Current Events

  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.
This image shows some of the cratered terrain of Venus.
Click on image for full size
NASA/JPL

Venus Cratered Terrain

This is an example of cratered ground on Venus.

Venusian craters are a little unusual in that there is a large amount of melted ground around the crater. This may mean that when something hits the surface of Venus, because Venus is already very hot, the impact can melt the surface near the crater.

The other unusual feature of craters on Venus is that the entire surface of Venus seems to have the same amount of craters as that on the Earth's surface (about 900 craters). Since we know that the Earth has an active and young surface, which wipes out craters before too much time goes by, this piece of evidence about Venus suggests that the surface of Venus is active too.


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Over the course of time there are many things which can cause the surface of a planet to change its appearance. winds, as shown in the example from the Martian surface Monument Valley on Earth is an example...more

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Aphrodite Terra

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Beta Regio

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Ishtar Terra

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