Reference Terms
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Climate
The climate is the weather averaged over a long period of time. Weather is the combination of events in the atmosphere and climate is the overall accumulated weather in a certain location. Over historic time spans there are a number of static variables that determine climate, including: latitude, altitude, proportion of land to water, and proximity to oceans and mountains. Other climate determinants are more dynamic: The thermohaline circulation of the ocean distributes heat energy between the equatorial and polar regions; other ocean currents do the same between land and water on a more regional scale. Degree of vegetation coverage affects solar heat absorption, water retention, and rainfall on a regional level. Alterations in the quantity of atmospheric greenhouse gases determines the amount of solar energy retained by the planet, leading to global warming or global cooling. The variables which determine climate are numerous and the interactions complex, but there is general agreement that the broad outlines are understood, at least in so far as the determinants of historical climate change are concerned.
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Earth & Climate News
September 20, 2026
Sep. 20, 2026 Nearly three decades of Hurricane Hunter data reveal four features that can help a tilted tropical cyclone straighten its circulation and become capable of intensifying. The findings could give ...
Sep. 19, 2026 A deep-sea microbe uses an exceptionally heat-resistant enzyme to turn atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia at temperatures that would destroy most proteins. Its unusual structure and a newly observed reaction state may reveal an ancient, shared ...
Sep. 18, 2026 Scientists are looking to diatoms, sea sponges, and plants for a cleaner way to recover rare earth elements and other valuable minerals hidden inside coal ash, red mud, and mine tailings. The bio-inspired approach could turn massive industrial waste ...
Sep. 17, 2026 Anak Krakatau erupted for more than 24 hours in early September, sending volcanic ash up to 50,000 feet into the atmosphere. The ash cloud shut down eight airports, disrupted nearly 3,000 flights, and affected air quality as far away as Jakarta. ...
Sep. 17, 2026 Arctic sea ice may move in unexpected ways because individual ice floes are constantly colliding and transferring energy. Researchers found that this simple process can explain several long-standing mysteries about how quickly the ice moves and ...
Sep. 16, 2026 Scientists have developed a solar-powered desalination system that turns seawater into fresh water while removing nearly all of the leftover salt as a solid instead of producing harmful brine. The self-cleaning technology could also recover valuable ...
Sep. 16, 2026 U.S. irrigation produces some greenhouse gas emissions, but new research suggests it prevents vastly more by allowing farmers to grow more food on less land. Without irrigation, replacing lost crop yields could require converting natural ecosystems ...
Sep. 15, 2026 The Hunga Tonga eruption may have triggered a surprising chemical reaction that destroyed some of the methane released into the atmosphere. Scientists say the discovery could reshape estimates of methane pollution and inspire new methods for slowing ...
Sep. 14, 2026 More than 60 years after surveys suggested a deep coral reef off Benin was probably dead, scientists have found it alive. Cameras revealed healthy-looking coral patches supporting multiple fish species more than 50 meters beneath the surface. The ...
Sep. 14, 2026 A World War I submarine wreck off Denmark is leaking TNT into the surrounding water, seabed, and marine life more than a century after it sank. Scientists warn that thousands of similar wrecks could pose growing environmental risks as they continue ...
Sep. 13, 2026 Mount Etna’s ancient eruptions followed radically different paths, with some magma lingering near the surface for weeks while other magma raced upward from nearly 30 kilometers deep in just hours. Scientists traced the difference to volcanic gases ...
Sep. 13, 2026 Scientists have found that Arctic cyclones become especially destructive when several strike one after another. These storm clusters cause about twice as much sea ice loss as isolated cyclones, with impacts that persist roughly two and a half times ...
Latest Headlines
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Sep. 16, 2026 A new study suggests Earth formed almost entirely from material in the inner Solar System, challenging the idea that water-rich material from beyond ...
Sep. 13, 2026 The Indian and Pacific oceans have been climatically linked for centuries, but scientists say that connection is now breaking down in an exceptional way. Ancient climate records suggest volcanoes ...
Sep. 12, 2026 Ancient rocks from Western Australia suggest water was reaching deep inside Earth more than three billion years ago, long before modern plate tectonics may have fully developed. Researchers propose ...
Sep. 11, 2026 Britain’s wasps have become mysteriously scarce this summer, and scientists suspect an unusual combination of temperature swings, heatwaves, and food shortages may be responsible. Even the wasps ...
Sep. 10, 2026 Scientists have used DNA from living descendants to identify four more members of the doomed Franklin expedition, including Harry Peglar, whose identity had remained uncertain for 166 years. The ...
Sep. 10, 2026 The Mediterranean may seem far removed from the world’s major tsunami zones, but history and modern modeling show that destructive waves can strike the French Riviera with surprisingly little ...
Sep. 9, 2026 Volcanic rocks in Colombia are rewriting the timeline of the collision between Central and South America. Their magnetic signatures show that major ...
Sep. 6, 2026 East Antarctica gained an astonishing 695 billion tons of ice between 2021 and 2023, temporarily slowing Antarctica’s long-term decline. ...
Sep. 6, 2026 Indonesia’s dangerous peat fires are surging early in the 2026 fire season as a strengthening El Niño and severe drought dry out wetlands that can burn underground for months. These slow ...
Sep. 4, 2026 Puerto Rico’s normally rainy season has instead brought a severe and fast-growing drought. By August 25, three-quarters of the territory was in at least moderate drought, with extreme drought ...