The Watchers team and our contributors bring the latest on extreme weather, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, space weather, and all things science. We're all about making sense of the natural world and keeping you informed on what’s happening. Got a tip or a question? Hit us up using the form at newstips!
The first global maps of atmospheric carbon dioxide from NASA's new Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) mission show elevated carbon dioxide concentrations across the Southern Hemisphere from springtime biomass burning and hint at potential surprises to come.A glo
The magnitude 6 earthquake that shook the Napa Valley in August 2014 was the strongest the region had felt in more than 20 years. But the next earthquake in the area could be much stronger, according to preliminary research from the University of California, Davis, pres
Since the beginning of the 20th century we have witnessed the birth and growth of the biggest and most complicated pseudo physics theories in the history of science. David Harriman says, “A concept detached from reality can be like a runaway train, destroying
Auroras are the most visible manifestation of the Sun’s effect on Earth, but many aspects of these spectacular displays are still poorly understood. Thanks to ESA’s Cluster and NASA’s Image satellites working together, a particular type of very high-la
New activity/unrest was reported for 10 volcanoes from December 10 – December 16, 2014. Ongoing activity was observed at 13 volcanoes.New activity/unrest: Asosan, Kyushu (Japan) | Chirinkotan, Kuril Islands (Russia) | Fogo, Cape Verde | Kusatsu-Shiranesan, Honshu (Ja
In ESA's first-ever asteroid impact exercise, the agency and European disaster response offices recently rehearsed how to react if a threatening space rock is ever discovered to be on a collision course with Earth. They went through a countdown to an impact, practic
NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has measured a tenfold spike in methane, an organic chemical, in the atmosphere around it and detected other organic molecules in a rock-powder sample collected by the robotic laboratory’s drill."This temporary increase in meth
NASA satellite instruments have observed a marked increase in solar radiation absorbed in the Arctic since the year 2000 – a trend that aligns with the steady decrease in Arctic sea ice during the same period.While sea ice is mostly white and reflects the sun&rsqu
The fault responsible for the 9.0 magnitude Tohoku earthquake had been relieving stress at a gradually accelerating rate for years before the 2011 quake.Stanford scientists have found evidence that sections of the fault responsible for the 9.0 magnitude Tohoku earthquak
NOAA officials announced yesterday the World Magnetic Model (WMM), a representation of Earth’s large-scale magnetic field and an indispensable complement to GPS devices used by NATO, the United States and United Kingdom militaries, as well as civil applications ra
