinning vortex, before eventually breaking free and resuming its journey North. 4 A23 is the largest iceberg in the world. Getty Images Then in January, the mega-berg was spotted making a bee-line for South Georgia Island — a British territory known for its unique wildlife — but ground to a halt just 60 miles offshore, which scientists believe could be A23's final resting place. Advertisement While the sheet thankfully didn't run aground on the island, this frozen cluster bomb could still potentially threaten the millions of penguins and seals that reside there. 4 Researchers worry that A23 could obstruct penguin feeding routes. / Penguins could potentially need to navigate hundreds of miles around the moored ice mass to reach their feeding grounds while the mega-berg's meltwater could affect the temperature and salinity of the surrounding sea. In 2004, some of South Georgia's resident penguin chicks and seal pups died after an ice island named A38 broke off and obstructed their feeding routes. Advertisement Researchers hope A23's location far off the coast will hopefully mitigate its impact on the ecosystem. 4 This handout satellite image released by Copernicus Sentinel Data 2025, shows A23 getting closer to the South Georgia Island on February 24, 2025. COPERNICUS SENTINEL DATA 2025 /AFP via Getty Images Unfortunately, animals might not be the only ones who might be in danger during the ice floe's death throes. Some of these fragments measure over half a mile wide and could therefore 'pose a risk to ships,' according to NASA. The largest berg — which measures around 50 square miles — is currently drifting south out of view of the satellite photo. The situation perhaps inspires flashbacks of an incident in 2023 that occurred when a floe named A76 came close to grounding and left a veritable icy obstacle course in its wake. 'Those pieces basically cover the island (South Georgia) — we have to work our way through it,' said Captain Simon Wallace, who helms the South Georgia government vessel Pharos. Advertisement His crew has searchlights 'on all night' so they won't be blindsided by a berg. Despite literally falling to pieces, A23 won't be going away overnight as researchers estimate that it will take months or even years for the frozen juggernaut to disintegrate entirely. In the interim, A23 will likely lose its title of world's biggest iceberg. As of A23, the sheet is only around 12 square miles larger than the next-biggest iceberg, D15A.
