NASA tracks changes to the planet with satellites and other scientific...

NASA Climate Change 2 years ago

NASA tracks changes to the planet with satellites and other scientific instruments. These include monitoring sea surface heights, sea surface temperatures, precipitation, and more. With these measurements, we can see the global impact of climate phenomena including El Niño and La Niña. What’s up with El Niño and climate change? Swipe through ➡️ #NASA #ENSO #ClimateChange #Earthdata Image Description (1/2): Slide 1: In the background, a data map of sea surface temperature anomalies superimposed on a globe. Text on slide reads: What’s up with El Niño & climate change? Red arrows guide the reader to the next slide. Slide 2: Black slide with a global temperature map. Text on slide reads: NASA reported that 2023 was the hottest year on record. That was fueled primarily by a long-term rise in human emissions of greenhouse gases. But warmer ocean temperatures from El Niño also added to the global temperature. We know because NASA satellites help us keep an eye on our changing planet. Red arrows guide the reader to the next slide. Slide 3: Black background. A map of ocean temperature has a white border around it. Text on slide reads: The Breakdown: El Niño. Normally the winds blow from east to west across the tropical Pacific Ocean, which pushes warm water to the west. During El Niño, these winds weaken and the warm water moves back to the east. This results in warmer tropical waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Red arrows guide the reader to the next slide. Slide 4: Black background. A map of ocean temperature has a white border around it. Text on slide reads: The Breakdown: La Niña. Sometimes the winds that normally blow from east to west in the tropical Pacific strengthen, pushing warm water to the west. Colder, deeper water then rises to the surface along South America’s Pacific coast. This results in cooler ocean waters known as La Niña. A red arrow guides the reader to the next slide. [Image Description continued in the first comment]

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 13 minutes ago



Regulatory momentum across the built environment is tightening as governments and industry bodies align around robust frameworks for decarbonising construction. The EU’s reform of carbon market controls aims to maintain strong carbon price signals to advance whole life carbon reduction, while ISO’s new standard on net‑zero transition plans gives investors and contractors a consistent structure for measuring life cycle cost and performance. The Science Based Targets initiative is establishing clearer boundaries between verifiable net zero carbon buildings and unsubstantiated claims, driving greater transparency in embodied carbon reporting and lifecycle assessment within construction supply chains.

Engineering progress is translating policy ambition into practice. Plans for a large‑scale direct air capture plant on Teesside highlight a new model of carbon neutral construction industry in the UK, pairing heavy engineering expertise with circular economy principles. Expansion of natural fibre insulation and low embodied carbon materials into mainstream housing retrofits demonstrates eco‑design for buildings moving beyond pilot projects. Sustainable construction now depends on accurate whole life carbon assessment and the specification of renewable building materials validated through environmental product declarations (EPDs).

Climate resilience is reshaping valuation and insurance models as climate‑driven subsidence data sharpen awareness of the environmental impact of construction. Developers are applying sustainable building design and low carbon design strategies to manage soil instability and resource efficiency in construction projects. The focus on whole life carbon and embodied carbon in materials signals a maturing market where green construction and sustainable building practices are metrics of competitiveness, not aspiration. Standards such as BREEAM v7 reinforce this shift toward lifecycle performance, end‑of‑life reuse in construction and circular construction strategies that define the next phase of environmental sustainability in construction.

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