Research Spotlights Archives - Page 2 of 202

A satellite view of a portion of Earth shows the planet’s curved horizon at the top of the image. Green and brown landmasses are cut by two large, blue, winding rivers that empty into the ocean in the foreground. Clouds are visible on the edges of the image.

New River Chemistry Insights May Boost Coastal Ocean Modeling

by Sarah Stanley 9 January 20269 January 2026

By more realistically accounting for river inputs, researchers reduced overestimation of the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by coastal waters.

A flooded urban area is seen from above. Houses and trees are underwater or nearly underwater, and a green landscape emerges from the murky waters in the distance.

Research Spotlights

Temperatures Are Rising, but What About Humidity?

by Saima May Sidik 8 January 20268 January 2026

Humid heat extremes are less frequently studied, but no less important, than those of dry heat.

A colorized image of the North Atlantic Ocean shows swirls of (from top to bottom) blue, green, yellow, and orange.

Research Spotlights

What Could Happen to the Ocean’s Carbon If AMOC Collapses

by Rebecca Owen 6 January 20266 January 2026

Mass glacier melting may have led this influential ocean current system to collapse at the end of the last ice age. A pair of modeling studies examines how such a collapse could affect dissolved inorganic carbon and carbon isotopes in Earth’s oceans.

Microscopic marine algae known as coccolithophores covered in calcium carbonate shells.

Research Spotlights

How a Move to the Shallows 300,000 Years Ago Drove a Phytoplankton Bloom

by Nathaniel Scharping 5 January 20265 January 2026

And what that could mean for today’s ocean.

Clouds hang low over the skyline of the city of Tokyo.

Research Spotlights

Marine Heat Waves Can Exacerbate Heat and Humidity over Land

by Sarah Derouin 2 January 20262 January 2026

Researchers found the unprecedented 2023 East Asian marine heat wave increased land temperatures and humidity by up to 50%.

Two side-by-side images show a lake bed dried out (left) and with water and lush green trees (right).

Research Spotlights

An Ecosystem Never Forgets

by Rebecca Owen 19 December 202519 December 2025

A new study in southwestern China shows how ecosystems may exhibit “hydrological memory,” which affects how they react to extreme climate events such as heat and drought.

A satellite image of the west coast of Africa shows a white swirl of clouds beginning to form.

Research Spotlights

Warming May Make Tropical Cyclone “Seeds” Riskier for Africa

by Sean Cummings 19 December 202519 December 2025

Intensified hurricane precursors may linger longer over the continent, worsening extreme flooding hazards.

A river flowing through a lush green area is seen from a plane. The wing of the plane, as well as clouds, is visible at the top of the frame.

Research Spotlights

Climate Modeling for Communities, with Communities

by Saima May Sidik 17 December 202517 December 2025

End users, such as Indigenous community members developing climate adaptation efforts, make better use of climate models when researchers collaborate with them from the start.