Thomas Sumner

All Stories by Thomas Sumner

  1. Oceans

    Ocean current simulations could narrow Flight 370 search

    Aircraft debris found on Réunion Island in the western Indian Ocean could originate from the northern half of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370’s search area, ocean simulations show.

  2. Climate

    Iceless Arctic summers now expected by 2050s

    The Arctic Ocean will have its first ice-free summer in the 2050s, nine years earlier than previously forecast, according to improved simulations.

  3. Climate

    Desert dig uncovers caches of missing CO2

    Irrigation water may wash significant amounts of carbon into groundwater systems beneath Earth’s deserts, researchers propose.

  4. Paleontology

    Sudden heat spikes did in Ice Age’s mammoth mammals

    Abrupt warming and excessive hunting by ancient humans were responsible for the disappearance of many large mammals, including woolly mammoths, during Earth’s last glacial period.

  5. Climate

    Carbon dating may soon lead to mismatches

    Carbon released from burning fossil fuels will jeopardize the effectiveness of many carbon dating applications, new research predicts.

  6. Climate

    Current El Niño coming on strong

    Meteorologists expect the ongoing El Niño to strengthen in the coming months and alter weather patterns worldwide, including bringing potential drought relief to California.

  7. Climate

    Wildfire seasons have gotten almost 20 percent longer

    The average length of wildfire seasons has increased 18.7 percent since 1979, new research shows.

  8. Earth

    Natural concrete keeps lid on Italian volcano

    Naturally occurring, concretelike rock allows the ground around Italy’s Campi Flegrei caldera to bulge without bursting.

  9. Climate

    Greenland’s out-of-sync climate explained

    Small variations in the sun’s activity cause big changes in Greenland’s temperatures decades later by altering ocean currents, new research suggests.

  10. Astronomy

    Super-Earths are not a good place for plate tectonics

    The intense pressures inside super-Earths make plate tectonics less likely, new research suggests.

  11. Earth

    Fast-spreading crack threatens giant Antarctic ice shelf

    A fast-spreading crack threatens Larsen C, one of Antarctica’s biggest ice shelves, satellite data suggest.

  12. Agriculture

    Many of Earth’s groundwater basins run deficits

    Twenty-one of Earth’s 37 largest groundwater basins are rapidly depleting, satellite data show.