All things geology, climate, oceans, and more
The aurora borealis is one of the most spectacular light shows Earth’s skies have to offer—but it’s much more than that. The energy that drives the northern lights could also power upwelling in our planet’s upper atmosphere. Weather permitting, two NASA-funded sounding rockets are launching from Norway this month to probe that mysterious connection. That…
Coastal communities in Massachusetts are still cleaning up from last week’s potent nor’easter. They may want to put those efforts on hold, though. Another storm is set to impact the region by midweek. The coastal flooding won’t be nearly as bad, but colder air means snow is expected to pile up across the Mid-Atlantic and…
Rain, snow, wind, flooding, waves, vomit. This nor’easter has it all, and the worst is yet to come. Winds have already topped out above hurricane force along Cape Cod. The most powerful gusts topped out at 78 mph in Wellfleet out near the tip of the Cape. According to local meteorologist Eric Fisher, these winds…
Flying in the nor’easter: maybe don’t do it. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, everyone barfed on a flight out of Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. earlier today. Even the pilots were on the brink of puking. This is even more nightmarish than snakes on a plane. The storm that’s bringing near-record…
A first-of-its-kind mission to study a patch of the Antarctic seafloor that was exposed when the continent calved a trillion ton iceberg last year has been thwarted….by ice. Such is the price of doing research in Antarctica. In February, an international team of scientists led by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) embarked on a planned…
It can be tough to reconcile being a LEGO geek and a fan of the environment (raises hand). But LEGO is trying to make that a little easier. The company announced on Thursday that it has started production on a line of plastic pieces made from sugarcane. Fittingly, the first pieces in the line will…
Around 200 people in the U.S. die every year from run-ins with animals, according to a new study, which found that over one million emergency room visits and approximately $2 billion in healthcare spending are attributable annually to problematic animal encounters. While bear or shark attacks might spring to mind, the majority of the deaths…
The East Coast is bracing for another nor’easter this week, with the National Weather Service in Boston warning that the city and nearby coastlines could see three to four feet of storm surge flooding. This, in the same winter that the bomb cyclone turned many of Boston’s streets into frozen soup. https://jalopnik.com/the-cars-are-frozen-1821804568 Is it the…
A new study has documented for the first time how certain microorganisms are able to survive the extreme aridity of Chile’s Atacama Desert—the world’s driest—by going dormant for decades. To survive years without even a drop of rain, the microbes bide their time in a suspended state. When the rain finally arrives, they reactivate and…
Italy’s Mediterranean climate has turned Siberian. Usually winter weather has a snowball’s chance in hell of reaching Rome. But on Monday, flakes flew in the Holy See and other parts of Italy normally spared from winter weather. The culprit is the “beast from the east,” a mass of cold Siberian air that has turned much…
Outside of the Northern Rockies and Washington State, the U.S. is desperately seeking snow. Hot, dry weather has been the norm for much of this winter in the West, setting the region up for a summer of water woes. The snow drought is most severe in California and the Southwest. California’s Sierra Nevada are averaging…
Our benign version of Skynet is about to be one step closer to completion. A new weather satellite is set to launch next Thursday courtesy of NASA and a Atlas V rocket. It will provide some of the most detailed imagery of the western U.S. as well as Alaska, Hawaii, and the Pacific region ever…
In the same week that the East Coast is dropping all-time heat records and parts of the West are experiencing freak cold snaps, the middle of the country is dealing with floods. Dangerous ones. From Louisiana to Michigan, rivers are spilling over their banks after days of heavy rainfall. Flood warnings and advisories, as well…
Lab grown meat? Kinda weird. Lab grown jellies? Kinda amazing. For the first time ever, scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium have cultivated Leucothea pulchra, an incredibly delicate jelly whose Latin name translates to “beautiful sea goddess.” Even in the wild world of jellies, these goddesses, which are found up and down the California coast,…
I live in Washington, D.C., where it’s currently summer in February. All three regional airports have broken temperature records today, with DCA’s 80 degrees Fahrenheit being the earliest 80-degree day for the calendar year in recorded history. You can’t beat the heat by heading north, either. Record highs occurred across the New York City area…
Scientists have released the first footage of a baby “dumbo”—and it’s no elephant. This is an elusive deep sea creature whose name hails from the Disney character we all know and love for its ear-like fins that help its tiny body travel along the ocean floor. As it turns out, these little fins appear even…
The 2017 hurricane system left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean. But less obvious than what last year’s most powerful storms did to natural landscapes is the effect they had on natural soundscapes. Results presented Friday at the Ocean Sciences meeting in Portland, Oregon, reveal how animals living on Puerto Rico’s southwest coast, including…
Sure, you might have to deal with a little snow this weekend in the Northeast. But the reward on the other side is near-record warmth next week. We’re talking a chance at cracking the 70s in New England, a head start on spring in parts of the Southeast, and some locations that could have a…
The ice shelves surrounding Antarctica may feel as remote and alien as any place on Earth, but understanding their behavior is crucial for predicting future sea level rise. That’s why scientists are drilling boreholes into the deepest sections of this ice to get a peek at what’s happening below. Now, a 2,477-foot-deep borehole drilled on…
For years, the war against smog and bad air quality has been waged through regulations on tail pipes, refineries, and other obvious sources of pollution. Those regulations have targeted a host of volatile organic compounds and other gases that directly or indirectly cause air pollution, one of the biggest risks to human health. Compounds from…
