As sea levels rise due to climate change, encroaching sea water will likely make freshwater environments saltier. In a new study, MIT researchers have shown how that increase in salinity might affect microbial ecosystems found in environments such as rivers and estuaries. These microbial communities play important roles in theContinue Reading
A strong El Niño is raising the odds of an active winter storm season—and the Floridians most likely to die in a tornado live in aging manufactured homes the state can’t even count. By Kate Waxman On the night of Feb. 22, 1998, tornadoes tore through Central Florida while mostContinue Reading
The BOOP! mission was launched on a scientific balloon from NASA’s launch facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, at 8:03 a.m. MDT (10:03 a.m. EDT) on Sept. 13, 2026. This is the second year for NASA’s Balloon Program Office’s Balloon Optimization Opportunity Payload, or BOOP!, which allows multiple technology instruments to be tested during flight for future missions. The mission carried experiments to test compactContinue Reading
A bill that would have capped Alabama Power’s profits and forced the company to undergo formal rate case hearings for the first time in four decades passed the Alabama House 104-0. Then the Senate stepped in. By Dennis Pillion, Lee Hedgepeth Wired for Profit: Sixth in a series about AlabamaContinue Reading
After devastating storms, wildfires, and heat waves, members of the Extreme Weather Survivors network learn to rely on one another.Continue Reading
The contractor said the pool’s new blue liner peeled and tore because of “human oversight” and a flawed plan that involved layering two incompatible chemicals, documents show.Continue Reading
The Indian and Pacific oceans have been climatically linked for centuries, but scientists say that connection is now breaking down in an exceptional way. Ancient climate records suggest volcanoes disrupted the relationship in the past, while today human-caused warming appears to be driving a much more unusual shift., Read MoreContinue Reading
The Atlantic hurricane season is unusually quiet this year due to a strong El Niño, which disrupts storm formation over that ocean.Continue Reading
Rep. Mack Butler thought he had a deal with leading senators to keep the heart of reform legislation unanimously passed by the House. He was wrong. By Dennis Pillion, Lee Hedgepeth Wired for Profit: Seventh in a series about Alabama Power’s influence over electric rates, renewable energy, pollution and politicsContinue Reading
Ancient rocks from Western Australia suggest water was reaching deep inside Earth more than three billion years ago, long before modern plate tectonics may have fully developed. Researchers propose that water-rich pieces of crust periodically sank into the mantle through a process they call “dripduction.” The buried water then helpedContinue Reading
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 September 13 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by aContinue Reading
Will a warming climate and changing weather patterns lead to more grid blackouts and other energy disruptions? Answering that question requires studying both regional climate forecasts and local energy systems, including emerging renewable generation, storage, transmission lines, and demand forecasts. The lack of such studies is one reason why energyContinue Reading
Susan Solomon, the Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies at MIT, has been named the 2026 Tang Prize Laureate in Sustainable Development for “groundbreaking advances and leadership in atmospheric and climate sciences that shaped global policy for Sustainable Development,” according to the Tang Prize Foundation. The Tang PrizeContinue Reading