Around this time of year, the Black Sea blooms with a massive growth of phytoplankton. This particular species of phytoplankton known as coccolithophores, are plated with white calcium carbonate, making the bloom very easy to see from space. NASA's Aqua satellite gathered these data.

A study published in the April 2017 issue of Geophysical Research Letters has shown that ponds are, on average, growing in size, and that growth is caused by the prevailing winds. This was shown by the study of over 10,000 satellite images taken between 1982 to 2016. A study like this will help conservation and environmental workers develop plans for maintaining vulnerable ponds.

In June 2017, the American south west experienced some of the hottest temperatures felt in a long time. It was hot enough to ground air planes, and even caused some deaths. NASA's Aqua satellite measured the temperature on the surface of the Earth during the heat wave, and here is some of the results.

Researchers from the Canadian Forest Service have created a time-series map of where and how forests have been disrupted between the years of 1985 and 2011. This is specifically tracking logging/harvesting and forest fires. A staggering 10 percent of our country's total forests saw some kind of damage over the almost 30 years. This type of research is helpful in tracking the Earth's carbon cycle, which is critical to understanding our changing climate.

A large study performed by scientists from England, Hungary, and Germany has concluded that, while individual results may vary, the en masse use of of pesticides containing neonicotinoids leads to weaker Bee colonies. The study took place at over 33 locations across the three participating countries and was published in the journal Science. This type of work will help guide us in planning for the future of pollinators all over the world.

Based on counts of sun spots on the surface of the Sun, it looks like our star is heading towards a solar minimum. This happens every 11 years or so, and is related to how the internal and external magnetic fields in the Sun interact with each other. Keeping track of this activity is important, because it can help us predict geomagnetic storms on Earth.

Senator Bernie Fowler from Maryland, USA has been measuring the clarity of the water in the Patuxent River every June for the last 30 years. His chosen method of measurement? White sneakers. He wades into the river until he cannot see his white sneakers anymore and then records how deep the water is at that point. Some years he can wade in much further than others. What began as a simple test of the health of Maryland's waters has turned into a 30 year long citizen science and public outreach

The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) aboard NASA's GOES-16 satellite captured multiple images of fog rolling into the Juan de Fuca strait. The high-resolution nature of GEOS-16 allows researchers to see small-scale weather features such as "bow shock waves" within the fog travelling down the strait.

Data from NASA's Airborne Snow Observatory shows that the snowpack in the Tuolumne Basin of the Sierra Nevada mountains is 1.5 cubic kilometers, which is more than the previous 4 years combined. Californians are surely enjoying the extra precipitation, as they have been in a drought for the last 5 years. The Airborne Snow Observatory uses a combination of LIDAR and Imaging Spectrometer fixed to a small plane to measure the snowpack in the mountains of California.