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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)   [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Even if the sun’s energy suddenly stopped, Earth would still give off heat for a while. This is because while much of the sun’s energy is reflected back into space, much of the energy that does reach the Earth is “stored” by the atmosphere, the oceans and the land. These bodies gradually release accumulated solar [...]

December is East Coast Winter Storm (ECWS) season. These storms are powered by warm water that flows from the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream current flows along the Eastern Seaboard past Florida and the Carolinas before reaching Cape Hatteras, where the warm water heads out into the Atlantic. ECWS’s travel northward along the coast causing [...]

Winter storm season is here. Storms will be blowing in from the Pacific, bringing rainfall to lower elevations and snow to the mountains. This year, the eastern tropical Pacific is in an El Niño phase, meaning that its waters are warmer than average. When the eastern Pacific is in an El Niño phase, the northwestern [...]

Winter storm season is here. Storms will be blowing in from the Pacific, bringing rainfall to lower elevations and snow to the mountains. This year, the eastern tropical Pacific is in an El Niño phase, meaning that its waters are warmer than average. When the eastern Pacific is in an El Niño phase, the southern [...]

Winter storm season is here. Storms will be blowing in from the Pacific, bringing rainfall to lower elevations and snow to the mountains. This year, the eastern tropical Pacific is in an El Niño phase, meaning that its waters are warmer than normal. When the eastern Pacific is in an El Niño phase, the southwest [...]

Since at least 1960, more of Earth’s land glaciers have been shrinking than growing. As these glaciers shrink, they absorb heat from the atmosphere. To release the amount of energy that the glaciers have absorbed over the last 50 years, how many one-megaton hydrogen bombs would you need to detonate? a)    200 b)    1000 c)   [...]