Earth and Space

Global warming is expected to have a disproportionate effect on Canada's mid-latitude and north, including on the range of its tree species and agriculture. Western University has a team of researchers running scenarios with real-life trees to see how they react under heat stress. In this podcast we'll learn a little bit more the effect climate change will have on trees and agriculture. Our guest is Danielle Way, an associate professor who focuses on global change biology, plant physiology and ecology. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The fight for climate change touches us all, which is why the organization Astronomers for Planet Earth aims to bring together astronomy students, educators, and scientists around the globe to bring their astronomical and climate change perspectives to the public. An open letter they issued about climate change has garnered thousands of signatures and they held a briefing about that letter this summer at the United Kingdom's National Astronomy Meeting.To tell us more, we welcome Hannah Dalgleish to the podcast. Dr. Dalgleish is involved with Astronomers for Planet Earth. She is also a part of the Royal Astronomical Society's sustainability group. And she is a postdoctoral researcher in astronomy for development, working between the University of Oxford and the University of Namibia. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The next generation of space startups is often bringing new ideas to the business to address global warming. In the case of Aphelion Aerospace, the aim of the company is to develop launch services that are not only environmentally friendly, but also low cost and customized. They will deliver nano-satellites into space on behalf of government, commercial companies, academia and non-profits. Joining us is Aphelion CEO Miguel Ayala. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Maxar is well-known in the industry for its incredible satellites close-ups of human and natural activities on Earth. From the recent airport images of Afghanistan to the hotspots from forest fires in western North America, Maxar provides high-resolution images to the public often within hours of taking them. Such fast information is a boon for decision-makers, and we're going to learn more about that today. Since Maxar was not available for an interview, joining us is Chris Quilty, a partner at Quilty Analytics covering Maxar Technologies. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You may have heard about satellite constellations, which are groups of small satellites devoted to giving customers a service like broadband or Earth observation. A new company called Tomorrow.io plans to launch a constellation of weather satellites next year to improve weather forecasting and climate science. Joining us is Tomorrow.io's Director of Space Strategy, Aravind Ravichandran. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

One troubling issue associated with global warming is the effect it has on crops. Climate change requires scientists to connect climate science, crop models and economic models to examine food security and future crop yields.NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies is among the research groups looking into this troubling problem. We'll learn more about that work today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A new study shows that ash and smoke clouds from Australian wildfires in 2019 and 2020 had far-reaching effects. They created widespread algal blooms in the Southern Ocean, which is thousands of miles downwind to the east. Such blooms can affect local plant life and the ecosystem. The peer-reviewed study was published in Nature.To tell us more, we welcome Joan Llort, a postdoctoral fellow at Barcelona Supercomputing Center and Weiyi Tang, a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.