Atmospheric Sciences

Under the Mediterranean sun: The thousand year tale of changing skies

Nazzareno Diodato and Gianni Bellocchi August 17, 2026

Schematic illustration of the Earth’s climate system, including the interplay between the water cycle and the clouds.Source: Freepik (https://www.freepik.com).

When you picture the western Mediterranean, you likely imagine sun-drenched beaches, terracotta roofs, and bright blue skies. But has it always been this sunny? A groundbreaking study published in the journal Research provides a definitive answer: it has not. By pulling back the curtain – or rather, the cloud cover – on a thousand years of climate history, scientists have developed the ...[Read More]

A geoscience reality check on World Biofuels Day

Asmae Ourkiya August 10, 2026

Photo by Peter Leth. Source: Unsplash

On a humid morning in Augsburg, Germany, on August 10, 1893, a ten-foot iron cylinder roared to life for the first time. The engine belonged to Sir Rudolf Diesel, and running through its veins was not the petroleum distillate we associate with his name today, but in fact, peanut oil! Diesel’s early experiment proved something revolutionary for the late Industrial Revolution: the engines driving hu ...[Read More]

Reflecting on fifty years of Mars through Viking 1’s lens

Asmae Ourkiya July 30, 2026

Collecting Samples on Mars by Maria Grulich. Source: Imaggeo

On July 20, 1976, a machine of steel and titanium dropped through a thin atmosphere and touched the dirt of Chryse Planitia. Scientists at NASA held their breath, since five years earlier, the Soviet Union’s Mars 3 probe had died less than two minutes after touchdown. To mitigate this nightmare, engineers programmed Viking 1 to scan its own footpad first. If the lander sank into oblivion, hu ...[Read More]

Interdisciplinary futures in geoscience: Cross-divisional insights from the Division Presidents – Atmospheric Sciences (AS)

Asmae Ourkiya June 15, 2026

This interview is part of an ongoing series exploring the evolving role of interdisciplinarity across the geosciences. As environmental challenges grow more complex, addressing them requires not only disciplinary expertise but also meaningful collaboration and innovation across fields, methodologies, and communities. In each conversation, I ask Division Presidents to reflect on how cross-divisiona ...[Read More]