When it rains, it pours
Extreme precipitation in the tropics comes in many forms: thunderstorm complexes, flood-inducing monsoons and wide-sweeping cyclones like the recent Hurricane Isaac. Global warming is expected to...
View ArticleNew method could help communities plan for climate risk
Climate scientists cannot attribute any single weather event — whether a drought, wildfire or extreme storm — to climate change. But extreme events, such as Hurricane Sandy, are glimpses of the types...
View ArticleDemystifying the Cretaceous hothouse
Fifty-five million years ago, the Earth was ice-less. Winters were balmy. Palm trees flourished all the way to the poles. As evidenced by fossils, crocodiles and broad-leaved, water-loving plants...
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Dust in the clouds
At any given time, cirrus clouds — the thin wisps of vapor that trail across the sky — cover nearly one-third of the globe. These clouds coalesce in the upper layers of the troposphere, often more than...
View ArticleEl Niño cycle has a big effect on a major greenhouse gas
Nitrous oxide is commonly associated with laughing gas — the pleasantly benign vapor that puts patients at ease in the dentist’s chair. But outside the dentist’s office, the gas plays a serious role in...
View ArticleMaking Martian clouds on Earth
At first glance, Mars’ clouds might easily be mistaken for those on Earth: Images of the Martian sky, taken by NASA’s Opportunity rover, depict gauzy, high-altitude wisps, similar to our cirrus clouds....
View ArticleA possible cause of the end-Permian mass extinction: Lemon juice?
Rain as acidic as undiluted lemon juice may have played a part in killing off plants and organisms around the world during the most severe mass extinction in Earth’s history. About 252 million years...
View ArticleStoring carbon in the Arctic
For the past three decades, as the climate has warmed, the massive plates of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean have shrunk: In 2007, scientists observed nearly 50 percent less summer ice than had been seen...
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