Does Mars Have ACID Fog?!

Soshanna Cole, an assistant professor at Ithaca College, appears to have discovered evidence of acidic fog altering the surface of Mars. The discovery was made via an analysis of data collected by NASA's Spirit rover over the course of its exploration of the Red Planet.

Spirit landed on Mars in January 2004, and, prior to becoming embedded in soft soil, made numerous breakthroughs that revolutionized our understanding of Mars. Eventually, the rover stopped transmitting, with the last communication with the robotic pioneer taking place on March 22, 2010.

As is so often the case with NASA's flagship missions, Spirit is living up to its name, and continuing to provide insights into the Martian environment long after falling into its perennial slumber.

Cole analyzed data collected by Spirit from a dozen locations in the Cumberland Ridge and the Husband Hill summit focusing on "watchtower class" rocky outcrops. It was discovered that the formations exhibited notable abnormalities that hinted at a strangely Earth-like process occurring on the Red Planet.

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Climate Change is Having a Negative Impact on the Agriculture of the California Cental Valley

Winter fog is decreasing in the fruit growing region of the Central Valley of California

Authors:

Baldocchi et al

Abstract:

The Central Valley of California is home to a variety of fruit and nut trees. These trees account for 95% of the U.S. production, but they need a sufficient amount of winter chill to achieve rest and quiescence for the next season's buds and flowers. In prior work, we reported that the accumulation of winter chill is declining in the Central Valley. We hypothesize that a reduction in winter fog is cooccurring and is contributing to the reduction in winter chill. We examined a 33 year record of satellite remote sensing to develop a fog climatology for the Central Valley. We find that the number of winter fog events, integrated spatially, decreased 46%, on average, over 32 winters, with much year to year variability. Less fog means warmer air and an increase in the energy balance on buds, which amplifies their warming, reducing their chill accumulation more.