Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Climate

ClimateEcosystemsEnvironmental Science
Jessica Espinosa

As Oceans Change, HABs Invade

Global ocean temperatures are currently rising and have been for decades. Scientists are working to discover how this changing climate affects species around the world, from the very large to the very small. This includes phytoplankton, the microscopic marine algae that live in most bodies of water around the globe and produce half the world’s oxygen. But some of these species are toxic, and can cause harm to human and wildlife alike if they are able to grow out of control. Though a number of studies have been undertaken to try and understand more about these harmful algal blooms, much is still unknown about their growth. A group of scientists were interested in how changing ocean temperatures affected the geographic ranges of harmful algal blooms over time in order to better predict blooms in the future.

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ClimateEcosystemsEnvironmental Science
Elisabeth Lang

Coral reefs are in hot water: Could upwelling save the day?

Coral reefs do best in warm water, but when the water gets too hot, they bleach. Upwelling, which brings cooler water from the deeper parts of the ocean, occurs worldwide, including where coral reefs can be found. With climate change, ocean temperatures are increasing and coral bleaching events are happening more frequently. Could upwelling help protect coral reefs from hot water?

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ClimateEcosystemsEnvironmental Science
Christina M. Marvin

A humble sponge in Indonesia may be creating cancer medicine

Collaborators in the United States and Indonesia knew that an Indo-Pacific sea dwelling sponge produced medicinally important chemicals – they now report that those products may also treat cancer.

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ClimateEnvironmental Science
Mary Grace Lemon

Water vapor and Covid-19: The viral threat of cold, dry weather

Even before Covid-19, most people were acutely aware of the viral threat of winter. Seasonal colds seem to be more abundant during the winter while the widely broadcasted threat of flu season and subsequent chore of annual flu vaccinations are predictable components of late fall. However, I have also had my fair share of exceptional warm weather colds. I have encountered a collection of rumors as to why viral infections such as the common cold and influenza are statistically worse during the winter, but I have never really done enough research to actually believe any of them, or care, for that matter. Insert Covid-19.

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ClimateEcosystemsEnvironmental Science
Jackie Webb

Double trouble: how floods after bushfire affect the health of our rivers

Between Christmas 2019 and the  2020 New Year, forested mountain ranges across drought-stricken areas in Eastern Australia came alight, with fires ravaging 11 million hectares of bush (Eucalyptus woodlands and rainforests) – a size comparable to England’s land area. These megafires threw the states of New South Wales and Victoria into a state of emergency. The bushfire crisis took a sudden turn when heavy rainfall flooded the scorched land in the span of just two weeks. Unfortunately, while rainfall might appear to be a blessing in light of the megafires, the resulting floods were ultimately not sweet relief for rivers. 

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ClimateEcosystems
Elisabeth Lang

Ghost Forests: Are they as scary as they sound?

Sea level rise has been accelerating over the last century, which will impact coastal ecosystems and their animals. Scientists have set out to study the conversion of forests to wetlands that is occurring with sea level rise, which results in the formation of ghost forests. While the loss of these forests is problematic, the resulting gain in wetland may actually be beneficial, making ghost forests less scary than they sound.

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ClimateEcosystemsEnvironmental Science
Christina M. Marvin

A Race against Climate Change: Predatory Arctic Shorebirds vs Insect Prey

What happens when one organism in a food chain adapts to climate disruption faster than another one? Prey is disappearing for some predators and species decline might be the result.

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ClimateEcosystemsEnvironmental Science
Sienna Wessel

Where have all the flowers gone? Climate change is driving the loss of forbs and diversity in Californian grasslands

Science predicts that climate change will disrupt many natural processes and cycles and there is ever increasing media coverage regarding expectations for Earth’s future under these pressures. Yet there is little popular discussion about how plant communities will be impacted by these changes despite the fact that they represent the first level of the food web, support entire ecosystems of species, and contain one of the only organisms that can capture free energy to produce life. Understanding the ways that these communities are changing and will change in the future is crucially important to seeing the full picture of how climate change will re-shape life as we know it.

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ClimateEnvironmental Science
Whitney Kroschel

Mosquitoes in Winter (what the..?)

In many regions witnessing a mosquito in winter is common. Though many mosquitoes die off when temperatures get too cold outside, many of them don’t. It all depends on the species; and with warming climates, we can expect to see a lot more of them in the coming decades.

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Case StudiesClimateEcosystemsEnvironmental ScienceRemote EnvironmentsScience through timeToxicology
Anita Masse

Unleashing Pollutants: Environmental Fate of Antarctica In a Warmer World

Antarctica has been a depository for pollutants for decades. The brutal cold has kept them dormant and unable to inflict harmful effects on nature. As temperatures rise and ice melts, what is the fate of these pollutants in this unique landscape?

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