The Colorado River, a vital resource for the U.S. Southwest, serving 40 million people with drinking water and irrigating 2.6 million acres of crops across seven states and Mexico, is facing challenges due to declining water flows caused by climate change. A century-old water rights agreement is becoming increasingly unsustainable, forcing federal, state, and local … Read more
The impact of rising temperatures on Earth’s water resources is a pressing concern, with both winners and losers anticipated as shifts in the availability and distribution of water unfold. To better understand and predict these changes, scientists turn to the lessons of history. While geologic data has effectively illustrated the profound influence of human activities … Read more
Around 66 million years ago, Earth experienced a cataclysmic event - a colossal asteroid, larger than Mount Everest, collided with our planet, triggering a mass extinction that wiped out 75% of Earth’s life forms, including the dinosaurs. Although this much is known, the precise mechanics of how the Chicxulub asteroid impact led to such widespread … Read more
Scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography has brought to light a concerning factor in Antarctic ice sheet modeling. This study suggests that the flow of meltwater from beneath Antarctic glaciers into the sea is causing these glaciers to lose ice at an accelerated rate. Importantly, this effect is not currently taken into … Read more
A groundbreaking study, employing a unique method to analyze satellite images spanning the past three decades in North American boreal forests, reveals a surprising twist in how fires impact the region. Traditionally, fires in these boreal forests have led to the replacement of coniferous trees with faster-growing deciduous trees. Deciduous trees are known for their … Read more
A recent multinational study, published in Scientific Data and led by researchers at KAUST, sheds light on significant shifts in global climate classifications over the past century and the anticipated intensification of these changes in the coming decades. The study introduces an updated version of the 1-km Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps, which were first released … Read more
Around 4.5 billion years ago, Earth’s early days were vastly different from the world we know now. It was immersed in a seething global ocean of molten magma, stretching hundreds to thousands of kilometers below its surface due to intense impacts. During this tumultuous period, significant developments took place, including the formation of Earth’s metal-rich … Read more
Sable Island, a slender crescent-shaped landmass approximately 200 kilometers off the coast of Nova Scotia, is renowned for its mythical wild horses, seals, and numerous shipwrecks in its surrounding waters. Despite its vulnerability to severe weather events like nor’easters and hurricanes, it has also been a haven for rare seabirds, plants, and insects. However, recent … Read more
A group of atmospheric specialists recently published their findings in the journal Science, shedding light on the impact of the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha’apai volcano’s eruption last year. This volcanic event was among the most powerful ever recorded, and it stood out by ejecting a significant amount of ocean water into the atmosphere, in addition to typical … Read more
A recent study published in Scientific Reports highlights concerning trends in Atlantic hurricanes. According to the research, hurricanes in this region are now more than twice as likely to rapidly intensify from a weak Category 1 to a major Category 3 or stronger hurricane within a 24-hour period, compared to the period between 1970 and … Read more