(Credit: allou/Shutterstock)
If we broke it, then we can probably fix it, too. That’s the logic behind geoengineering, the broadly-defined set of techniques proposed to artificially reverse climate change.
The most popular method involves pumping the atmosphere full of sulfur aerosols, a compound that would reflect more of the sun’s incoming radiation, bouncing heat back into space and cooling down the planet.
Too Good to Be True
It sounds seductive, but there are any num ...read more
The twin MarCO CubeSats launched May 5th with NASA’s larger InSight mission, making them the first pair of miniature probes to ever venture into deep space. Many other mission concepts are in the works for CubeSats that could follow these pioneers beyond Earth’s orbit. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
When NASA’s InSight lander began its journey to Mars on May 5th, two tiny satellites tagged along for the ride — CubeSats called MarCO-A and MarCO-B.
CubeSats are a small and re ...read more
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station took this photo of a towering pyrocumulus cloud rising from the Ferguson Fire near Yosemite National Park. Make sure to click on the image and then click again to view close-up details. (Source: NASA Earth Observatory)
When California’s 2018 wildfire season is over — if it actually ends — it may well be remembered as the summer of the “new normal.”
That is, of course, the meme that has exploded across news a ...read more
A new review of evidence for the peopling of the Americas suggests both coastal and interior routes, such as through this Alaskan landscape, were possible. (Credit: Ben A. Potter)
Exactly how and when the peopling of the Americas took place has long been one of the hottest debates in science. For every new paper that emerges with evidence of an interior or coastal route, it seems another team publishes contradictory conclusions. Authors of a new review of archaeolo ...read more
Human land use changes are bringing trees to regions where they’ve long been absent, even as other areas are rapidly deforested. (Credit: SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE)
Scientists like simplicity as much as anyone. Elegant equations take up less room, well-designed experiments reduce clutter and Occam’s razor generally advises to keep things simple (within reason).
But how far can you take it?
Say you want to know the exact amount of tree loss Eart ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
