Twenty years after one of the country’s deadliest storms, scientists reflect on improvements in the ability to understand and predict disasters.
Features
When Disaster Science Strikes Close to Home
How have scientists across Los Angeles used their skills to help their communities recover from the 2025 fires?
Where There’s Fire, There’s Smoke
Using both existing and newly launched monitoring instruments, researchers work to better understand air quality during and after the Los Angeles wildfires.
Burning Urban and Wild Land Alike
When more densely populated Altadena and Pacific Palisades burned along with surrounding wildlands, hazards for residents didn’t stop when the fires were contained.
Scrambling to Study Smoke on the Water
Timely action shows the impact of urban fires on freshwater and marine ecosystems.
The Career Issue: Winds of Change
Read about how 12 Earth and space scientists found paths in academia, business, government, and nonprofits.
Lucia Perez Diaz: Expressing Earth with Art
A geoscientist and illustrator finds artistic inspiration in plate tectonics and geodynamics.
Phoebe Lam: Embracing the Ocean’s Complexities
A generalist at heart, this geochemist is unraveling the mysteries of the ocean’s chemical cycling.
Stacey Hitchcock: From Fearing Storms to Seeking Them
This atmospheric scientist digs into the details of storms to help keep people safe.
Wendy Bohon: Quelling Fears and Sparking Geoscience Joy
This earthquake enthusiast and science communicator wants you to know that a “whole ecosystem” of scientific careers exists outside of academia.