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The oceans are currently absorbing about 22 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) each day and have absorbed an estimated 525 billion tons of CO2 over the last 200 years.
Trivia Question: As the oceans absorb more carbon dioxide, they become…
a. more basic (higher pH).
b. more acidic (lower pH).
c. richer in nutrients.
d. warmer.
The correct answer is [...]

Plants and animals that live high up in the mountains have to be able to tolerate strong winds and long durations of snow cover. Most animals, such as the yellow-bellied marmot, deal with long and cold winters by hibernating. Over the last century, the Rocky Mountain region in Colorado has warmed by between 1.5 and [...]

Warm ocean surface temperatures in the North Atlantic provide the warm and moist air that fuels hurricanes, which develop out of random disturbances in the tropics that provide the spark for these storms. Warmer waters in the North Atlantic generally mean more fuel for the storms. But did you know that surface temperature conditions in [...]

The term cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) is a fancy way of describing the tiny particles that even smaller water vapor droplets cling to as raindrops form. Once enough water vapor droplets gather on the nuclei, raindrops fall. This is a critical part of Earth’s water cycle, which moves water from the oceans to the land, [...]

By most estimates, Earth’s sea level rose by 3.5 mm per year between 1993 and 2006. About one-seventh of this sea level rise can be attributed to ice melt on one island – two to three days worth of the summertime melt water from the island could supply the New York Metropolitan area’s water needs [...]

The 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo injected into the atmosphere about 20 million tons of a certain substance, which blocked the incoming sunlight causing a global cooling of one degree Fahrenheit over 18 months.
Trivia Question: What was this substance?
a. Carbon dioxide (CO2)
b. Carbon monoxide (CO)
c. Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
d. Ash
The correct answer is [...]

The area around Vermont’s Green Mountains is a “transition zone” between the boreal forests in Canada, which are dominated by conifer species that are better adapted to the extreme winter cold, and the broadleaf forests that are familiar to residents of the eastern U.S. Higher elevation areas of the Green Mountains are significantly colder and [...]

Over the past century, the Arctic was cooler than normal from 1900-1915, warmer than normal during the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s, cooler than normal during the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and has been warmer than normal from the early 1980’s to today.
Trivia Question: During warm periods in the Arctic, is the Antarctic generally…
a)    Also warmer [...]

Melting ice and intensification of Earth’s water cycle appear to be impacting how salty ocean waters are. How salty the water is affects sea levels as well as Earth’s thermohaline circulation – the ocean currents driven by differences in temperature and salinity. Both changes in sea levels and the thermohaline circulation can have consequences for [...]

In the Southwest U.S., prolonged dry episodes are defined as periods of two months or longer when daily precipitation falls below one millimeter.
Trivia Question: Have such prolonged dry episodes become more or less common over the past 60 years?
a)    More common
b)    Less common
c)    No change
The correct answer is b. Despite drought conditions in [...]

Teleconnections occur when an event in one part of the world impacts another part of the world. One frequent source of teleconnections is the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).  ENSO is the periodic shift in wind patterns and sea-surface temperatures over the tropical Pacific Ocean. ENSO’s teleconnections include control over the number of winter storms impacting [...]

Much of our weather in the United States depends on what is happening in the tropical Pacific Ocean. During an El Niño event, which is happening now, the eastern tropical Pacific is warmer than average. During La Niña events, the eastern tropical Pacific is cooler than average. While South America’s west coast may seem far [...]

In the Northern Hemisphere, deciduous trees are beginning to come out of their dormant season and unfurl their leaves. Soon, the greys and browns that characterize America’s broadleaf forests during winter will be replaced the by the greens of spring and summer. Over the last four decades, there has been a global trend in the [...]

Winter is ending and the growing or “frost free” season is almost here! The frost free season is defined as the continuous period of the year when the temperature does not drop below freezing. When this season starts and how long it lasts have important implications for the plants and animals that live around us, [...]

Winter is ending and the growing or “frost free” season is almost here! The frost free season is defined as the continuous period of the year when the temperature does not drop below freezing. When this season starts and how long it lasts have important implications for the plants and animals that live around us, [...]

Winter is ending and the growing or “frost free” season is almost here! The frost free season is defined as the continuous period of the year when the temperature does not drop below freezing. When this season starts and how long it lasts have important implications for the plants and animals that live around us, [...]

Winter is ending and the growing or “frost free” season is almost here! The frost free season is defined as the continuous period of the year when the temperature does not drop below freezing. When this season starts and how long it lasts have important implications for the plants and animals that live around us, [...]

Some of  Earth’s most diverse and colorful ecosystems are shallow-water coral reef ecosystems, which are built on the skeletons of animals called corals. One critical part of these ecosystems, known as zooxanthellae – the single- celled organisms that live in coral skeletons – use their photosynthetic ability to manufacture sugars from the sun, which they [...]

Carbon is a critical element in the Earth system. Carbon molecules are constantly moving from different states and from reservoir to reservoir. One reservoir is the terrestrial biosphere (the life systems that exist on land), which holds carbon primarily in the form of plant matter and soil. The atmosphere holds carbon in the form of [...]

At any given time, there is about 22 million tons of dust suspended in the atmosphere around us. Dust has important effects on Earth’s climate. It absorbs and scatters incoming radiation, affecting how much sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface and how much is reflected back into space. How much sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface helps [...]