MS-ESS2-5
Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions.
- Climate
Scientists Say: El Niño and La Niña
El Niño and La Niña are part of a climate cycle that results in major weather changes every few years.
- Environment
Warming cities may see more rain — and frequent flooding
Scientists are seeking to understand why and how to mop up excess precipitation.
- Environment
Explainer: Urban heat islands and how to cool them
Cities transform landscapes covered in plants to ones covered in heat-absorbing asphalt and concrete. But ways exist to cool these urban heat islands.
- Earth
Let’s learn about lightning
Around 100 times a second, every hour of every day, lightning strikes somewhere on Earth. It’s beautiful — and deadly.
- Earth
Here’s how lightning may help clean the air
Airplane observations show that storm clouds can generate huge quantities of air-cleansing chemicals known as oxidants.
- Climate
Surfing the winds would make future jet travel greener
Simple route changes could drastically cut fuel use and greenhouse-gas emissions, a new study finds.
- Earth
Explainer: What are aerosols?
We may not see them, but tiny particles and droplets cloud the air, affecting its properties. Some may be pollutants, others all-natural products.
- Climate
Can wildfires cool the climate?
Severe wildfires are becoming more common. Science is showing that the tiny particles they release into the air can alter Earth’s temperature — sometimes cooling it.
- Earth
Space station sensors saw how weird ‘blue jet’ lightning forms
A mysterious type of lightning in the upper atmosphere has been traced to a brief, bright flash of light at the top of a storm cloud.
- Earth
Explainer: Our atmosphere — layer by layer
Earth’s five layers extend from the ground up and into outer space. Each has its own distinct features and serves as the site of different activities and phenomena.
- Environment
Surprising long-haul dust and tar are melting high glaciers
Dust and tar blown onto high mountains, like the Himalayas, boost the melting of snow and ice far more than scientists had realized. Here’s why.
- Climate
Siberian heat wave that caused an oil spill made more likely by climate change
The six-month heat wave in Siberia during the first half of 2020 would not have happened without human-caused climate change, researchers find.
