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31 Oct 2011: New U.S. Satellite to
Monitor Global Climate Change

U.S. scientists say a next-generation weather satellite launched by NASA last week will provide critical new insights into global climate change. The NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite, launched on

High Above the Earth,
Satellites Track Melting Ice

The surest sign of a warming Earth is the melting of its ice zones. Now, Michael Lemonick writes, scientists are using satellite technology to measure the extent, thickness, and height of ice, assembling a picture of a planet in transition.
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Oct. 28, will orbit the planet at an altitude of 512 miles, traveling from the North Pole to the South Pole 14 times daily. While technically a NASA mission, the $1.5 billion satellite will provide key data for a series of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) projects, marking a key step in the creation of a U.S. climate monitoring system. The project’s key objectives include creation of long-term global environmental data, daily measurements of the ozone layer, monitoring of changes to the planet’s sea ice and glaciers, and collection of data on air pollution. Officials hope the satellite will serve as a bridge between NOAA’s current polar orbiting satellites and the next generation of satellites, the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). A series of delays and funding cuts, however, has pushed a launch of the JPSS project back to 2017 at the earliest, which U.S. scientists say could lead to a gap in satellite data.

Watch a video of the launch

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South African photojournalist Adam Welz documents the harrowing relocation of six white rhinos to a region that has lost all its rhinos to poaching. View the gallery.

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A Yale Environment 360 video explores Ecuador’s threatened Yasuni Biosphere Reserve with scientists inventorying its stunning forests and wildlife. Watch the video.

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In a Yale Environment 360 video, photographer Pete McBride documents how increasing water demands have transformed the Colorado River, the lifeblood of the arid Southwest. Watch the video.

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The Warriors of Qiugang, a Yale Environment 360 video that chronicles the story of a Chinese village’s fight against a polluting chemical plant, was nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Watch the video.

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