NASA News: Climate Time Machine Feature Shows Just How Earth Has Changed

NASA has a feature to show you just how much, and where, the climate is changing on Earth. It can be hard to visualize the consequences of climate change if they aren’t happening where you live, so the NASA Climate Time Machine will help you get a more complete picture of the Earth.

The Climate Time Machine has four mapped features of climate change: sea ice, sea level, carbon dioxide and global temperature. Each feature either allows users to choose from select locations or to watch the selected variable change over a span of time. Each option has a short description below it to give users a little more information about the changes the globe is facing.

Read: CO2 And Climate Change: Human Activity Causes Global Warming

The change in temperature and CO2 levels are shown in a time lapse that goes from light (lower levels/temperatures) to dark colors (higher levels/temperatures) drastically over the years. The difference is a striking visualization of the way the Earth has changed.

Users can also watch the sea ice in the Arctic melt away between 1979 and 2015. Sea ice is vital to the Earth’s climate because the more there is, the more reflective the Earth’s surface is, and the less energy it absorbs, keeping the planet cooler not to mention the various ecosystems that depend on the ice for life.

For sea level rise, users can choose to look at four coastal regions that are vulnerable to the rising seas. With one meter of sea level rise, New Orleans, would be flooded, and with three meters so would Miami. That’s just the consequences in the Southeastern United States. The map also covers Northern Europe, the Amazon Delta and Southeast Asia.

The easy-to-use feature is a good tool for anyone looking for a better understanding of the concrete threats climate changes poses.