Apollo News Snippets – March 2021

Technology updates here, hot off the presses, enjoy!
Improved polymer for converting CO2 to useful hydrocarbons.
Seawater batteries are one step closer to commercialization.
Low-cost nickel catalyst developed for hydrogen gas production.
Major stride towards lower-cost, rapid-charge EV batteries.

The January 2021 temperature departure map shows that even with the polar vortex present in North America, it was still a warm month in this region. Record temperatures for the month centered along the Equator with cooler temperatures found in northern Europe and Asia.

The January 2021 NOAA Global Climate Report of course shows that the warming trend of the 21^st Century continues but there were a few interesting anomalies. While January was the 7^th warmest on record and some 1.44°F (0.80°C) above the 20^th Century average, North America and Europe were marked by strong polar vortices that lasted from two to three weeks. Given these impacts, it’s unlikely 2021 will set a record for the year–but even with the polar vortices considered, 5.93% of the planet set temperature records in the month. Another interesting trend that has come to light this month, in findings by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), is that the global COVID lockdowns actually increased average temperatures in 2020 due to the reduction in aerosol emissions which work against greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.

Did you know that March 7^th is National Cereal Day? Okay we didn’t either but in honor of the holiday, our Google search for the month was, “Cereal and GIS.” And of course, we found many research papers on the topic including this one by Pragati Singh et al. from the RSAC in India. In this paper, the authors employ many of our favorite data layers including a digital elevation model (DEM) derived from satellite imagery, land use-land cover maps and even microwave data to determine the suitability for cereal crops in Uttar Pradesh, India.