Nikk Ogasa

Nikk Ogasa

Staff Writer

Nikk Ogasa is a staff writer who focuses on the physical sciences for Science News, based in Tucson, Arizona. He has a master's degree in geology from McGill University, where he studied how ancient earthquakes helped form large gold deposits. He earned another master's degree in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. His stories have been published in Science, Scientific American, Mongabay and the Mercury News, and he was the summer 2021 science writing intern at Science News.

All Stories by Nikk Ogasa

  1. Physics

    A weird ice that may form on alien planets has finally been observed

    High-pressure experiments generated the first direct observation of plastic ice, which has qualities of both crystalline ice and liquid water.

  2. Earth

    Spooky floating lights in South Carolina could be earthquake farts

    Gases that rise from the earth during earthquakes could explain strange sightings of floating balls of light.

  3. Climate

    Yes, you can blame climate change for the LA wildfires

    Weather data show how humankind’s burning of fossil fuels made the hot, dry, windy weather more likely, setting the stage for the Los Angeles wildfires.

  4. Earth

    Another danger looms after the LA fires: Devastating debris flows

    As wildfires burn the landscape, they prime slopes for debris flows: powerful torrents of rock, mud and water that sweep downhill with deadly momentum.

  5. Climate

    Unearthed ice may be the Arctic’s oldest buried glacier remnant

    Thanks to climate change, thawing permafrost in the Canadian Arctic has revealed the buried remnant of a glacier that’s 770,000 years old.

  6. Environment

    A podcast challenges us to reassess our relationship with wildfires

    United by Fire lays out key insights from the two largest blazes in Colorado history, the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome fires of 2020.

  7. Climate

    California wildfire season should be over. So why is L.A. burning?

    In some parts of California, fire season is now year-round due to rising heat and little rain. High winds and dry conditions are fueling L.A.’s infernos.

  8. Planetary Science

    NASA’s Perseverance rover found a new potential setting for Martian life

    Now atop Jezero Crater, the robotic explorer found quartz indicative of habitable environments and possibly the oldest rocks yet seen in the solar system.

  9. Earth

    Earth’s inner core may be changing shape

    Earthquake data suggest that all or small patches of the inner core's surface may be swelling and contracting.

  10. Climate

    Climate change made 2024 the hottest year on record. The heat was deadly

    Heat waves fueled by climate change killed scores of people and upended daily life. Here are some of those stories.

  11. Climate

    From electric cars to wildfires, how Trump may affect climate actions

    Trump’s first term, campaign pledges and nominees point to how efforts to address climate change and environmental issues may fare.

  12. Climate

    Climate change has amped up hurricane wind speeds by 29 kph on average

    Every single Atlantic hurricane in 2024 had wind speeds supercharged by warming seas. One even jumped two categories of intensity.