All Stories by Thomas Sumner
- Oceans
Satellites expose mysteries of the deep ocean
New detailed map of Earth’s seafloor reveals never-before-seen formations.
- Climate
Missing winds probably foiled 2014’s chance for El Niño
Lack of antitrade winds probably hampered 2014 El Niño.
- Earth
Supervolcano blast would blanket U.S. in ash
A new simulation illustrates the explosiveness of the volcano that lurks beneath Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
- Earth
Shrinking ancient sea may have spawned Sahara Desert
The Saharan Desert probably formed 7 million years ago as the ancient Tethys Sea, the forerunner of the Mediterranean Sea, shrank.
- Earth
Warming alone triggered Antarctic ice shelf collapse
Warming surface temperatures, not an unstable foundation, probably doomed Antarctica’s Larsen B ice shelf.
- Planetary Science
Plate tectonics spotted on Europa
First evidence for plate tectonics elsewhere in solar system discovered on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.
- Astronomy
Plasma corkscrews form on sun during stellar eruption
Coronal mass ejection creates twisted loop in sun’s magnetic field.
- Earth
Death Valley’s sailing stones caught on the move
Mysterious sailing stones wandering around Death Valley are powered by ice and wind.
- Quantum Physics
Blind quantum camera snaps photos of Schrödinger’s cat
Quantum weirdness lets physicists snap photo without collecting incoming light from cardboard cat subject.
- Ecosystems
Lake under Antarctic ice bursts with life
Abundant microbes thrive in subglacial lakes deep under the Antarctic ice sheet.
- Planetary Science
To explain asteroid composition, scientists invoke nuts
Brazil nut effect may explain why only large boulders dot surfaces of asteroids.
- Oceans
World’s largest ocean dead zone may shrink as Earth warms
North Pacific dead zone may grow smaller, not expand, as climate change weakens Pacific Ocean trade winds.
