What 2,500 years of wildfire evidence and the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 tell us about the future of fire in the West

As the climate warms, devastating fires are increasingly likely. The 2020 fires pushed the Southern Rockies beyond the historical average. Is there hope for the Northern Rockies?

Philip Higuera, Professor of Fire Ecology, University of Montana • conversation
Oct. 17, 2023 ~10 min

What 2,500 years of wildfire evidence tells us about the future of fires in the West

As the climate warms, devastating fires are increasingly likely. The 2020 fires pushed the Southern Rockies beyond the historical average. Is there hope for the Northern Rockies?

Philip Higuera, Professor of Fire Ecology, University of Montana • conversation
Oct. 17, 2023 ~10 min


What the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 – and 2,500 years of forest history – tell us about the future of wildfires in the West

As the climate warms, devastating fires are increasingly likely. The 2020 fires pushed the Southern Rockies beyond the historical average. Is there hope for the Northern Rockies?

Philip Higuera, Professor of Fire Ecology, University of Montana • conversation
Oct. 17, 2023 ~10 min

Is it really hotter now than any time in 100,000 years?

Long before thermometers, nature left its own temperature records. A climate scientist explains how ongoing global warming compares with ancient temperatures.

Darrell Kaufman, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Northern Arizona University • conversation
July 21, 2023 ~7 min

Was Earth already heating up, or did global warming reverse a long-term cooling trend?

Evidence in Earth’s natural archives, from tree rings to seafloor sediments, points to one trend. Some climate models suggest another. Here’s why are important.

Darrell Kaufman, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Northern Arizona University • conversation
Feb. 15, 2023 ~7 min

Glaciers have existed on Earth for at least 60 million years – far longer than previously thought

Scientists used satellites to map tens of thousands of glacial landforms in Antarctica’s highest mountains.

Matteo Spagnolo, Professor of Geography and the Environment, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen • conversation
Dec. 15, 2022 ~5 min

1,000-year-old stalagmites from a cave in India show the monsoon isn’t so reliable – their rings reveal a history of long, deadly droughts

As water dripped in a remote cave, it left behind evidence of every monsoon season for a millennium. Scientists say it holds a warning for a country about to become the most populous on Earth.

Ashish Sinha, Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences, California State University, Dominguez Hills • conversation
Sept. 19, 2022 ~8 min

1,000-year-old stalagmites from a cave in India show the monsoon isn’t so reliable – they reveal a history of long, deadly droughts

As water dripped in a remote cave, it left behind evidence of every monsoon season for a millennium. Scientists say it holds a warning for a country about to become the most populous on Earth.

Ashish Sinha, Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences, California State University, Dominguez Hills • conversation
Sept. 19, 2022 ~8 min


Prehistoric Planet: TV show asked us to explore what weather the dinosaurs lived through

Yes, dinosaurs really did survive in snow – we simulated the Cretaceous climate to prove it.

Robert Spicer, Emeritus Professor of Earth Sciences, The Open University • conversation
May 27, 2022 ~8 min

We reconstructed Britain of millions of years ago to see what climate breakdown will involve

Spoiler: lots more floods.

Martha Gibson, Research Fellow, Paleoclimatology, Northumbria University, Newcastle • conversation
Feb. 9, 2022 ~5 min

/

2