All things geology, climate, oceans, and more
In news that’s become all too common, a massive wildfire swept into a California city overnight. Hundred-foot walls of flames and traffic jams created a nightmare scenario in and around Redding, California, a city of 90,000. Neighborhoods and even entire surrounding towns have been evacuated, including a news station that stayed on the air until…
Greece is the latest corner of our planet to be stricken by wildfires. Powerful winds whipped up flames on Monday, killing at least 60 people as of Tuesday. A number of factors came together to spark the devastation, many tied to how humans are changing the climate and how we choose to live. Ignoring that…
A record-setting heat wave is the latest weather catastrophe to beset Japan. On Sunday, a weather station outside Tokyo reached the hottest temperature ever recorded in the island nation, and emergency responders have been swamped with requests for help in the searing heat. This summer has been one of catastrophe for Japan. The heat arrived…
A spate of incredibly hot, dry weather has descended on Scandinavia, contributing to the worst wildfire outbreak in recent memory. In other words, it’s just another week in the Anthropocene. Northern Scandinavia has been roasting for days, with temperatures climbing over 20 degrees Fahrenheit above normal well north of the Arctic circle, thanks to an intense…
There’s nothing like a trip to Yosemite National Park to escape the daily horrors of civilization and bask in the stark beauty of nature. Except this is 2018, so of course Yosemite is now shrouded in smoke from a raging, deadly wildfire. The Ferguson fire, which began Friday evening, has swelled to 12,525 acres, threatening…
It’s been a minute since we checked in on Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, but the pyrotechnic wonder that’s given us blue fire, rivers of lava, and volcanic tornados hasn’t slowed down. Recently, the eruption birthed something far more earthly but equally spectacular: A new island. Photos released by the US Geological Survey’s Hawaii Volcano Observatory (USGS…
Weeks of extreme heat and drought have baked Welsh fields to a crisp. But amidst the desiccated remains of crops, bizarre circles of green have emerged. While I would like to tell you it’s aliens, it’s definitely not aliens. It’s the remains of ancient settlements emerging from centuries of slumber. These are crop marks, the…
As Hurricane Harvey approached the Texas coast last August, it was clear the storm would be one for the ages. The forecast, unfortunately, did not disappoint with the storm stalling and then spinning a lazy circle around the Houston metro area for days. The result was catastrophic flooding in the city and surrounding area that…
I think it’s time to retire Maria as a name for any storm. The name has been wiped from the hurricane list in the Atlantic after Hurricane Maria completely upended life in the Caribbean. But it’s still on the rolls in the Pacific, where Typhoon Maria is about to make life miserable. The storm has…
Heat waves have unfortunately been very on trend this year. Following sweltering temperatures in the northeastern U.S. and a ridiculously hot, smoky Siberia, we have what may be the hottest temperature ever recorded in Africa. Weather reports from Ouargla, a city of 190,000 in Algeria, indicate the mercury cracked 51.3 degrees Celsius (123.4 degrees Fahrenheit)…
I want to talk about clouds. Intellectually, I know they’re just masses of foggy moisture suspended in the ocean of air above us. But I’m here to say they’re more than that. I’ve lived under clouds for 21 years, and yet I only really started to look up a few years back, when I stumbled…
The first hurricane of Atlantic hurricane season is here. You just have to squint to see it. Hurricane Beryl formed early Friday as an impossibly small storm. Hurricane-force winds extend less than 10 miles from its core, and tropical storm force winds die after 35 miles. The indignities don’t stop there. The storm is packing…
I’m as hopelessly plugged in as the next person, but every so often I dream of giving up Twitter and Amazon Prime for good, and getting lost in a tropical rainforest. My love affair with the tropics began at age 19, when I jetted off to Ecuador for a summer paid for with my saved-up…
Heat over Siberia and parts of the Arctic Ocean is wreaking havoc on forests and could have impacts on sea ice. It’s possible that temperatures could crack the 90s in Siberia to end the week, which is bad news because the region is already a smoldering, smoky mess. It’s the second time in two months…
Whales have an unfinished story. The plot so far has been enthralling; they’ve evolved from four-legged dog-like terrestrial animals to up to 200-ton marine behemoths. But when you begin to ponder how these giants came to be and where they’re going, you’re left with more questions than answers. How did whales become so enormous in…
Summer’s here. Earthbound as we are, the season’s warm temperatures and lazy nights give us ample opportunity to go outside, stretch out under the summer night sky with a few friends, and glance up towards the cosmos. This summer, I recommend you start getting a little more acquainted with that night sky, if only to…
There’s no better reminder of our globalized world than an air travel map. Nearly everyone on Earth is connected in some way by the tin cans with wings hurtling at 600 mph overhead, whether it’s the sight and sound a plane overhead, the Amazon package on your doorstep, or a vacation to Rome. Now, all…
Growing up, I confess I wasn’t exactly a Disney princess fan. My quirky, nature-loving childhood self could relate to the mud-wallowing jungle creatures in The Lion King, but unattainably beautiful women in spectacular dresses with castles and suitors? Not so much. Disney princesses who are also Earth and environmental scientists, though, I can totally dig.…
An enormous wildfire is roaring across the hills of Northern California, consuming land at a rate of 1,000 acres an hour, or more than 12 football fields a minute. The blaze is much larger and more out of control than the other fires that plagued the region last week, and a heat wave will only…
It is a tale of two hurricane seasons in the Atlantic and the eastern Pacific. The former got off to a raging start with a late May storm that basically made it to the Great Lakes, while the latter was DOA. Now their roles have reversed, though, with the Atlantic taking a nap while the…
