Aura Stories
2023 Ozone Hole Ranks 16th Largest, NASA and NOAA Researchers Find
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify the ranking of the 2023 ozone hole. It is the 12th largest single-day hole on record, and the 16th largest when averaged from Sept. 7 to Oct. 13. The 2023 Antarctic…
Ozone Hole Continues Shrinking in 2022, NASA and NOAA Scientists Say
The annual Antarctic ozone hole reached an average area of 8.9 million square miles (23.2 million square kilometers) between Sept. 7 and Oct. 13, 2022. This depleted area of the ozone layer over the South Pole was slightly smaller than last…
2021 Antarctic Ozone Hole 13th-Largest, Will Persist into November
The 2021 Antarctic ozone hole reached its maximum area on Oct. 7 and ranks 13th-largest since 1979, scientists from NASA and NOAA reported today. This year’s ozone hole developed similarly to last year’s: A colder than usual Southern Hemisphere winter led…
Protecting the Ozone Layer Also Protects Earth’s Ability to Sequester Carbon
Protecting the ozone layer also protects Earth’s vegetation and has prevented the planet from an additional 0.85 degrees Celsius of warming, according to new research from Lancaster University, NASA, and others. This new study in Nature demonstrates that by protecting…
NASA Study Finds Reduced African Grassland Fires Contribute to Short-lived Air Quality Improvements
NASA researchers have found a small but unexpected decrease in air pollution over some parts of Africa despite growing use of fossil fuels in many countries due to development and economic growth. However, they note the findings were evident only…
Seeing the COVID-19 Pandemic from Space
Economic and social shutdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to noticeable changes in Earth’s environment, at least for the short term. NASA researchers are using satellite and ground-based observations to track these impacts on our air, land,…
Large, Deep Antarctic Ozone Hole Persisting into November
Persistent cold temperatures and strong circumpolar winds, also known as the polar vortex, supported the formation of a large and deep Antarctic ozone hole that should persist into November, NOAA and NASA scientists reported today. The annual Antarctic ozone hole…
NASA Fosters Innovative Ways to Understand Biodiversity
The Yellow-billed Cuckoo has soft brown wings, a white belly, a long tail with black and white spots, and is running out of places to live. The cuckoo’s population in its native breeding range in the eastern United States has…
NASA Funds Four Research Projects on COVID-19 Impacts
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the routines of millions of people around the world seemingly overnight. In some places, once-congested streets are now easily navigable; previously crammed sidewalks, eerily vacant. Such widespread, rapid change in human activity is unprecedented and its…
NASA Data Aids Ozone Hole’s Journey to Recovery
On Sept. 16, 1987, policymakers and scientists from around the world gathered at the International Civil Aviation Organization’s headquarters in Montreal, preparing to take action on the day’s most urgent topic: Depletion of the Earth’s protective ozone layer. Two years…