Oil spill expert Nancy Kinner discusses lessons learned from Deepwater Horizon, dangers of aging infrastructure and atomized dispersants, and a Russian plan that imperils Arctic waters.
Hazards & Disasters
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Impact of Hurricanes and Nor’easters on Coastal Forests
Scientists trace severe storms’ effects through tree ring growth patterns.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Are We Prepared for the Next Mega Eruption?
The frequency of eruptions with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 7 is only one or two per thousand years but we cannot afford to be complacent.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Visualizing One of the Most Hazardous Formations in Nature
A network of buoys provides a first glimpse of the seafloor beneath a volatile Italian caldera.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Evidence for Gravity Tectonics After the Great Sumatra Quake
A new method that applies structural geology principles to aftershock analyses suggests that gravity-driven motion may occur during part of the seismic cycle.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Causes Flash Floods in the Middle East?
Researchers zero in on the large-scale meteorological processes driving extreme precipitation events in the hot, arid desert region.
Posted inNews
Pacific’s Garbage Hot Spot Holds More Plastic Debris Than Was Thought
A nonprofit that helped to collect data for the research plans to use the study’s findings to help guide it in an upcoming campaign to remove buoyant plastic trash from ocean gyres.
Posted inScience Updates
Radon Tells Unexpected Tales of Mount Etna’s Unrest
Readings from a sensor for the radioactive gas near summit craters of the Italian volcano reveal signatures of such processes as seismic rock fracturing and sloshing of groundwater and other fluids.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
New Model Simulates Faults and Folds Shaping Each Other
A new model simulates how faulting and folding deep in Earth’s crust shape the way rocks fold and cause earthquakes.
Posted inFeatures
How Sudden Stratospheric Warming Affects the Whole Atmosphere
High above Earth’s surface, air temperatures occasionally increase suddenly, producing widespread effects on weather, air chemistry, and telecommunications.