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Growing seasons are defined as the annual period between the last frost, which occurs in the late winter or early spring, and the first frost, which usually occurs in the fall. In the last half of the twentieth century, the length of America’s growing season grew each decade by and average of 2 days. There [...]

Tropical cyclones are one of Earth’s mechanisms for distributing heat from the sweltering tropical regions to the frigid poles. Once the winds inside these cyclones reach 75 miles per hour, they are classified as hurricanes. There are five categories of hurricanes, with category five hurricanes being the most severe. Warm ocean water is necessary to [...]

Since 1910, overall precipitation in the lower 48 states has increased by ten percent, and the region with the largest increase in rainfall is the Mississippi River Basin. Because of fertilizer use on farms, lawns, and gardens in the Basin, wet years mean that more nitrogen (an ingredient in fertilizer) is carried with rainwater into [...]

Getting a break from exposure to hot temperatures is important for preventing heat related illnesses. While people usually associate extreme daytime temperatures with heat stroke, if it does not cool sufficiently during the night, the body will not get a break from the heat. In North America over the last 50 years, average nighttime low [...]

A warmer atmosphere results in an amplification of the water cycle. Some areas of the world are net importers of rainfall (such as tropical rainforests), while some are net exporters (such as oceans around the tropics). The “amplification” of the cycle means that dry regions become drier, and wet regions become wetter. During the 20th [...]

A warmer atmosphere results in an amplification of the water cycle. Some areas of the world are net importers of rainfall (such as tropical rainforests), while some are net exporters (such as oceans around the tropics). The “amplification” of the cycle means that dry regions become drier, and wet regions become wetter. During the 20th [...]

In the late nineteenth and twentieth Centuries, much of the farmland in the Eastern United States was abandoned as the population became more urbanized. These abandoned farms reverted back to forest and many bird populations, including the Black-throated Blue Warbler, rebounded along with the woods. Now is the time of year when this bird makes [...]

Coral reefs provide food for billions of people. All of the benefits of coral reefs are being threatened by two trends: increasing ocean temperatures and increasing ocean acidity. Between 1955 and 199, world ocean heat content rose by 0.037 degrees Celsius. While this number may seem small, the same amount of energy it would take [...]

The more water is in the atmosphere, the less easily sweat evaporates from your body, and the harder it is to keep your body at a comfortable temperature. The dewpoint temperature is one of the best indicators of how uncomfortable hot weather is, and when the dewpoint temperature exceeds 65 degrees Fahrenheit, most people consider [...]

Is it possible for droughts to become more common even if annual rainfall amounts increase. Overall annual precipitation in the lower 48 states has been increasing since the early 20th century, and since the 1970s it has been increasing in the Eastern United States by about one-inch per decade. Over the last forty years, this [...]

The moist tropical air mass, which develops over the tropical North Atlantic, is currently sitting over the Southeastern United States and is responsible for the extreme heat and humidity. Over the last fifty years, the amount of time during the summer when the air mass is present over the Region has been growing by an [...]

Water has high thermal conductivity, meaning that it is able to take in lots of energy before it gets hotter or lose energy and maintain a stable temperature. This is important in oceans because it enables the temperatures to be relatively stable for long periods of time. This quality of water is also important because [...]

Here is an interesting water phenomenon: when it freezes, it becomes less dense. That’s why ice floats on water! As water freezes, it contracts and gets denser to a certain temperature – four degrees Celsius. However, between four degrees and zero degrees Celsius, it expands until it is a solid, becoming less dense than water. [...]

One of the most important properties of water is that it is the most universal solvent. It is able to dissolve more substances than any other liquid. Unfortunately, this property means that water can carry many pollutans into ocean waters – oil, pesticides, fertilizers, pet wastes, and others. These pollutants can harm ocean ecosystems, close [...]

A crest is the highest part or peak of an ocean wave, whereas a trough is the lowest point. Wind strength and duration directly influence how big waves become. A fast wind that blows for a long period of time will cause wave height to increase and form whitecaps, and the wave eventually breaks. Waves [...]

The largest fish in the world is the whale shark, a huge fish that can reach over 50 feet in lengh and can weigh several tons. Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Source: Woods Hole Science Aquarium: Frequently Asked Questions. http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/faq/fishfaq1.html#q4.)

The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) is a 65-year cycle during which sea-surface temperatures in the North Atlantic alternate between warm (positive) and cool (negative) phases. The effects of this Oscillation are felt around the World. For example, the Mississippi River Basin has ten percent more water flowing through it when he AMO is at its [...]

Did you know that the largest geological feature on the planet is actually under the water? It is a 40,000 mile continuous string of submerged volcanic submarine mountains and valleys circling around the globe called the mid-oceanic ridge system. If these volcanoes rise high enough, they can form new islands such as Iceland. The Mid-Atlantic [...]

Deep in the sea, large chimney-like structures spew out dark, ultra-heated water that looks like smoke. One such “black-smoker” off the coast of Oregon towers more than 13 stories and goes by the nickname ‘Godzilla’! Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Source: World Wildlife Fund. Windows on the Wild: Oceans of Life, An Educators Guide to [...]

Under the ocean’s surface exist mountains higher than Mount Everest and canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon. The largest living structure is also underwater — Australia’s Great Barrier Reef! Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Source: World Wildlife Fund. Windows on the Wild: Oceans of Life, An Educators Guide to Exploring Marine Biodiversity. www.worldwildlife.org.)