By Theme - Weather & Climate

  • Hurricanes
    Hurricanes

    Synopsis: Hurricanes, the most powerful and dangerous storms of all, get their energy from the difference in temperature between a warm ocean and a cooler atmosphere. A century ago, hurricanes blew in with almost no warning; now they are tracked from the sky and space, and every year, warnings get a bit more useful. How [...]


    Wednesday, January 9th, 2013
  • Horrific Hurricanes
    Horrific Hurricanes

    How do hurricanes form? How do we predict their paths? How can we improve predictions?


    Wednesday, December 5th, 2012
  • Energy report: Plentiful supplies, warning signs
    Energy report: Plentiful supplies, warning signs

    Conservation and fracking will help United States reach energy independence by 2030. How will cheap natural gas affect renewable energy? How will a one-third increase in fossil fuel use affect greenhouse warming? Are we about to be locked into a 3.6ºC of global warming?


    Thursday, November 22nd, 2012
  • Tracking frozen methane
    Tracking frozen methane

    Vast deposits of a strong greenhouse gas are frozen under the ocean. As the ocean warms, this methane is releasing. How much more methane is on the way, and how will it affect climate?


    Thursday, October 25th, 2012
  • Greenhouse gas maps
    Greenhouse gas maps

    Using at least 20 sources of data, scientists have modeled releases of carbon dioxide from Indianapolis. The new view will help cities map reductions in greenhouse warming, and help people understand that the climate warming problem belongs to everybody.


    Thursday, October 11th, 2012
  • Himalayan glaciers
    Himalayan glaciers

    A long debate about these giant ice streams has gyrated wildly. Now, satellite data show a moderate loss of mass for a recent six-year period. For inaccessible glaciers, satellites may be the best thing since the ice axe!


    Thursday, August 23rd, 2012
  • Mourning the dying weather satellites
    Mourning the dying weather satellites

    We love accurate weather forecasts, but the weather satellites they rely on are nearing the boneyard. Some replacements have crashed into the ocean, others are in financial limbo. Be very worried about our fragile planet: these satellites also track climate, ice, fire, and the health of forests and ocean!


    Thursday, June 7th, 2012
  • Texas is dry and hot. Global warming?
    Texas is dry and hot. Global warming?

    Was the epic 2011 heat wave in Texas due to global warming or natural variation?


    Thursday, October 27th, 2011
  • Weather, climate, war
    Weather, climate, war

    If conflicts are more common near the equator, what will global warming affect do? A new study shows increases in conflict during el Niño periods — but only during the warm, dry part of the cycle, and only in places affected by these big climatic cycles.


    Thursday, August 25th, 2011
  • Tundra fire: Bad news on warming
    Tundra fire: Bad news on warming

    The globe warms, and the Arctic starts to burn. If warming causes fires that release carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas, will this accelerate further warming? A new study measures carbon releases from the largest tundra fire in North America.


    Thursday, July 28th, 2011
  • Nothing light about lightning
    Nothing light about lightning

    New instruments are giving a better view of how those astonishingly strong lightning bolts form inside clouds – and we are also getting a better picture of the many ways that lightning can harm us.


    Thursday, July 21st, 2011
  • Tornado prediction
    Tornado prediction

    Tornadoes need wet air, dry air, and wind shear. What explains the big improvement in tornado prediction? Is climate change boosting these storms?


    Thursday, May 26th, 2011
  • A climate of extremes?
    A climate of extremes?

    Are extreme heat, wicked cyclones and record rainfalls signs of climate change, or just more changes in the weather? Will warming eliminate record cold days? Will hurricanes get bigger?


    Thursday, January 13th, 2011
  • Planetary limits: More than just global warming
    Planetary limits: More than just global warming

    Scientists propose 9 limits on human actions: Wrecking ozone, over-using fertilizer, killing species could block key “ecosystem services.” Are there natural limits to fresh water use and pollution?


    Thursday, October 1st, 2009
  • Computer image of Earth focused on Antarctica with large blue shading representing ozone hole.
    No joke: Laughing gas attacks ozone!

    The ozone layer protects Earth from UV rays: Twenty-two years after a treaty to protect ozone, how is the layer doing? What has happened to the ozone hole above Antarctica?


    Thursday, September 3rd, 2009


Twitter Facebook Email RSS
The Weather Guys
Curiosities
Cool Science Images Virtual Science! Paper Bound: Book Reviews

©2013 University of Wisconsin
Board of Regents