Thomas Sumner

All Stories by Thomas Sumner

  1. Earth

    Asteroids boiled young Earth’s oceans, remnant rocks suggest

    Giant asteroid impacts may have boiled Earth’s oceans around 3.3 billion years ago, snuffing out near-surface life.

  2. Earth

    Another strong quake strikes Nepal

    A magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit eastern Nepal on May 12, just 17 days after one that killed more than 8,000 people in the region.

  3. Climate

    Flood planners should not forget beavers

    Beaver dams can reduce flooding downstream, new research shows.

  4. Climate

    Rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide rise unprecedented

    The current rate of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere is unprecedented over at least the last 66 million years, new research shows.

  5. Physics

    Scientists take first picture of thunder

    Scientists precisely capture thunder sound waves radiating from artificially triggered lightning.

  6. Earth

    Stronger quakes could strike other segments of Nepal fault

    The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal’s capital city could be overshadowed by larger future earthquakes along the Himalayas, scientists say.

  7. Ecosystems

    Just 1 percent of Amazon’s trees hold half of its carbon

    Roughly 1 percent of tree species in the Amazon rainforest account for half of the jungle’s carbon storage.

  8. Earth

    Hidden water found deep beneath Antarctica desert valley

    New imaging reveals liquid water network beneath Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys that could support microbial life.

  9. Earth

    Massive magma pool found deep below Yellowstone

    Earthquake waves reveal massive magma reservoir deep inside the Yellowstone supervolcano.

  10. Climate

    Monster storm dominates view from space station

    A stunning photograph from the International Space Station captures the size and power of Typhoon Maysak, which clamored through the Western Pacific.

  11. Climate

    The greatest natural disaster that almost was

    The public’s response to the widest tornado ever recorded suggests earlier warnings need to be done right.

  12. Climate

    Weather forecasting is getting a high-speed makeover

    Meteorologists are throwing new technology at the problem of weather forecasting to provide faster and more precise predictions of the coming weather.