Eyes in the Sky
January/February 2019^ DISCOVER^33
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ASSOCIATED PRESS; GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER; ESMEE VAN WIJK/AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC DIVISION
New satellites launched this year will provide data
about Earth’s water and ice.ICESat-2
In September, NASA
launched the Ice, Cloud and
Land Elevation Satellite-2.
Using laser pulses, ICESat-2
will measure changes in
Earth’s ice over the next
three to seven years.Antarctica in 2070
Antarctica’s air could become windier and about
5 degrees Fahrenheit hotter over the next 50 years,
according to a June Nature study. Its glaciers and ice
sheets would thin — some collapsing entirely — and
the ocean would become less salty and oxygenated,
with a lower pH. And the sea level could rise nearly
a foot, flooding coastal cities.GRACE Launch
On May 22, NASA’s latest
GRACE spacecraft — a
“follow on” to the original
Gravity Recovery and
Climate Experiment —
launched to monitor Earth’s
water, from underground
stores to oceans and ice.Cape Town Drought
Residents of South Africa’s second-
largest city worried their taps
would run dry this year during
a severe ongoing drought. Rain
eventually offered relief, and
desalination and wastewater
treatment could provide future
water sources. But a growing
population, lack of infrastructure
and climate change mean a
waterless “Day Zero” still looms.East Antarctica
Unstable
Until recently, scientists thought
eastern Antarctica was relatively
stable. But satellite data published
in July show that two of East
Antarctica’s glaciers have lost
significant mass over the past 15
years, adding to the concern of
sudden, rapid melting. These two
glaciers — only a portion of the
eastern ice sheet — hold enough
ice to cause 16 feet in sea level rise.ICESat-2