Cosmic rays from the galaxy help track retreat of glaciers on Earth
By Lakshmi Chandrasekaran Cosmic rays, hurling across the galaxy near light-speed, generate a time machine on Earth for us to measure the retreat of the glaciers and the pace of climate change. Ph.D. student Peter Strand, at the University of Maine, drilled samples of quartz from boulders in Mongolia’s Altai Mountains this summer to tap […]
A climate change for ‘glaciogenic’ art
By Lakshmi Chandrasekaran Glaciers and forests show jagged retreats in Jill Pelto’s paintings while the sky above heats up. Pelto, a graduate student studying climate science at the University of Maine, uses her art to convey the impacts of climate change on world environments. She overlays climate change research data with striking colors and vivid […]
Climate change threatens national parks
By Claire Donnelly The glaciers in Glacier National Park are melting. Snowpack in Yellowstone National Park is decreasing. Blueberry bushes in Acadia National Park are flowering weeks earlier than they did more than 100 years ago. These are just some of the ways that climate change is threatening the national parks.
How to build a super storm
By Danielle Prieur Jonas, the storm that broke records for snowfall in six states and shut down New York City and Washington D.C., seems like just another “super storm.” Historic tornadoes, hurricanes and floods seem to be plummeting the United States with greater force. But there’s nothing really unusual about Jonas except the amount of […]
And the record for the warmest year goes to…
By Danielle Prieur It should come as no surprise to Chicagoans that 2015 was the hottest year on record. A snow-free, unseasonably warm holiday season surely gave Chicagoans a clue – 2015 is the hottest year on record. What may come as a surprise to some is that Chicago and the Midwest aren’t alone – […]
Missives from Mongolia: Chasing down the Ice Age
By Sarah Kramer The Altai Mounts of western Mongolia may be concealing secrets amid the splendor. The breathtaking alpine landscape could hold clues to how abrupt climate change might have impacted our ancestors— and how it may impact our descendants. This summer, a team of scientists, students and historians trekked through the hills and valleys […]