Articles for category: Climate & Environment, Material Science

The Rain That Falls as Stones - The Mystery of Rock Hail

The Rain That Falls as Stones – The Mystery of Rock Hail

Jan Otte

Imagine stepping outside after a thunderstorm to find not just puddles and fallen leaves, but scattered rocks littering your yard. This isn’t the stuff of science fiction or ancient mythology – it’s a baffling atmospheric phenomenon that has puzzled scientists and terrified communities for centuries. While we’ve all experienced rain, hail, and even strange weather ...

Mysterious Roving Rocks of Racetrack Playa.

The Mystery of the Racetrack Playa: How Do the Stones Move Across Death Valley?

Trizzy Orozco

Imagine walking across a perfectly flat, barren lake bed in one of Earth’s most unforgiving places, only to discover massive boulders that have somehow traveled hundreds of yards across the desert floor, leaving perfectly straight trails behind them like ghostly signatures in the sand. This isn’t science fiction or some ancient alien mystery – it’s ...

How Whales Help Regulate Earth's Climate

How Whales Help Regulate Earth’s Climate

Jan Otte

Imagine creatures so massive they can be seen from space, yet their true superpower lies in something far less glamorous than their size. These ocean giants possess one of nature’s most effective regulation systems, operating through an elegant biological process that connects the smallest organisms on Earth to the largest animals that have ever lived. ...

The Lake That Vanishes and Returns Every Decade

The Lake That Vanishes and Returns Every Decade

Jan Otte

Have you ever heard of a body of water that seems to follow its own mysterious schedule, disappearing completely only to return years later as if nothing happened? In the vast expanse of Nevada’s high desert, such phenomena aren’t just folklore or ancient legends. They represent one of nature’s most puzzling displays, where lakes appear ...

Florida's Manatees Are Learning to Adapt to Rising Seas

Florida’s Manatees Are Learning to Adapt to Rising Seas

Andrew Alpin

Picture this: You’re watching gentle giants the size of small boats gliding through crystal-clear Florida springs, and these massive creatures are quietly rewriting their survival playbook right before your eyes. For decades, you’ve known manatees as those lovable “sea cows” that lazily munch seagrass in warm waters. Yet what’s happening beneath the surface tells a ...

The Science Behind Red Lightning - A Rare Upper-Atmosphere Phenomenon

The Science Behind Red Lightning – A Rare Upper-Atmosphere Phenomenon

Jan Otte

You might think lightning only strikes downward from cloud to ground, but some storms produce an entirely different kind of electrical display. High above our heads, far beyond where commercial aircraft fly, mysterious red flashes dance across the night sky for barely a millisecond. These crimson apparitions have puzzled observers for over a century, yet ...

The Volcano That Could Rewrite Earth's Climate Future

The Volcano That Could Rewrite Earth’s Climate Future

Jan Otte

You’ve probably heard climate predictions about rising temperatures and melting ice caps. Those are real concerns gripping our planet right now. Yet lurking beneath all our calculations and models is something scientists are only beginning to fully understand – the explosive potential of volcanoes to completely alter Earth’s climate trajectory. What if everything we thought ...

The U.S. States Most Impacted by Ocean Current Shifts

The U.S. States Most Impacted by Ocean Current Shifts

Andrew Alpin

Ocean currents are nature’s massive conveyor belt, silently carrying heat, nutrients, and energy across our planet’s waters. Think of them as the arteries of Earth’s climate system, pumping warmth from tropical regions to cooler areas thousands of miles away. Yet these vital lifelines are beginning to falter under the weight of climate change, with some ...