Reduced greenhouse gas emissions for a year or two won’t slow down climate change, but they may throw off scientists’ ability to model short-term phenomena.
News
New Evidence of a Giant Lava Lamp Beneath the Ancient Pacific
Seismic surveys find evidence of a superplume in Earth’s mantle that fueled ancient megaeruptions in the Pacific.
Space Weather Lessons from a 1928 Dirigible Debacle
Analysis of a disrupted SOS signal during an early polar expedition showcases the importance of taking space weather into account when exploring new frontiers.
Chicxulub Impact Crater Hosted a Long-Lived Hydrothermal System
Chemical and mineralogical evidence of fluid flow—potentially conducive to microscopic life—was revealed in rock cores extracted from the crater’s “peak ring.”
The Rise of Zombie Fires
Wildfires can smolder underground through Arctic winters, reigniting at the surface when conditions are right.
Desert Microbes Mine for Water
Scientists studying a cyanobacterium isolated from rock samples in the Atacama Desert found out how the bacteria extract water to live. Their results may help identify likely sites for life on Mars.
This Week: Masked Men and Other Mysteries
What Earth and space science stories are we recommending this week?
Machine Learning Can Help Decode Alien Skies—Up to a Point
Astronomers are testing the tools that might help them keep up with the upcoming storm of exoplanet atmosphere data.
The Ticking Time Bomb of Arctic Permafrost
Arctic infrastructure is under threat from thawing permafrost.
Radioactive Bookkeeping of Carbon Emissions
A new sampling method uses carbon-14 to single out which carbon dioxide molecules in the atmosphere derive from fossil fuels. The method could help track emissions goals for climate mitigation.