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Historic Greenland ice sheet rainfall unravelled
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By European Space Agency
Global warming is driving the rapid melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, contributing to global sea level rise and disrupting weather patterns worldwide. Because of this, precise measurements of its changing shape are of critical importance for adapting to climate change.
Now, scientists have delivered the first measurements of the Greenland Ice Sheet’s changing shape using data from ESA's CryoSat and NASA's ICESat-2 ice missions.
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By European Space Agency
Image: These summer images from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 missions showcase different satellite views of Greenland’s west coast. View the full article
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By NASA
Earth (ESD) Earth Explore Climate Change Science in Action Multimedia Data For Researchers About Us 4 min read
NASA Study: Crops, Forests Responding to Changing Rainfall Patterns
Earth’s rainy days are changing and plant life is responding. This visualization shows average precipitation for the entire globe based on more than 20 years of data from 2000 to 2023. Cooler colors indicate areas that receive less rain. Warm colors receive more rain. NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio A new NASA-led study has found that how rain falls in a given year is nearly as important to the world’s vegetation as how much. Reporting Dec. 11 in Nature, the researchers showed that even in years with similar rainfall totals, plants fared differently when that water came in fewer, bigger bursts.
In years with less frequent but more concentrated rainfall, plants in drier environments like the U.S. Southwest were more likely to thrive. In humid ecosystems like the Central American rainforest, vegetation tended to fare worse, possibly because it could not tolerate the longer dry spells.
Scientists have previously estimated that almost half of the world’s vegetation is driven primarily by how much rain falls in a year. Less well understood is the role of day-to-day variability, said lead author Andrew Feldman, a hydrologist and ecosystem scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Shifting precipitation patterns are producing stronger rainstorms — with longer dry spells in between — compared to a century ago.
“You can think of it like this: if you have a house plant, what happens if you give it a full pitcher of water on Sunday versus a third of a pitcher on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday?” said Feldman. Scale that to the size of the U.S. Corn Belt or a rainforest and the answer could have implications for crop yields and ultimately how much carbon dioxide plants remove from the atmosphere.
Blooms in Desert
The team, including researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and multiple universities, analyzed two decades of field and satellite observations, spanning millions of square miles. Their study area encompassed diverse landscapes from Siberia to the southern tip of Patagonia.
Yellow wildflowers and orange poppies carpet the desert following a wet winter for the Antelope Valley in California. NASA/Jim Ross They found that plants across 42% of Earth’s vegetated land surface were sensitive to daily rainfall variability. Of those, a little over half fared better — often showing increased growth — in years with fewer but more intense wet days. These include croplands as well as drier landscapes like grasslands and deserts.
In contrast, broadleaf (e.g., oak, maple, and beech) forests and rainforests in lower and middle latitudes tended to fare worse under those conditions. The effect was especially pronounced in Indo-Pacific rainforests, including in the Philippines and Indonesia.
Statistically, daily rainfall variability was nearly as important as annual rainfall totals in driving growth worldwide.
Red Light, Green Light
The new study relied primarily on a suite of NASA missions and datasets, including the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) algorithm, which provides rain and snowfall rates for most of the planet every 30 minutes using a network of international satellites.
To gauge plant response day to day, the researchers calculated how green an area appeared in satellite imagery. “Greenness”, also known asthe Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, is commonly used to estimate vegetation density and health. They also tracked a faint reddish light that plants emit during photosynthesis, when a plant absorbs sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into food, its chlorophyll “leaks” unused photons. This faint light is called solar-induced fluorescence, and it’s a telltale sign of flourishing vegetation.
Growing plants emit a form of light detectable by NASA satellites orbiting hundreds of miles above Earth. Parts of North America appear to glimmer in this visualization, depicting an average year. Gray indicates regions with little or no fluorescence; red, pink, and white indicate high fluorescence. NASA Scientific Visualization Studio Not visible bythe naked eye, plant fluorescence can be detected by instruments aboard satellites such as NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2). Launched in 2014, OCO-2 has observed the U.S. Midwest fluorescing strongly during the growing season.
Feldman said the findings highlight the vital role that plants play in moving carbon around Earth — a process called the carbon cycle. Vegetation, including crops, forests, and grasslands, forms a vast carbon “sink,” absorbing excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
“A finer understanding of how plants thrive or decline day to day, storm by storm, could help us better understand their role in that critical cycle,” Feldman said.
The study also included researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Stanford University, Columbia University, Indiana University, and the University of Arizona.
By Sally Younger
NASA’s Earth Science News Team
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Sally Younger
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Last Updated Dec 11, 2024 Related Terms
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By European Space Agency
Video: 00:04:04 English Paxi explores ice
Join Paxi on an adventure to the North and South poles, to learn more about ice and its role in keeping Earth cool.
Italian Paxi osserva il ghiaccio
Unisciti a Paxi in un'avventura ai poli Nord e Sud, per saperne di più sul ghiaccio e sul suo ruolo nel mantenere la Terra fresca.
German Paxi erforscht das Eis
Begleiten Sie Paxi auf ein Abenteuer zum Nord- und Südpol, um mehr über Eis und seine Rolle bei der Kühlung der Erde zu erfahren.
French Paxi explore la glace
Rejoignez Paxi dans une aventure aux pôles Nord et Sud, pour en savoir plus sur la glace et son rôle dans le refroidissement de la Terre.
Spanish Paxi explora el hielo
Únete a Paxi en una aventura a los polos Norte y Sur, para aprender más sobre el hielo y su papel en mantener la Tierra fría.
Portuguese Paxi explora o gelo
Junte-se a Paxi numa aventura aos pólos Norte e Sul, para aprender mais sobre o gelo e o seu papel na manutenção da Terra fresca.
Greek Ο Πάξι εξερευνά τον πάγο
Ελάτε μαζί με τον Paxi σε μια περιπέτεια στο Βόρειο και το Νότιο Πόλο, για να μάθετε περισσότερα για τον πάγο και το ρόλο του στη διατήρηση της ψύξης της Γης.
Polish Paxi bada lód
Dołącz do Paxi podczas przygody na biegunie północnym i południowym, aby dowiedzieć się więcej o lodzie i jego roli w chłodzeniu Ziemi.
Swedish Paxi utforskar is
Följ med Paxi på ett äventyr till Nord- och Sydpolen för att lära dig mer om is och dess roll för att hålla jorden sval.
Norwegian Paxi utforsker is
Bli med Paxi på et eventyr til Nord- og Sydpolen for å lære mer om is og dens rolle i å holde jorden kjølig.
Danish Paxi udforsker is
Tag med Paxi på eventyr til Nord- og Sydpolen for at lære mere om is og dens rolle i at holde Jorden kølig.
Romanian Paxi explorează gheață
Alăturați-vă lui Paxi într-o aventură la polii Nord și Sud, pentru a afla mai multe despre gheață și rolul său în menținerea Pământului rece.
Finnish Paxi tutkii jäätä
Lähde Paxin mukaan seikkailulle pohjois- ja etelänavoille ja opi lisää jäästä ja sen roolista maapallon viileänä pitämisessä.
Estonian Paxi avastab jääd
Liitu Paxiga seiklusel põhja- ja lõunapoolusele, et õppida rohkem jääst ja selle rollist Maa jahedana hoidmisel.
Czech Paxi zkoumá led
Vydejte se s Paxi na dobrodružnou výpravu na severní a jižní pól, abyste se dozvěděli více o ledu a jeho úloze při udržování chladu na Zemi.
Dutch Paxi onderzoekt ijs
Ga mee met Paxi op avontuur naar de Noord- en Zuidpool om meer te leren over ijs en de rol die ijs speelt bij het koel houden van de aarde.
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