Reference Terms
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Weather
Weather is a term that encompasses phenomena in the atmosphere of a planet. The term is normally taken to mean the activity of these phenomena over short periods of time, usually no more than a few days. Average atmospheric conditions over significantly longer periods are known as climate. Usage of the two terms often overlaps and the physical concepts underlying them are closely related. On Earth, regularly occurring weather phenomena include such things as wind, cloud, rain, snow, fog and dust storms. Less common events include natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes and ice storms. Almost all familiar weather phenomena occur in the troposphere (the lower part of the atmosphere). Weather does occur in the stratosphere and does affect weather lower down in the troposphere, but the exact mechanisms are poorly understood.
The Earth's atmosphere is a chaotic system, so small changes to one part can have large effects elsewhere. This makes it very difficult to accurately predict weather changes more than a few days in advance, though weather forecasters are continually working to extend this limit through the scientific study of weather, meteorology.
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Earth & Climate News
February 8, 2026
Feb. 8, 2026 Tiny marine plankton that build calcium carbonate shells play an outsized role in regulating Earth’s climate, quietly pulling carbon from the atmosphere and helping lock it away in the deep ocean. New research shows these microscopic engineers are ...
Feb. 8, 2026 Pumas returning to Patagonia have begun hunting mainland penguins that evolved without land predators. Scientists estimate that more than 7,000 adult penguins were killed in just four years, many of them left uneaten. While the losses are dramatic, ...
Feb. 6, 2026 Arctic sea ice helps cool the planet and influences weather patterns around the world, but it is disappearing faster than ever as the climate warms. Scientists have now developed a new forecasting method that can predict how much Arctic sea ice will ...
Feb. 6, 2026 A new study reveals that chemicals used to replace ozone-damaging CFCs are now driving a surge in a persistent “forever chemical” worldwide. The pollutant, called trifluoroacetic acid, is falling out of the atmosphere into water, land, and ice, ...
Feb. 4, 2026 Melting ice from West Antarctica once delivered huge amounts of iron to the Southern Ocean, but algae growth did not increase as expected. Researchers found the iron was in a form that marine life could not easily use. This means more melting ice ...
Feb. 3, 2026 Researchers have found that manganese, an abundant and inexpensive metal, can be used to efficiently convert carbon dioxide into formate, a potential hydrogen source for fuel cells. The key was a clever redesign that made the catalyst last far ...
Feb. 2, 2026 As demand for critical metals grows, scientists have taken a rare, close look at life on the deep Pacific seabed where mining may soon begin. Over five years and 160 days at sea, researchers documented nearly 800 species, many previously unknown. ...
Feb. 2, 2026 SAR11 bacteria dominate the world’s oceans by being incredibly efficient, shedding genes to survive in nutrient-poor waters. But that extreme streamlining appears to backfire when conditions change. Under stress, many cells keep copying their DNA ...
Jan. 29, 2026 Scientists studying ancient ocean fossils found that the Arabian Sea was better oxygenated 16 million years ago, even though the planet was warmer than today. Oxygen levels only plunged millions of years later, after the climate cooled, defying ...
Jan. 29, 2026 Small mammals are early warning systems for environmental damage, but many species look almost identical, making them hard to track. Scientists have developed a new footprint-based method that can tell apart nearly indistinguishable species with ...
Jan. 29, 2026 Scientists have created a device that captures carbon dioxide and transforms it into a useful chemical in a single step. The new electrode works with realistic exhaust gases rather than requiring purified CO2. It converts the captured gas into ...
Jan. 25, 2026 After analyzing 40 years of tree records across the Andes and Amazon, researchers found that climate change is reshaping tropical forests in uneven ways. Some regions are steadily losing tree species, especially where conditions are hotter and ...
Latest Headlines
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Feb. 5, 2026 Deep inside Earth, two massive hot rock structures have been quietly shaping the planet’s magnetic field for millions of years. Using ancient magnetic records and advanced simulations, scientists ...
Feb. 1, 2026 Old Indian poems and folk songs are revealing a surprising truth about the land. Scientists found that descriptions of thorny trees and open grasslands in texts written as far back as the 1200s ...
Jan. 27, 2026 The Ediacara Biota are some of the strangest fossils ever found—soft-bodied organisms preserved in remarkable detail where preservation shouldn’t be possible. Scientists now think their survival ...
Jan. 23, 2026 Rare rocks buried deep in central Australia have revealed how a valuable niobium deposit formed during the breakup of an ancient supercontinent. More than 800 million years ago, tectonic rifting ...
Jan. 21, 2026 A new building material developed by engineers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute could change how the world builds. Made using an enzyme that turns carbon dioxide into solid minerals, the material ...
Jan. 21, 2026 Mountain regions around the world are heating up faster than the lands below them, triggering dramatic shifts in snow, rain, and water supply that could affect over a billion people. A major global ...
Jan. 19, 2026 Plastic-coated fertilizers used on farms are emerging as a major but hidden source of ocean microplastics. A new study found that only a tiny fraction reaches beaches through rivers, while direct ...
Jan. 17, 2026 Tiny plastic particles drifting through the oceans may be quietly weakening one of Earth’s most powerful climate defenses. New research suggests microplastics are disrupting marine life that helps ...
Jan. 17, 2026 Scientists are uncovering a hidden and surprisingly complex earthquake zone beneath Northern California by tracking swarms of tiny earthquakes that are far too weak to feel. These faint tremors are ...
Jan. 16, 2026 Hydrogen cyanide, a toxic chemical, may have helped spark the chemistry that led to life. When frozen, it forms crystals with highly reactive surfaces that can drive unusual chemical reactions, even ...