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NASA Sees Eastern Pacific's Second Tropical Storm Form

On May 21, NASA satellites were monitoring Tropical Depression 02E in the eastern Pacific Ocean, and 24 hours later it strengthened into the second tropical storm of the season. Tropical Storm Bud was captured by NOAA's GOES-13 satellite on May 22, and appears to be well-formed.

Tropical Storm Bud isn't going to stop there, however. According to the forecasters at the National Hurricane Center, Bud is expected to become a hurricane because of light to moderate wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures.

NASA satellite sees Tropical Storm Sanvu pass Guam, strengthen

Tropical Depression 03W in the western North Pacific did exactly what forecasters expected over the last twenty-four hours: it became a tropical storm named Sanvu and passed west of Guam on a northwesterly track.

Alberto now a tropical depression, seen by NASA

Infrared satellite imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite revealed Alberto weakened from a tropical storm to a tropical depression as it appears more disorganized. At 10:30 a.m. EDT on May 21, Tropical Storm Alberto weakened to a tropical depression, and has maintained that status today, May 22.

US Earth observations, science and services are critical to society but are at risk

WASHINGTON — May 22, 2012 — Earth observations, science, and services (Earth OSS) inform and guide the activities of virtually all economic sectors and innumerable institutions underlying modern civilization, according to a new study by the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Policy Program. The report also found that Earth OSS in the United States face considerable challenges because economic downturns and Federal budget deficits put efforts to build and maintain Earth OSS capabilities at serious risk.

2 NASA satellites spy Alberto, the Atlantic Ocean season's first tropical storm

The first tropical storm of the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season formed off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 5 p.m. EDT, and NASA satellites were immediately keeping track of it. NASA's TRMM and Aqua satellites have provided a visible look at the compact storm and its rainfall rates.

NASA sees Tropical Depression 03W's 'hot tower' on approach to Guam

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite has caught two tropical cyclones with "hot towers" this week, and that's a hallmark that they'll intensify. Tropical Depression 03W is approaching Guam and is expected to strengthen.

"Hot Tower" rain clouds within a tropical cyclone indicate that the storm is going to intensify, and that's what NASA's TRMM satellite spotted in newborn Tropical Depression 2E in the eastern Pacific Ocean and now in Tropical Depression 03W (TD03W) in the western North Pacific Ocean.

NASA sees a 'hot tower' in newborn eastern Pacific Tropical Depression 2E

"Hot Tower" rain clouds within a tropical cyclone indicate that the storm is going to intensify, and that's what NASA's TRMM satellite spotted in newborn Tropical Depression 2E (TD2E) in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Mercury in dolphins: Study compares toxin levels in captive and wild sea mammals

Amid growing concerns about the spread of harmful mercury in plants and animals, a new study by researchers from The Johns Hopkins University and The National Aquarium has compared levels of the chemical in captive dolphins with dolphins found in the wild. The captive animals were fed a controlled diet, while the wild mammals dined on marine life that may carry more of the toxic metal.

New microscope uses rainbow of light to image the flow of individual blood cells

WASHINGTON, May 21—Blood tests convey vital medical information, but the sight of a needle often causes anxiety and results take time. A new device developed by a team of researchers in Israel, however, can reveal much the same information as a traditional blood test in real-time, simply by shining a light through the skin. This optical instrument, no bigger than a breadbox, is able to provide high-resolution images of blood coursing through our veins without the need for harsh and short-lived fluorescent dyes.

Toxic mercury, accumulating in the Arctic, springs from a hidden source

Cambridge, Mass. - May 21, 2012 - Environmental scientists at Harvard have discovered that the Arctic accumulation of mercury, a toxic element, is caused by both atmospheric forces and the flow of circumpolar rivers that carry the element north into the Arctic Ocean.

While the atmospheric source was previously recognized, it now appears that twice as much mercury actually comes from the rivers.

Pollution teams with thunderclouds to warm atmosphere

RICHLAND, Wash. -- Pollution is warming the atmosphere through summer thunderstorm clouds, according to a computational study published May 10 in Geophysical Research Letters. How much the warming effect of these clouds offsets the cooling that other clouds provide is not yet clear. To find out, researchers need to incorporate this new-found warming into global climate models.

University of Nevada, Reno, scientists design indoor navigation system for blind

RENO, Nev. – University of Nevada, Reno computer science engineering team Kostas Bekris and Eelke Folmer presented their indoor navigation system for people with visual impairments at two national conferences in the past two weeks. The researchers explained how a combination of human-computer interaction and motion-planning research was used to build a low-cost accessible navigation system, called Navatar, which can run on a standard smartphone.

Professor uses diamond to produce graphene quantum dots and nano-ribbons of controlled structure

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- Kansas State University researchers have come closer to solving an old challenge of producing graphene quantum dots of controlled shape and size at large densities, which could revolutionize electronics and optoelectronics.

Vikas Berry, William H. Honstead professor of chemical engineering, has developed a novel process that uses a diamond knife to cleave graphite into graphite nanoblocks, which are precursors for graphene quantum dots. These nanoblocks are then exfoliated to produce ultrasmall sheets of carbon atoms of controlled shape and size.

Herschel Space Observatory study reveals galaxy-packed filament

A McGill-led research team using the Herschel Space Observatory has discovered a giant, galaxy-packed filament ablaze with billions of new stars. The filament connects two clusters of galaxies that, along with a third cluster, will smash together and give rise to one of the largest galaxy superclusters in the universe.

Could cap and trade for water solve problems facing the United States' largest rivers?

Lake Mead, on the Colorado River, is the largest reservoir in the United States, but users are consuming more water than flows down the river in an average year, which threatens the water supply for agriculture and households. To solve this imbalance scientists are proposing a Cap and Trade system of interstate water trading. The proposal, published in Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA), builds on the success of such an initiative in Australia.