Climate models help us understand how the climate system works, project future climate change, and provide evidence that supports international assessments such as exposed on the IPCC. At this point, there is a fundamental question that is rarely discussed and solved: Can we access and reproduce the climate models used throughout the history of the Coupled Model Intercomparision Project (CMIP)? In ...[Read More]
Cryospheric Sciences
Will Antarctic ice shelves embark on their last journey soon?
Ice shelves, the floating margins of the Antarctic ice sheet, play an important role in the estimation of future sea-level rise. By their presence, they act as a brake on the flow from the grounded ice sheet to the ocean and therefore modulate how much of this ice is added to the ocean. As the atmosphere and ocean warm, melt is occurring at their surface and at their base, putting their existence ...[Read More]
Atmospheric Sciences
Methane in India: Why precise measurements and cutting-edge technology matter for climate action
The looming El Niño is likely to hit hard this year, bringing bracing moments to the already warming world. Extreme weather events are no longer just anomalies; they have become far too common in this new reality. It’s clear that our environment is under unprecedented stress. Experts warn of the costs of inaction: between 1995 and 2024, nearly one million lives have been lost due to climate-relate ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
The Hidden Topography of the Deep Earth
Travel across the globe and you will see landscapes change along the way. But what if the same were true inside Earth? What if the landscapes we see on the surface also exist deep within? In this week’s Geodynamics 101 post, Ankit Barik, Assistant Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University, explores the hidden topography deep inside our planet and why do they matter. The only fluid part of the ...[Read More]
Nonlinear Processes in Geosciences
ECS Spotlight: Can Weather Analogues forecast Europe’s Wind and Rainfall Extremes?
Extreme rainfall and strong winds can each cause major disruption. When they occur together—or within only a few days of each other—their combined impacts can be even more severe. Heavy rainfall may saturate soils and increase flood risk, while strong winds can damage infrastructure, disrupt transport and bring down trees or power lines. Forecasting these events is essential for early-warning syst ...[Read More]
Natural Hazards
Joining the dots: From overlooked disaster impacts to inclusive disaster risk reduction
A note from the Natural Hazards Division editorial team We would like to open this blog post with our sincere condolences in response to the devastating multi-hazard flash flood that occurred in Nepal and Tibet in late August. In the face of such suffering, messages like this risk sounding hollow. Still, we, as the Natural Hazards Division editorial team, wish to express our solidarity with all fa ...[Read More]
Hydrological Sciences
eDNA4Hydrology
What flows around comes around For centuries, hydrologists have studied the flow of water through landscapes near and far. We measured flow rates, mapped aquifers and followed invisible paths of raindrops through soil and bedrock. Hydrology is a meticulous, beautiful science that has taught us much over the years. From the water cycle, surface water in rivers, wetlands and snowpack and groundwater ...[Read More]
Geodynamics
The Geodynamics Awakens: Star Wars Planets and Earth’s Geological History
Star Wars is one of the most influential science-fiction worlds created in our time. The central theme revolves around the struggle between the tyrannical Galactic Empire and the rebels trying to bring it down. Star Wars has many reasons to pull you in: iconic lightsaber duels, technological advancements such as hyperspace travel, and perhaps most importantly for a geologist: a remarkable number o ...[Read More]
Geomorphology
From Storm to Landscape: High Resolution for Climate Risk
Welcome to ”Climate Change through a Geomorphological Lens”, a blog series exploring the changing climate from a geomorphological perspective. This first post was inspired by a single figure in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report [1]. It compares precipitation change per degree Celsius of warming across different climate models and observations for three t ...[Read More]
Ocean Sciences
Book Review: Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez
Our previous book recommendations were the nonfiction books Blue Machine – How the Ocean Shapes our World by Helen Czerski and Below the Edge of Darkness by Edith Widder as well as the thriller The Swarm by Frank Schätzing. This time, we are stepping away from the ocean. Our next book recommendation is “Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed by Men” by Caroline Criado ...[Read More]