planet-earth78.65 min read
Etna's magma hints at a previously unknown type of volcanism
27 days ago•Source: Live Science
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Fungi borrow bacterial ice-maker to influence rain
A Science Advances study shows Mortierellaceae fungi carry a bacterial ice-nucleating protein nearly identical to InaZ; when the fungal gene was inserted into yeast it conferred ice-forming ability, suggesting fungi acquired the trait via horizontal gene transfer. The protein is secreted and may help lichens pull water from the air, potentially enabling frost to form and later melt to replenish water, and it could mean fungi play a larger role in the weather cycle than bacteria. Scientists also note these fungal proteins could be explored for non-toxic cloud-seeding alternatives if produced safely.
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Colorado River in a new reality: bold actions needed to avert urban water shortages
Live Science•1 month ago
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Descending into Iceland’s molten heart: the world’s only magma-chamber tour
Live Science•1 month ago
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El Niño May Return: Could Mean Hotter, More Extreme Summer Weather
Forecasters with the World Meteorological Organization say El Niño could develop by May–July, potentially a strong event that would raise global temperatures and alter rainfall patterns worldwide. A rapid warming is expected through May–July, with elevated heat across southern North America, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe and Northern Africa, and broad impacts on agriculture, droughts, floods and weather extremes. The WMO notes high confidence in onset and intensification, while NOAA forecasts a possibility of a very strong El Niño later in the year.
Atlantic circulation on the brink: new study suggests AMOC weakening near tipping point
A Science Advances study estimates the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could slow about 50% by 2100—a weakening stronger than some models predicted—potentially cooling northern Europe and altering rainfall in various regions. The researchers argue that including sea surface temperature and salinity improves forecasts, but experts caution there is substantial uncertainty in the magnitude and timing of the slowdown. While a catastrophic “collapse” is unlikely in the near term, the paper underscores a real risk of crossing a tipping point, prompting calls for nations to prepare for significant climate effects.
Inside a Tornado: A Scientist’s Minute-Long Survival and Lessons Learned
In a Live Science interview, Perry Samson, a university atmospheric-science professor, recounts being dragged into a tornado near Oberlin, Kansas in 2008 during a field trip with students. He describes how the tornado formed quickly, the 200 mph winds and debris, and how, trapped in a car, he rode out the core of the storm for under a minute with the car’s aerodynamics helping him endure. The experience shaped his classroom stories, reinforced safety lessons for students (such as finding a ditch and staying low), and helped fund ongoing field research and endowments after retirement.
Massive freshwater layer found beneath Great Salt Lake could reshape Utah's water future
Scientists using airborne electromagnetic surveys found a deep layer of fresh water beneath the eastern margin of Utah's Great Salt Lake, ranging from about 100 meters to 2.5 miles deep. The water likely originates from surrounding mountains and is trapped by underlying rock, suggesting a potentially vast reservoir that could help damp toxic dust from exposed lake beds and provide irrigation water, though expansion of the survey is needed to determine full extent.
Humans Are Slowing Earth's Spin at a Record Pace, Study Finds
New research ties climate-change–driven sea-level rise to a record-fast lengthening of Earth's day: about 1.33 milliseconds per century today, with warming scenarios predicting up to 2.62 milliseconds per century by 2080. While the Moon’s gravity, glacial rebound, and winds modulate the effect, the human-caused signal is growing; past day lengths were inferred from fossil foraminifera. The current rate is among the fastest in 3.6 billion years and could affect precise timekeeping and spacecraft navigation in the future.
Experts challenge deep-sea 'dark oxygen' claim, call for retracting 2024 study
A 2024 study claimed that deep-sea polymetallic nodules could generate oxygen in total darkness via seawater electrolysis, but a December 2025 opinion article from marine scientists and electrochemists argues the results are flawed and likely artifacts, citing improper chamber ventilation, absence of negative controls, missing hydrogen data, and a thermodynamics violation; the authors defend their work and plan a spring CCZ expedition to test the phenomenon, but many experts say the study should be retracted unless the evidence is revised.
Drought paradox: Colorado River plants siphon groundwater, trimming river flows
A Princeton-backed study finds that in hot, dry summers vegetation taps groundwater rather than soil moisture, maintaining high evapotranspiration and drawing water away from the Colorado River, thereby reducing basin flows even when snowmelt is abundant. This “drought paradox” suggests climate warming could worsen water shortages and requires revising water budgets and management for the Colorado River basin, impacting states like Arizona and California.
El Niño's heat surge meets Starlink's 10,000-satellite milestone
A looming super El Niño could push global temperatures higher and reshape weather patterns worldwide, even as SpaceX's Starlink constellation surpasses 10,000 satellites in orbit, underscoring rapid space infrastructure growth and potential debris concerns.
China’s forest hides Earth's youngest major crater
A 1.15-mile-wide, incomplete crater in Heilongjiang, China—the Yilan crater—is believed to be the youngest major impact structure on Earth, dating roughly 46,000–53,000 years ago. Discovered in 2021 after forest cover concealed it, the ringed feature is the largest known crater of its age and could be younger than Barringer Crater, though age estimates remain uncertain.
Coastal Deserts: Why Seas and Sand Meet in Arid Belts
Coastal deserts form where cold ocean currents chill the air and fog limits moisture, while nearby mountains create rain shadows that block precipitation, producing arid zones right along shores (as seen in the Namib and Atacama).