Albedo—it’s more than just a fancy word to describe the reflectivity of the Earth. It’s an important, albeit complex, factor affecting our climate—and the NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP satellite is helping scientists monitor it.
As part of the River Ice and Flooding Initiative, NOAA scientists with the Joint Polar Satellite System are working with experts in academia through the JPSS Proving Ground and Risk Reduction (PGGR) Program to help communities identify the risk of ice jams and prepare for these hazards.
Data from polar-orbiting satellites like Suomi NPP provide forecasters with a better perspective on the Alaska Region and provide critical information on hazards like ash from volcanic eruptions.
According to a new global atlas of light pollution, one third of humanity and 80 percent of Americans can't see the Milky Way.
You don't have to be a meteorologist to know that clouds have a significant impact on the Earth's climate, but what about artificial clouds, particularly jet contrails; do they affect the Earth's climate too? Penn State geography professor Andrew Carleton and his colleagues have been trying to find out, and they're using data from NOAA satellites in the process.
