Thomas Sumner
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All Stories by Thomas Sumner
- Oceans
Ocean current simulations could narrow Flight 370 search
Aircraft debris found on Réunion Island in the western Indian Ocean could originate from the northern half of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370’s search area, ocean simulations show.
- Climate
Iceless Arctic summers now expected by 2050s
The Arctic Ocean will have its first ice-free summer in the 2050s, nine years earlier than previously forecast, according to improved simulations.
- Climate
Desert dig uncovers caches of missing CO2
Irrigation water may wash significant amounts of carbon into groundwater systems beneath Earth’s deserts, researchers propose.
- Paleontology
Sudden heat spikes did in Ice Age’s mammoth mammals
Abrupt warming and excessive hunting by ancient humans were responsible for the disappearance of many large mammals, including woolly mammoths, during Earth’s last glacial period.
- Climate
Carbon dating may soon lead to mismatches
Carbon released from burning fossil fuels will jeopardize the effectiveness of many carbon dating applications, new research predicts.
- Climate
Current El Niño coming on strong
Meteorologists expect the ongoing El Niño to strengthen in the coming months and alter weather patterns worldwide, including bringing potential drought relief to California.
- Climate
Wildfire seasons have gotten almost 20 percent longer
The average length of wildfire seasons has increased 18.7 percent since 1979, new research shows.
- Earth
Natural concrete keeps lid on Italian volcano
Naturally occurring, concretelike rock allows the ground around Italy’s Campi Flegrei caldera to bulge without bursting.
- Climate
Greenland’s out-of-sync climate explained
Small variations in the sun’s activity cause big changes in Greenland’s temperatures decades later by altering ocean currents, new research suggests.
- Astronomy
Super-Earths are not a good place for plate tectonics
The intense pressures inside super-Earths make plate tectonics less likely, new research suggests.
- Earth
Fast-spreading crack threatens giant Antarctic ice shelf
A fast-spreading crack threatens Larsen C, one of Antarctica’s biggest ice shelves, satellite data suggest.
- Agriculture
Many of Earth’s groundwater basins run deficits
Twenty-one of Earth’s 37 largest groundwater basins are rapidly depleting, satellite data show.