Global warming

Tropical Storm Debby was moving so slowly, Olympians could have outrun it as it moved across the Southeast in early August 2024. That gave its rainfall time to deluge cities and farms over large parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. More than a foot of rain had fallen in some areas by early Aug. 7, 2024, with more days of rain forecast there and into the Northeast. Mathew Barlow, a climate scientist at UMass Lowell, explains how storms like Debby pick up so much moisture, what can cause them to slow or stall, and what climate change has to do with it. What causes hurricanes to stall? Hurricanes are steered by the weather systems they interact with, including other storms moving across the U.S. and the Bermuda High over the Atlantic Ocean. A hurricane may be moving slowly because there are no weather systems close enough to pull the hurricane along, or there might be a high-pressure system to the north of the hurricane that blocks its forward movement. In this case,...

As we focused our microscope on the soil sample for the first time, bits of organic material came into view: a tiny poppy seed, the compound eye of an insect, broken willow twigs and spikemoss spores. Dark-colored spheres produced by soil fungi dominated our view. These were unmistakably the remains of an arctic tundra ecosystem – and proof that Greenland’s entire ice sheet disappeared more recently than people realize. These tiny hints of past life came from a most unlikely place – a handful of soil that had been buried under 2 miles of ice below the summit of the Greenland ice sheet. Projections of future melting of the ice sheet are unambiguous: When the ice is gone at the summit, at least 90% of Greenland’s ice will have melted. Results of an ice sheet model show how much of Greenland’s ice sheet survives when the ice is gone from the Camp Century (white dot), GISP2 (red dot) and DYE-3 (black dot) ice...

In late spring, estuaries along the U.S. Gulf Coast come alive with newborn fish and other sea life. While some species have struggled to adjust to the region’s rising water temperatures in recent years, one is thriving: juvenile bull sharks. We study this iconic shark species, named for its stout body and matching disposition, along the Gulf of Mexico. Over the past two decades, we have documented a fivefold increase in baby bull sharks in Mobile Bay, Alabama, and a similar rise in several Texas estuaries, as our new study shows. Despite the bull shark’s fearsome reputation, baby bull sharks are not cause for concern for humans in these waters. While adult bull sharks are responsible for an occasional unprovoked attack, baby bull sharks haven’t fully developed the skills needed to hunt larger prey. And you’re still far more likely to be killed by bees, wasps or snakes than sharks. The fascinating life of a young bull shark Most sharks are fully marin...

Europe is in the midst of a heat wave, and while Olympic athletes in Paris for the 2024 Summer Games might be spared the worst of it, the weather will still be hot. As global temperatures have risen, major sporting events like the Olympics and FIFA World Cup have had to adapt to high heat and extreme storms to keep athletes and fans safe and allow the games to go on. Olympic organizers have moved events such as marathons to early mornings and even to cooler cities. FIFA, the governing body for world soccer, pushed the 2022 Men’s World Cup back from its usual time in June to late November so it could be held in Qatar. Many of the Olympic events, such as beach volleyball, will be played outside in the heat. AP Photo/Thomas Padilla The heat risks and the environmental impact of major sporting events have led some people to question whether these events should be held at all. But as someone who st...

Strange as it may seem, early germ theorists could tell us a lot about today’s attitudes toward climate change. While researching for a new book about the history of emerging infections, I found many similarities between early debates over the existence of microbes and current debates over the existence of global warming. Both controversies reveal the struggles of perceiving an unseen threat. Both reveal the influence of economic interests that benefit from the status quo. But most importantly, both reveal how people with different beliefs and interests can still agree on key policies and practices for tackling a global problem. What you can’t see might hurt you Seeing is believing, and until the mid-19th century, it was very difficult to see the tiny organisms responsible for our so-called “fever” diseases. Although the indirect evidence was compelling, many people remained skeptical of “animalcules” – as microorganisms were once cal...