Growing up, we all have those big life questions that catch our interest. Those with a penchant for nature, for instance, may ask such questions as: where do the Moon’s phases come from, what are rainbows, why is the sky blue? The answers to these questions, as may be given to a scientifically-inclined young mind, […]
Rayleigh scattering: Why the sky is blue and other miscellanea Read More »
Originally dubbed as the “dirtiest harbor in America” by George Bush in the 1980s, Boston Harbor was a cesspool of toxic sewage and wastewater. Large amounts of pollution were constantly dumped into the harbor, damaging marine ecosystems alongside the Massachusetts coastline and causing extremely poor water quality. If people were to swim in the water,
Rehabilitating the harbor of shame: Past and present solutions Read More »
Glass is an integral part of modern buildings, appreciated for its uniquely transparent nature that provides a literal window to the outside world. Made mostly of sand, sodium carbonate, and limestone, glass resists intense weather patterns and precipitation and is recyclable and relatively inexpensive to produce. However, glass has several weaknesses — it is thermally
Seeing through trees: Transparent wood as a next-generation glass Read More »
Carbon dioxide levels, sea levels, and temperature are rising – all indicators commonly associated with climate change. However, an indicator more complex and less well known is the movement of ocean water in the Atlantic, specifically the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The AMOC is the large-scale process of the movement of warm water on
Imagine water seeping up from the solid ground beneath our feet. Then imagine water falling from the sky — not as rain, but as a giant rock crashing into Earth. Both seem like ridiculous scenarios, but they closely relate to real theories about what may have happened billions of years ago. The origins of water
From rock to water: Studying the origins of water on Earth Read More »
In the scientific community, the consensus on human-caused global warming is almost universal — a recent study from Environmental Research Letters found that more than 99 percent of peer-reviewed papers agreed that humans are causing global warming and climate change. However, among Americans, the belief in anthropogenic climate change is not nearly as strong, with
How we can avoid polarization in conversations around climate solutions Read More »
It should come as no surprise that global warming is as bad as ever, and the future is not looking great. And while the entire world is feeling the effects of human actions on the environment, certain places are suffering worse than others. Specifically, the Arctic has felt consequences unlike ever before. Due to mass
Phytoplankton: The chaotic backbone of the Arctic Read More »
Resting in our polar ice, nanoplastics are a small force about the size of a virus silently contaminating our environment and creating potentially devastating consequences. A team of international scientists set out to measure the precise concentration of nanoplastics in polar ice cores. For the first time, there are figures on the extent to which
Nanoplastics officially cover every part of the Earth Read More »
If current climate trends persist, the Arctic Ocean is predicted to become seasonally ice-free by the 2030s. Sea ice follows a cyclic pattern, partially melting in the summer and re-forming with the cooler temperatures of autumn and winter. However, rising global temperatures have increased the melting rate and decreased the formation rate. During future summers,
Ice, ice maybe: Impacts of declining sea ice on Arctic predator-prey dynamics Read More »