Sensing Our Planet

Sensing Our Planet features research that used data from NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) data centers. Many of the 2016 articles focus on the quality of Earth’s groundwater, wetlands, and oceans. Small changes in quality can ripple through ecosystems and affect fish populations, marine food chains and biomes, and human drinking water supplies. Other stories illustrate how smoke particles can influence weather thousands of miles away, or how drought can intensify dust storms. Researchers also use the data to study the urban heat island effect in Philadelphia, Arctic permafrost emissions during winter, and gravity waves in the atmosphere.