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NASA-funded study shows desert dust cuts Colorado River flow

Snowmelt in the Colorado River basin is occurring earlier, reducing runoff and the amount of crucial water available downstream. A new study shows this is due to increased dust caused by human activities in the region during the past 150 years.

The study, led by a NASA and UCLA scientist and funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF), showed peak spring runoff now comes three weeks earlier than before the region was settled and soils were disturbed. Annual runoff is lower by more than 5 percent on average, compared with pre-settlement levels.

NASA captures very heavy rain in Typhoon Fanapi and 2 landfalls

NASA captures very heavy rain in Typhoon Fanapi and 2 landfalls

NASA's MODIS and AIRS instruments watch Igor changing shape, warming over 3 days

NASA's MODIS and AIRS instruments watch Igor changing shape, warming over 3 days

NASA sees Tropical Storm Julia getting 'dusted'

NASA sees Tropical Storm Julia getting 'dusted'

Dust has been blowing into the Eastern Atlantic Ocean from Africa's Saharan Desert, and a NASA satellite captured some of that dust east of Tropical Storm Julia.

NASA satellites and aircraft studied Hurricane Karl before it faded

NASA satellites and aircraft studied Hurricane Karl before it faded

Hurricane Karl made landfall near Veracruz, Mexico on Friday, Sept. 17 and moved inland over Mexico's rugged terrain, which took the punch out of the storm. As Karl was moving into Mexico, NASA aircraft and NASA satellites were gathering data from this storm that jumped from a tropical storm to a Category 3 hurricane the day before.

New nanomaterial, shaped like Stars of David, discovered at Hebrew University

Jerusalem, Sept. 19, 2010 -- A new type of nanoparticle resembling the six-pointed Star of David (Magen David) that is the symbol on the flag of Israel has been discovered by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. (One nanometer is a billionth of a meter.) The discovery, the researchers say, may lead to new ways for sensing of glucose in diagnosing diabetes or provide a catalyst to capture the sun's energy and turn it into clean fuel.

NASA sees record-breaking Julia being affected by Igor

NASA sees record-breaking Julia being affected by Igor

Julia is waning in the eastern Atlantic Ocean because of outflow from massive Hurricane Igor, despite his distance far to the west. Satellite imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite showed that Julia's eye was no longer visible, a sign that she's weakening.

NASA eyes Typhoon Fanapi approaching Taiwan

NASA eyes Typhoon Fanapi approaching Taiwan

Infrared satellite data from NASA's Aqua satellite revealed strong convection and a tight circulation center within Typhoon Fanapi as it heads for a landfall in Taiwan this weekend.

NASA's CloudSat satellite and GRIP Aircraft profile Hurricane Karl

NASA's CloudSat satellite and GRIP Aircraft profile Hurricane Karl

The Moon's complex, turbulent youth exposed

The Moon's complex, turbulent youth exposed

The moon was bombarded by two distinct populations of asteroids or comets in its youth, and its surface is more complex than previously thought, according to new results from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft featured in three papers appearing in the Sept. 17 issue of Science.

Moon's craters give new clues to early solar system bombardment

Moon's craters give new clues to early solar system bombardment

Scientists report new insights into the moon's rich geologic complexity

The moon is more geologically complex than previously thought, scientists report Sept. 17 in two papers published in the journal Science.

Their conclusion is based on data from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), an unmanned mission to comprehensively map the entire moon. The spacecraft orbits some 31 miles above the moon's surface.

NASA eyes Karl, now a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico

NASA eyes Karl, now a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico

NASA's Aqua and TRMM satellites have been watching Karl's clouds and rainfall as he moved across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico today, powering up into a hurricane.

3-D computer simulations envision Type II supernovae explosions

3-D computer simulations envision Type II supernovae explosions

For scientists, supernovae are true superstars -- massive explosions of huge, dying stars that shine light on the shape and fate of the universe. Being superstars you'd think we know all about them, but we actually know very little, even though we have studied them for 50 years.

NASA's 3-D look into Hurricane Igor's heavy rainfall

NASA's 3-D look into Hurricane Igor's heavy rainfall