The Mesoamerican reef is a biodiverse ecosystem that stretches more than 600 miles along four Central American coasts and is the longest barrier reef in the western hemisphere. The national economies of Belize and Honduras heavily depend on the commercial...

Since 1977, every year has been in the top ten warmest years on record when first ranked, reflecting the upward progression of annual global temperatures. However, some years within this time frame, such as 2012, are significantly cooler than surrounding years like 2010 or 2013...

Alaska is warming twice as fast as the rest of the nation due to changes in the climate, causing shorter winters, thawing permafrost, and rapidly receding glaciers. All of these weather changes are lengthening wildfire seasons and increasing the number of wildfires experienced by the...

Since 2015, bark beetle infestations have increased in the southeastern United States, increasing the potential for devastating wildfires. Bark beetles infestations begin in small spots, usually by attacking a weakened or stressed focal tree. Beetles then use aggregation pheromones to increase the breeding population in...

Alpine lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) serve as an important habitat and water source for wildlife and contribute to the overall aesthetic value of the park. However, since the 1960s, alpine lakes within RMNP have experienced intensified algal productivity as a...

From late January through the beginning of May 2017, an extraordinary amount of precipitation fell in the Lake Ontario watershed. By late April, large swaths of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), including numerous lakefront properties, beaches, and public recreation facilities...

Central America is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to natural disasters, including landslides and precipitation-driven flooding. In an effort to support disaster management and emergency response planning, this project developed a methodology that employed NASA Earth observations to...

threat of invasive species has impacted fragile forests across the globe; such impacts can be particularly damaging on island ecosystems where a loss in vegetation can lead to increased runoff. In 2017, a fungal pathogen outbreak of Puccinia psidii impacted...

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and National Park Service (NPS) are concerned by the increasing Kaibab Plateau bison population on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA). Currently, within the park's boundaries, the bison have no predators and hunting is prohibited, resulting...