Medicanes, short for “Mediterranean” + “hurricanes”, are cyclones over the Mediterranean Sea having a tropical-like structure but a rather small size. They are relatively rare in Europe. They can be very destructive and deadly, even when they don’t reach their … Continue reading Medicanes Numa
What about one of the first Sentinel-3 cloud free mosaic covering Europe with all its land parts and seas? The following image has been generated mosaicing around 300 Level 2 products of OLCI and SLSTR instruments, representing a synergic contribution … Continue reading Europe Sentinel-3 Mosaic
Green and mountainous Madeira is in view and we have time just to finish our crew’s tour. Joseph Banks and the scientific Team The Royal Society obtained the permission to send, at his own expense, Joseph Banks, a renowned botanist … Continue reading In Endeavour’s wake: Madeira, 12 September 1768.
Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and catastrophic cyclone, the strongest observed in the Atlantic Ocean since Wilma in 2005 in terms of maximum sustained winds. Irma developed on August 30, 2017 near the Cape Verde Islands, from a tropical wave that … Continue reading Irma’s Journey
In the last hours Mount Vesuvius is under siege by several fires that are surrounding the mountain’s slopes, spreading for around 2 kilometers and forcing the evacuation of locals from their home (there are indeed several small towns built near … Continue reading Burning Vesuvius
Larsen C ice shelf is situated in the Antarctica continent, in the northwest part of the Weddell Sea, south of Argentina. In the last year Larsen C has been frequently monitored on ground and from satellites because one of the … Continue reading The birth of Behemoth
Last Saturday Portugal has faced one of the biggest wildfire in its history. Hundreds of firefighters and more than 150 vehicles have been dispatched in order to counteract the flames spreading, fires that even after 24 hours were still churning … Continue reading Firebreaks over Portugal
Clouds are visible bodies of very fine water droplets or ice particles suspended in the atmosphere. The origin of term “cloud” can be found in the old english clod or clud, meaning a hill or a mass of rock. Around the beginning of the 13th century the … Continue reading Swimming in the Clouds
With a surface of 13,210 km2 is the largest lake of Venezuela and South America. It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea by Tablazo Strait and fed by several rivers, the largest called Catatumbo. Continue reading “Lake Maracaibo: an announced environmental disaster.”
Severe Tropical Cyclone Donna is the strongest off-season South Pacific tropical cyclone on record during the month of May and it has been upgraded to a category five storm, the most destructive wind-speed level. Cyclone Donna increase the category from … Continue reading Arcipelago Vanuatu : Cyclone Donna