A new study reveals how and to what extent laser beams are bent during propagation through space plasma in TianQin, a geocentric space-borne gravitational wave detector.
satellites
Posted inEditors' Highlights
More Braided Rivers from Increasing Flow Variability
Global analysis of satellite data and river flow records show that higher flow intermittency after climate change may lead to an increasing number of threads in braided rivers, thus impacting ecosystems.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Can Any Single Satellite Keep Up with the World’s Floods?
How well does our current satellite fleet capture the world’s major floods? Scientists turn to the Dartmouth Flood Observatory record for a data-driven answer.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Amazon River Breezes Mimic Pollution in Clouds
Natural river breezes create clouds over the Amazon that mimic the signs of pollution, complicating climate impact assessments.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Synergistic Integration of Flood Inundation Modeling Methods
Recent flood modeling advances are trending into silos that compete rather than complement each other, hampering the opportunity for transformative progress toward protecting lives and communities.
Posted inScience Updates
Geostationary Satellite Applications Expand into Land Monitoring
Known for their weather-observing prowess, these satellites can also track land surface processes and disturbances over broad areas in near-real time.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Satellite View of the California Wildfires of January 2025
Satellite observations of the southern California wildfires of 2025 reveal that almost all the burned areas were reached by fire within 24 hours, and wildfires in residential areas burned more intensely than nearby natural vegetation fires at night.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
How Satellite Data Helped Avoid Hunger from Drought
Satellites detecting anomalies of the spectral reflectance of crops in Uganda successfully foretold imminent crop failure and automatically triggered timely governmental disaster relief.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Managing Carbon Stocks Requires an Integrated View of the Carbon Cycle
The carbon cycle community calls for an integrated carbon observing system leveraging near-surface partial-column data to better resolve finer spatial scales where key processes and decisions occur.
Posted inFeatures
The Looming Data Loss That Threatens Public Safety and Prosperity
Cuts to funding and staff needed to maintain trusted datasets of reference Earth system observations could limit their availability and quality, undermining hazard predictions and risk assessments.