Science is for Sharing

Greenland is an immense, glittering expanse of snow and ice. But in recent summers, satellites have been observing less “glitter” from the Northern Hemisphere’s largest ice expanse due to surface melt and other changes caused by warmer temperatures. The summer of 2012 found Greenland darker than it has been since ice-sheet-wide observations began in 2000. The darkest areas occurred around the perimeter of the island—the lowest elevations, where melting is most significant—but virtually the entire ice sheet showed below-average reflectivity. Courtesy: Climate Watch Magazine by NOAA http://www.climatewatch.noaa.gov/article/2012/less-glitter-greenland-ice-sheet-continued-to-darken-in-summer-2012 Map by NOAA Climate.gov team, based on NASA MODIS albedo data provided by Jason Box, The Ohio State University. Inset image is from NASA’s Terra satellite, courtesy the  LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Project.  Reviewed by Jason Box.

Climate model projections that show a greater rise in global temperature are likely to prove more accurate than those showing a lesser rise. The study was published in the journal - Science. National Center for Atmospheric Research scientists John Fasullo and Kevin Trenberth analyzed how well 16 leading sophisticated climate models reproduce observed relative humidity in Earth's tropics and subtropics. They used observations from two NASA satellite instruments - the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft and the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) . Climate model projections showing a greater rise in global temperature are likely to prove more accurate than those showing a lesser rise, according to them. Read in detail:  https://www2.ucar.edu/atmosnews/news/8264/future-warming-likely-be-high-side-climate-projections-analysis-finds http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/earth20121108.html

Have you heard of Cirrus cloud descending .........? What is it ......? Is it a frequent phenomenon .....? Does it have seasonal dependence ....? Where does it occur ......? Why do cirrus descend .....? What is it's impact .......? We have discovered the phenomenon using 3 years of lidar observations over Thiruvananthapuram, near southern tip of India that Cirrus clouds frequently DESCEND.....! After analysing the data together with other observations and models, we have come up answers to the above questions.  The observations and results are now accepted by the scientific community and it finds a place in the Journal of Geophysical Research - JGR (Atmosphere). Read more... Here is the link:  http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2012/2011JD017406.shtml   Nair, A. K. M. , K. Rajeev, M. K. Mishra, B. V. Thampi, and K. Parameswaran  ( 2012 ),  Multiyear lidar observations of the descending nature of tropical cirrus clouds ,...

Hybrid graphene-quantum dot phototransistor. Image (c) Nature Nanotechnology (2012) doi:10.1038/nnano.2012.60 Engineers have used inexpensive materials to create a solar cell certified at a world-record 7.0 percent efficiency. The solar cell represents a 37 percent increase in efficiency over the previous certified record. A breakthrough in the development of colloidal quantum dot (CQD) films allowed the researchers from the University of Toronto and King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) to develop the solar cell. Their work is featured in a letter published in Nature Nanotechnology. Here is the original article from Nature Nanotechnology (published last week of July,2012) http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/nnano.2012.127.pdf Hybrid graphene–quantum dot phototransistors with ultrahigh gain, Nature Nanotechnology (2012) doi:10.1038/nnano.2012.60 Read more at:  http://phys.org/news/2012-05-group-highly-sensitive-photodetector-grap...

Equinox & Solstice (view from Space).  Doesn't it convey better information than the usual cartoons.....?  I have taken the Satellite images from Meteosat via. Dundee satellite Receiving Station and made the matrix using GIMP.

Have a look at these images, captured 2 hrs apart by MODIS of TERRA & AQUA. We can clearly decipher the transition of contrail to contrail cirrus clouds....... Increasing air pollution by planes is definitely pointing towards increase the in Longwave radiative forcing and thereby increasing the global warming potential.... Read more:  http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=78154 Image credit:  Jeff Schmaltz,  LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team,  Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Adam Voiland., NASA earth observatory

Be prepared to watch a heavenly drama on 6 June 2012. The Venus can be seen as a black dot travelling across the Solar Disk. Here is my Simulation: Yes, it is the "Transit of Venus across the Sun" Path-- L to R Credit: Michael Zeiler, eclipse-maps.com India comes under the visibility of the event after Sunrise. See the graphic below: Thiruvananthapuram can view it right from sunrise to 10:22 AM. The graphic was prepared using the tool provided in  http://transitofvenus.nl/wp/where-when/local-transit-times/   You can change the location and see about your visibility to the drama. Also read the following blog for wonderful information and graphics. http://blogs.esa.int/venustransit/        (nice and informative blog by ESA) http://eclipse-maps.com/Eclipse-Maps/Transits.html     (Transit maps) http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/transitofvenus/ You can also find how to watch the event.... Follow safe way.... take care ...