Well-established satellite-derived Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extents are combined to create the global picture of sea ice extents and their changes over the 35-yr period 1979–2013. Results yield a global annual sea ice cycle more in line with the high-amplitude Antarctic annual cycle than the lower-amplitude Arctic annual cycle but trends more in line with the high-magnitude negative Arctic trends than the lower-magnitude positive Antarctic trends. Globally, monthly sea ice extent reaches a minimum in February and a maximum generally in October or November.

Transparent, consistent, and accurate national forest monitoring is required for successful implementation of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) programs. Collecting baseline information on forest extent and rates of forest loss is a first step for national forest monitoring in support of REDD+. Peru, with the second largest extent of Amazon basin rainforest, has made significant progress in advancing its forest monitoring capabilities.

Air quality is an important subject of relevance in the context of present times because air is the prime resource for sustenance of life especially human health position. Then with the aid of vast sums of data about ambient air quality is generated to know the character of air environment by utilizing technological advancements to know how well or bad the air is. This report supplies a reliable method in assessing the Air Quality Index (AQI) by using fuzzy logic. The fuzzy logic model is designed to predict Air Quality Index (AQI) that report monthly air qualities.

Trend in North Atlantic tropical cyclone frequency is subject to uncertainties related mainly to observational deficiencies. These uncertainties make assessments of anthropogenic effects on present and future trends problematic. Here we document that, contrary to received opinion, ship numbers actually peaked in the mid-nineteenth century and reached a minimum in the early twentieth century. The greater opportunities for ship encounters with tropical cyclones is demonstrated in re-analysis of Eastern Atlantic tropical cyclones from 1851–1898.

Groundwater (GW) vulnerability is foundation stone for evaluating the risk of GW contamination and developing management options to preserve the quality of GW. The concept of GW vulnerability is based on the assumption that the physical environment may provide some degree of protection for GW against human activities as well as natural contamination. The main objective of this study is to find out the GW vulnerable zones in Burhner watershed using DRASTIC model in a geographical information system environment.

Groundwater depletion the world over poses a far greater threat to global water security than is currently acknowledged.

Increasing our understanding of regional greenhouse gas transport, sources, and sinks requires accurate, precise, continuous measurements of small gas enhancements over long ranges. We demonstrate a coherent dual frequency-comb spectroscopy technique capable of achieving these goals. Spectra are acquired spanning 5990 to 6260  cm−1 (1600–1670 nm) covering ∼700 absorption features from CO2, CH4, H2O, HDO, and CO213, across a 2 km path. The spectra have sub-1-kHz frequency accuracy, no instrument lineshape, and a 0.0033  cm−1 point spacing.

In this study the researchers developed improved global exposure estimates of ambient PM2.5 mass and trend using PM2.5 concentrations inferred from multiple satellites.

We find that many of the Earth's climate variables, including surface temperature, outgoing longwave radiation, cooling rates, and frozen surface extent, are sensitive to far-IR surface emissivity, a largely unconstrained, temporally and spatially heterogeneous scaling factor for the blackbody radiation from the surface at wavelengths between 15 μm and 100 μm. We also describe a previously unidentified mechanism that amplifies high-latitude and high-altitude warming in finding significantly lower values of far-IR emissivity for ocean and desert surfaces than for sea ice and snow.

Recent disasters including the deadly one of Kedarnath have brought into focus the role of space technology, in particular earth observation (remote sensing) into sharp focus. Natural disasters are deadly events caused by natural phenomena and bring damage to human societies. (Editorial)

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