Showing 20 articles starting at article 521

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Environmental: Wildfires, Space: The Solar System

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new conceptual framework for incorporating the way plants use carbon and water, or plant dynamics, into fine-scale computer models of wildland fire provides a critical first step toward improved global fire forecasting.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have completed the first real-world study of Martian dust dynamics based on Ingenuity's historic first flights on the Red Planet, paving the way for future extraterrestrial rotorcraft missions. The work could support NASA's Mars Sample Return Program, which will retrieve samples collected by Perseverance, or the Dragonfly mission that will set course for Titan, Saturn's largest moon, in 2027.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

When a scientist discovered surprising evidence that Saturn's smallest, innermost moon could generate the right amount of heat to support a liquid internal ocean, colleagues began studying Mimas' surface to understand how its interior may have evolved. Numerical simulations of the moon's Herschel impact basin, the most striking feature on its heavily cratered surface, determined that the basin's structure and the lack of tectonics on Mimas are compatible with a thinning ice shell and geologically young ocean.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have applied a deep learning technique to a previously studied dataset of nearby stars and uncovered eight previously unidentified signals of interest.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

By analyzing meteorites, researchers have uncovered the likely far-flung origin of Earth's volatile chemicals, some of which form the building blocks of life.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Earth's potassium arrived by meteoritic delivery service finds new research led by Earth and planetary scientists. Their work shows that some primitive meteorites contain a different mix of potassium isotopes than those found in other, more-chemically processed meteorites. These results can help elucidate the processes that shaped our Solar System and determined the composition of its planets.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

In an observational feat of high precision, scientists used a new technique with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to capture the shadows of starlight cast by the thin rings of Chariklo. Chariklo is an icy, small body, but the largest of the known Centaur population, located more than 2 billion miles away beyond the orbit of Saturn.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

While communities and governments nationwide have been facing the impact of wildfires on drinking water systems, no national synthesis of scientific and policy needs has been conducted. Now, a study has outlined the scientific and policy needs specific to drinking water systems' resilience to wildfires.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Space weather can interfere with spaceflight and the operation of satellites, but the phenomenon is very difficult to study on Earth because of the difference in gravity. Researchers effectively reproduced the type of gravity that exists on or near stars and other planets inside of a glass sphere measuring 3 centimeters in diameter, or about 1.2 inches. The achievement could help scientists overcome the limiting role of gravity in experiments that are intended to model conditions in stars and other planets.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research into the durability and age of an ancient asteroid made of rocky rubble and dust, revealed significant findings that could contribute to potentially saving the planet if one ever hurtled toward Earth.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers used observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to achieve the darkest ever view of a dense interstellar cloud. These observations have revealed the composition of a virtual treasure chest of ices from the early universe, providing new insights into the chemical processes of one of the coldest, darkest places in the universe as well as the origins of the molecules that make up planetary atmospheres.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

High-severity wildfire in California's Sierra Nevada forests has nearly quintupled compared to before Euro-American settlement, rising from less than 10% per year then to up to 43% today, a new study finds.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Five years after the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, researchers document persistent differences in cognitive function among survivors.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Our solar system is estimated to be about 4.57 billion years old. Previous analyses of ancient meteorites have shown that minerals were created through chemical reactions with water as far back as 4.5 billion years ago. New findings from the Ryugu asteroid samples indicate that carbonates were forming from water-rock reactions several million years earlier, even closer to the solar system's beginnings.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Seasonal temperature, moisture loss from plants and wind speed are what primarily drive fires that sweep across the same landscape multiple times, a new study reveals. These findings and others could help land managers plan more effective treatments in areas susceptible to fire, particularly in the fire-ravaged wildland-urban interfaces of California.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team reveals the eventful migration history of planets bordering the Hot Neptune Desert, these extrasolar planets that orbit very close to their star.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Perseverance has now completed its investigation of the atmosphere throughout the first Martian year (which lasts approximately two Earth years). Specifically, astronomers have studied seasonal and daily cycles of temperature and pressure, as well as their significant variations on other time scales resulting from very different processes.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Antarctica is a tough place to work, for obvious reasons -- it's bitterly cold, remote, and wild. However, it's one of the best places in the world to hunt for meteorites. That's partly because Antarctica is a desert, and its dry climate limits the degree of weathering the meteorites experience. On top of the dry conditions, the landscape is ideal for meteorite hunting: the black space rocks stand out clearly against snowy fields.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

As space missions delve deeper into the outer solar system, the need for more compact, resource-conserving and accurate analytical tools has become increasingly critical -- especially as the hunt for extraterrestrial life and habitable planets or moons continues. A University of Maryland-led team developed a new instrument specifically tailored to the needs of NASA space missions. Their mini laser-sourced analyzer is significantly smaller and more resource efficient than its predecessors--all without compromising the quality of its ability to analyze planetary material samples and potential biological activity onsite.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study shows that smoke particles from human-lit fires are responsible for over 80% of smoke-related deaths each year. The study shows that smoke pollution is on the rise, reducing air quality, and leading to increased illness and premature deaths.