The U.S. should take bold steps to improve measurement, monitoring, and inventories of methane emissions caused by human activities, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.  Better data on methane—a greenhouse gas that contributes to air pollution and threatens public and worker safety—would help inform decisions related to climate, economics, and human health.

A University of Oklahoma research study, led by Professor Xiangming Xiao, reveals the divergent trends of open surface water bodies in the contiguous United States from 1984 to 2016, specifically, a decreasing trend in the water-poor states and an increasing trend in the water-rich states.  Surface water resources are critical for public water supply, industry, agriculture, biodiversity and ecosystem services.

NASA used satellite data to calculate the heavy rainfall created by Tropical Cyclone Nora as it came ashore in northwestern Queensland on March 24, 2018. 

Nora reached peak intensity of 95 knots (109 mph) was reached when it was moving through the central northern Gulf of Carpentaria. Winds had decreased slightly to 90 knots (104 mph) by landfall. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) reported that Nora produced over 110 mm (4.3 inches) of rain in 24 hours.

Half of Alberta’s upland boreal forest is likely to disappear over the next century due to climate change, a new study shows.

Low energy Iris which originated on March 24, 2018 is likely to hover around a low end Category 1 cyclone.  Iris will track south through the Coral Sea. The Vanuatu Meteorological Service says Tropical Cyclone Iris has moved away from Vanuatu.  The category one cyclone was moving west southwesterly at 53 kph and is now in the Coral Sea.  The potential for Tropical Cyclone Iris to further intensify and move back towards the Vanuatu group was low, according to the Vanuatu Met Service. 

Tropical Depression Jelawat, a newly-formed tropical cyclone over Western Micronesia is expected to strengthen into a Tropical Storm and enter the southeastern border of the Philippines by this afternoon (March 26).  However, this storm is too far away to actually affect any part of the country.

Nitrogen, an essential plant nutrient, is most readily absorbed by plants in its ammonium and nitrate forms. Because of the very low nitrate levels found in arctic tundra soil, scientists had assumed that plants in this biome do not use nitrate. But a new study co-authored by four Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) Ecosystems Center scientists challenges this notion. The study has important implications for predicting which arctic plant species will dominate as the climate warms, as well as how much carbon tundra ecosystems can store.

Tropical Cyclone Marcus continues to parallel Western Australia and remain far from the coast, while weakening. NASA’s Aqua satellite analyzed the storm in infrared light and saw a comma-shaped Marcus. 

Human activities are causing an “alarming” decline in biodiversity that is endangering food security, clean water, energy supplies, economies, and livelihoods for billions of people worldwide, according to a new United Nations-backed study by 550 scientists, conservationists, and policy experts from over 100 countries.

NASA satellite imagery showed that Tropical Cyclone Nora developed an eye as it strengthened into a hurricane north of Australia. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided forecasters with a visible image of the storm, formerly named Tropical Cyclone 16P.