Climate

Animals

Alpine bee tongues shorten as climate warms

Pollinators’ match with certain alpine flowers erodes as climate change pushes fast evolution.

Climate

Hurricane reports ignore indirect deaths

Nearly half of all hurricane and tropical storm fatalities are indirect, yet they typically aren’t included in official storm reports.

Animals

Warmer waters give Arctic mosquitoes a growth spurt

Arctic mosquitoes develop faster in warmer waters, outpacing increased predation.

Climate

Earth just had its first storm-free hurricane peak in 38 years

This year marks the first time since 1977 that September 12, the typical height of the Atlantic hurricane season, passed without a single major cyclone anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere.

Climate

Burning remaining fossil fuels would eradicate Antarctic ice

Finishing off Earth’s available carbon resources would nearly eliminate the Antarctic ice sheet and raise sea levels by more than 50 meters, new research calculates.

Climate

Virtual twister reveals possible source of tornado longevity

First computer simulation of a long-lived EF5 tornado may reveal why some twisters stick around.

Climate

Hurricane’s tiny earthquakes could help forecasters

Hurricane Sandy set off small earthquakes under its eye as it moved up the U.S. East Coast in 2012. The tiny tremors could help researchers track the behavior of future storms, researchers propose.

Climate

Katrina’s legacy: Refining hurricane forecasting

Ten years following Hurricane Katrina’s formation, the storm’s devastating legacy in New Orleans and beyond continues to drive storm forecast improvements.

Climate

Carbon cuts could save U.S. farmers billions of dollars

Reducing carbon emissions could save U.S. agriculture industry billions of dollars annually by curtailing droughts.

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.

Neuroscience

Global warming unpaused, how space affects the brain and more reader feedback

A reader shares a story about Stephen Jay Gould, while others discuss how to protect the brain from radiation in space and whether 2014 was the hottest year on record.