Distinctive plasma ripples are thought to play a big role in electron loss from Earth’s radiation belts, but a new study suggests a more limited influence.
extreme events
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How the 2024 Solar Superstorm Drained Earth’s Radiation Belt
Researchers dig into storm processes linked to dramatic electron loss from the outer Van Allen belt.
Posted inResearch & Developments
We’re Getting Better at Knowing When Climate Change Is to Blame, National Academies Report Says
Scientists have gotten much better at parsing how severe events are linked to climate change, a long-awaited report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has found.
The report was developed by 14 experts (including climatologists, meteorologists, and atmospheric scientists) and updates a 2016 report on the same subject. That report found that climate change was partly responsible for worsening heat waves, cold events, droughts, and heavy precipitation events, but that improvements to attribution science—a branch of climate science that aims to determine the extent to which individual extreme weather events are caused by climate change—were needed.
Posted inNews
Safety Device Supplies Life-Saving Air in an Avalanche
An Alpine medical team buried 24 volunteers in a mountain pass. Their study confirmed the efficacy of the Safeback SBX, which uses snow’s natural porosity to supply air to buried avalanche victims.
Posted inOpinions
Environmental Hazard Impact Metrics That Matter
Humans acutely experience climate change when they encounter extreme environmental conditions, but scientific definitions of “extreme” often don’t reflect communities’ complex lived experiences.
Posted inNews
Europe Faces Increased Heat Mortality in Coming Decades
Extreme temperature caused by unchecked climate change could claim 2.3 million lives in Europe by 2100, a new study warns.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Dry Heat, Wet Heat, and Wetland Methane Emissions
Compound weather events—such as extreme cold or heat combined with severe dryness or precipitation—have a greater effect on wetland methane emissions than discrete weather extremes do.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Blasts from the Past: New Insights from Old Space Storms
Reassessment and comparison of past space weather events highlight the potential for Earth to experience destructive geomagnetic disturbances.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Audible Storm Waves Could Turbocharge Earth’s Radiation Belts
Electromagnetic chorus waves could generate more extreme radiation levels than previously thought, posing severe hazards for Earth-orbiting spacecraft.
Posted inNews
Extreme Wildfires Make Their Own Weather
Extreme fires in the western United States and Southeast Asia influenced the local weather in ways that make fires and smoke pollution worse.