Earth & Sky

Clear summer skies might be great for picnics, but sea ice does better with some cloud cover. Scientist Jennifer Kay talks about the dramatic loss of sea ice this past summer.

Mysterious microbes might be lurking beneath Antarctica’s ice sheets. Oceanographer Chuck Kennicutt is interested in how organisms would make a living out of these cold, dark environments, and believes that the discovery and analysis of such microbes could shed light on how life evolved on our planet.

“If you want to understand a planet, understanding the inside is just as important as understanding the outside”, said MIT geophysicist Maria Zuber. Zuber will lead a science mission to Earth’s moon, called GRAIL, set for launch in 2011. GRAIL measures gravity. It consists of two satellites that’ll orbit the moon for about 90 days, like a pair of mini-moons of the moon.

The 2008 Phoenix Mars Mission is designed to search for chemical traces of life on Mars. Richard Cook, Project Manager of the Mars Science Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, told Earth & Sky about the newest generation of life-seekers on the crimson planet.

Scientists are working to confirm the predictions of climate models, and the results aren’t always as expected. For example, the models suggest that global warming means more snowfall near Earth’s poles. That extra snowfall could slow sea level rise, as more water stays in the ice sheets.

Scientists at work in the Arctic say the pace of change there is now so rapid that some creatures might not be able to adapt. For example, Arctic ringed seals give birth and nurse their young in caves dug out on the snow-covered ice.

Scientists have been testing robots they say could take exploration of the moon and planets to a new level.

Research oceanographer Ben Holt talked about changes in Arctic Sea ice, and told Earth & Sky that “there is a sense of urgency, and that the Arctic is rapidly changing, faster than people might have imagined.”

Earth scientist Chris Shuman studies liquid lakes beneath ice sheets in Antarctica. These lakes – such as Lake Vostok – stay liquid due to geothermal heat from Earth’s interior. Shuman said these hidden Antarctic lakes affect the way glaciers move toward the sea.

The high places of icy Greenland set a new record in 2007 for snow melt. Marco Tedesco is a research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He said that at altitudes above 2,000 meters in Greenland – a little over a mile high – snow melted for up to 30 days longer than the 20-year average.

Scientists are looking deep into the ice to reveal Antarctica’s hidden climate history. And they’re finding the future is unlike anything the continent has experienced over the past millennium.

The robot sub being tested now in Antarctica might someday be used to find signs of life on other worlds. For example, Jupiter’s moon Europa might harbor life swimming in an ocean covered by ice.

Will Steger began his career as a polar explorer by traveling unsupported thousands of kilometers across the polar regions by dog sled. Today’s explorers no longer have to head off alone into uncharted territory. In many ways, they can bring the modern world along with them, according to Steger.

High noctilucent clouds, created by icy particles, may be affected by how humans are changing the nature of our planet.

In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, only microscopic plants can survive the freezing, dry temperatures, and five-and-a-half months without sun. Berry Lyons has spent the past 15 years working there. Lyons told EarthSky that, compared to temperate, habitable regions, the polar regions experience change almost immediately.

There are more than 100 words in Inuit languages to describe sea ice conditions and phenomena. As sea ice is changing, so are traditional ways of knowing sea ice by the Eskimo or Inuit people of the far north.

“Now when we look to the future, Greenland and Antarctica are the big gorillas. If Greenland were to melt, it’s about 23 feet vertically for sea level.” Polar sceintist Richard Alley talked to EarthSky.

Expeditions are underway to explore what scientists call the “new frontier” at Earth’s poles.

Scientists in Antarctica are for the first time ever combining live satellite data with measurements made right at the surface of sea ice.

Scientists are enlisting volunteers to document the shape of snowflakes around the world.

Scientists have begun outfitting beluga whales with satellite transmitters.

They’re hoping...

Scientists and reindeer herders in Norway have teamed up to help each other understand the impacts of climate change.
Nancy Maynard: Recently, there have been serious declines in number of reindeer ...

In this 6-minute Clear Voices for Science podcast, Richard Cook of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory talks about th e Phoenix Mars mission and the search for martian life.

As Greenland melts, sea level continues to rise. In this 5-minute podcast, EarthSky’s Clear Voices talks with Marco Tedesco, who used satellite data to find that 2007 broke the record for melting snow at the high altitudes of Greenland.

Listen to a 5-minute podcast with Paul Mayewski, Director of Paul Mayewski is the director of the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute, about what the changing climate means for Antarctica’s future.

Listen to this 6-minute Clear Voices for Science podcast on the search for life on Jupiter’s moon Europa, thought to have a massive ocean of water underneath thousands of feet of ice.

Will Steger has been exploring the polar regions for over 40 years. And at 63, he shows no sign of stopping. In this 3-minute podcast, Steger explains how he started exploring and why he keeps going.

Changes are happening now at Earth’s icy poles that scientists describe as “astonishing.” Changes are happening now at Earth’s icy poles that scientists describe as “astonishing.” Robert Bindschadler is chief scientist of the Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Geophysicist Robin Bell of Columbia University spoke with Earth & Sky about the International Polar Year and her own research into an ‘invisible’ mountain range in Antarctica.

International Polar Year is turning reindeer herders into scientists. As the indigenous Sámi people migrate across the Norweigan Arctic with their herds, they’re also taking measurements and collecting data about snow.

Scientists in Antarctica are for the first time ever combining live satellite data with measurements made right at the surface of sea ice.

In this 6-minute podcast, glaciologist David Vaughan discusses the uncertain fate of the West Antarctic ice sheet.