Thomas Sumner

All Stories by Thomas Sumner

  1. climate normal map 2015
    Climate

    If you thought 2015 was hot, just wait

    The record-setting global temperatures seen in 2015 could be the “new normal” as soon as the 2020s.

  2. plants
    Climate

    CO2-loving plants can counter human emissions

    Plants temporarily halted the acceleration of rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, new research suggests.

  3. sea ice
    Climate

    Human CO2 emissions put Arctic on track to be ice-free by 2050

    Sea ice is shrinking by about three square meters for each metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted, new research suggests.

  4. Sediment layers
    Earth

    The southern San Andreas has a smaller, neighboring fault to its west

    The newly-discovered Salton Trough Fault runs parallel to the southern San Andreas Fault in California, potentially affecting the region’s earthquake risk.

  5. refrigerators
    Climate

    Wanted: New ways to chill air conditioners, fridges

    A new amendment to the Montreal Protocol will phase out potent greenhouse gases currently used in air conditioners and refrigerators, prompting a hunt for eco-friendly alternatives.

  6. Hard water buildup
    Chemistry

    Water softeners get friendlier to health, environment

    New technology softens water without adding sodium, which ends up in drinking water and contaminates the environment.

  7. Mount Aso
    Earth

    There’s a new way to stop an earthquake: put a volcano in its path

    An earthquake rupturing along a fault in Japan was blockaded by the magma chamber below the Mount Aso volcano, researchers propose.

  8. Climate

    Extreme lightning events set records

    A lightning flash stretching 321 kilometers across and one that lasted 7.74 seconds have been named the most extreme events on record, thanks to a new rule change.

  9. deep-sea environment
    Life

    Ocean archaea more vulnerable to deep-sea viruses than bacteria

    Deep-sea viruses kill archaea disproportionately more often than bacteria, a killing spree with important impacts on the global carbon cycle.

  10. dumbo octopus
    Oceans

    Atlantic monument is home to unique and varied creatures

    A region of ocean off the coast of Cape Cod has become the first U.S. marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean.

  11. Newport-Inglewood Fault
    Earth

    Seismologists surprised by deep California quakes

    Small earthquakes detected along the Newport-Inglewood Fault originate from deeper underground than once thought possible.

  12. chemistry Nobel winner
    Chemistry

    Molecules for making nanomachines snare chemistry Nobel

    Nanochemists win Nobel prize for devising molecular machines