NASA: The Catastrophic Flooding of Yellowstone National Park This year has been historic for Yellowstone National Park in more ways than one. Founded in 1872, America’s first national park is celebrating its 150th anniversary. It also experienced historic flooding, with rivers cresting at heights not seen in 100 years. Related: Yellowstone National Park’s South Loop Will Reopen to the Public on June 22 In the second week of […] SnowBrains | June 23, 2022 0 Comments
NASA: Lack of Snow Causing Rapid Glacier Melt in the Andes The central Andes are typically draped with snowfall for much of the summer. The bright blankets of white aren’t just scenic; they’re also protective. Fresh snow is highly reflective, so it prevents underlying glacial ice from absorbing the sun’s energy, warming up, and melting. Related: NASA: Melting Glacier in Chile Exposes 139-Million-Year-Old Ichthyosaur Fossils This year, extreme heat removed those […] SnowBrains | June 14, 2022 0 Comments
NASA: Melting Glacier in Chile Exposes 139-Million-Year-Old Ichthyosaur Fossils As glaciers have melted in our warming world, they have exposed pieces of the past, from Stone Age artifacts to wartime relics. But the retreating Tyndall Glacier in Chile has uncovered something much older: a prehistoric graveyard of ichthyosaurs. Related: Newly Discovered Fossilized Raptor May Have Been an Arctic Resident Ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles, or “fish lizards,” that resembled modern-day […] Brains SnowBrains | June 3, 2022 0 Comments
NASA: Wild Fluctuations in Sierra Nevada Snowpack When it comes to mountain snowpack, the Sierra Nevada is notorious for booms and busts: One year is bad, while another can be exceedingly good. In 2021-22, there were booms and busts all within the same snow season. The result has been another year of inadequate snowfall and concerns about the impact on water supplies. “The Sierras tend to get […] SnowBrains | May 9, 2022 0 Comments
NASA: Taking Stock of the Rocky Mountain Snowpack As another winter ends with the U.S. West still in the grip of the worst megadrought in 1,200 years, scientists and water managers are looking at the state of the snowpack. Mountain snowpack is a natural reservoir: As it melts out over the course of the spring and summer, it provides a steady supply of water for millions of people […] SnowBrains | May 9, 2022 0 Comments
NASA: Wildfires Continue to Burn Across New Mexico Early season wildfires continued to rage in the first week of May 2022 in northern New Mexico. The blazes have been driven by high winds, low humidity, and exceptionally dry tinder—grass, brush, and timber—that are providing ample fuel for burning. The fires have destroyed hundreds of structures and prompted the evacuation of thousands of homes. On May 3, 2022, seven […] Fire Firebrains | May 4, 2022 0 Comments
NASA: Losing a Long-Watched Glacier Peyto Glacier in Banff National Park is among the most closely monitored glaciers in the world. In 1968, the United Nations selected Peyto as a reference glacier for the International Hydrological Decade research initiative. Ever since, teams of scientists have traveled to the Canadian Rockies regularly to conduct fieldwork and calculate changes in the mass of the glacier, providing the […] SnowBrains | May 3, 2022 0 Comments
NASA: Wildfires Scorch Northern New Mexico Fire season in New Mexico arrived early and aggressively in 2022, fueled by strong, gusty winds, extremely low humidity, and an exceedingly dry landscape. As of April 19, nearly 99 percent of the state was dealing with some level of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, with 63 percent rated at extreme to exceptional levels of dryness. Amid those […] Fire Firebrains | April 26, 2022 0 Comments
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