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Humpback whales in the southern hemisphere have been exhibiting odd behavior over the past few years: typically a solitary species that only temporarily gathers in pods of up to a dozen individuals, groups of up to 200 whales have been gathering in spots off of the west coast of South Africa. In addition to this oddity, these whales typically aren’t found that far north in the summer, preferring feeding grounds closer to Antarctica.

Researchers are at a loss when it comes to explaining this new behavior, although one idea suggests that this is actually a normal activity, interrupted when the humpback’s numbers dropped due to over-hunting in previous centuries.
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The National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration has released its annual Arctic Report Card, assessing the state of the climate above 60º north, and region’s grades are not good: higher temperatures, lower snow and ice cover, and alarming biological activity marred the report’s findings.
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There are serious concerns over the fate of NASA’s Earth science programs, in light of planned policies being released by president-elect Donald Trump. The Trump campaign’s space policy advisor, Robert Smith Walker, has stated that they plan to “redirect NASA budgets towards deep space achievements rather than Earth-centric climate change spending.”
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have revised their forecast for the El Niño event that is currently underway, saying that the likelihood of it persisting through the winter is not only high, but that this event may rival the record-breaking El Niño seen in 1997. They place a 90% chance of the event lasting into winter, and an 85% chance of it lasting through into next spring.
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