Scaling up our response to super hurricanes

The Guardian, 14 September 2017
www.theguardian.com/news/2017/sep/14/scaling-up-our-response-to-super-hurricanes

Weatherwatch: As oceans warm and the probability of more intense tropical storms rises, is it time to revamp the rating system?

Scientists devise early thunderstorm alerts for fishermen in Africa

The Guardian, 29 August 2017
www.theguardian.com/news/2017/aug/29/scientists-devise-early-thunderstorm-alerts-for-fishermen-in-africa

Weatherwatch: Team develops storm warning based on satellite observations in hopes of reducing boating deaths on Lake Victoria

Future forecasts: Met experts ask for your ideas

The Guardian, 15 August 2017
www.theguardian.com/news/2017/aug/15/future-forecasts-met-experts-ask-for-your-ideas

Weatherwatch: Meteorology experts open the floodgates as they ask for public views about what makes for a satisfying weather prediction.

Mystery of missing tsunamis explained by geological model

New Scientist, 11 August 2017
www.newscientist.com/article/2143611-mystery-of-missing-tsunamis-explained-by-geological-model/

How is it that one underwater landslide leads to a devastating tsunami, while another of similar size barely causes a ripple?

Jellyfish blooms linked to offshore gas platforms and wind farms

New Scientist, 31 July 2017
www.newscientist.com/article/2142322-jellyfish-blooms-linked-to-offshore-gas-platforms-and-wind-farms/

Jellymageddon is upon us – and we might be partly responsible.

Balancing out the lulls of wind power with a wider reach across Europe

The Guardian, 27 July 2017
www.theguardian.com/news/2017/jul/27/balancing-out-the-lulls-of-wind-power-with-a-wider-reach-across-europe

Weatherwatch: Europe has seven prevailing weather regimes, a system wind farms could better exploit to even out supply and demand.

Find the flow: Harnessing the incredible power of living fluids

New Scientist, 28 June 2017
www.newscientist.com/article/mg23531320-400-find-the-flow-harnessing-the-incredible-power-of-living-fluids/

We’re beginning to learn the rules that govern how everything from flocks of birds to sperm cells flow, and it could transform technology and medicine

Hunting for Mars-like life a kilometre below Earth’s surface

New Scientist, 22 July 2016
www.newscientist.com/article/2098349-hunting-for-mars-like-life-a-kilometre-below-earths-surface/

Kate Ravilious takes an 8-minute lift ride to an underground lab in Yorkshire, UK, doing research that could help NASA’s Mars 2020 rover …

Seismic shift: Can we cloak cities from earthquakes?

New Scientist, 20 July 2016
www.newscientist.com/article/mg23130830-400-seismic-shift-can-we-cloak-cities-from-earthquakes/

From underground musical pipes to swaying metal rods and strategically planted trees, these megaprojects could conquer earthquakes and tame tsunamis

Rain spawns more rain when it falls on ploughed land

New Scientist, 2 May 2016
www.newscientist.com/article/2086521-rain-spawns-more-rain-when-it-falls-on-ploughed-land/

Rain cleans the air, right? Wrong.

Rain makers: How high-flying bacteria could control the clouds

New Scientist, 13 April 2016
www.newscientist.com/article/mg23030690-400-rain-makers-how-highflying-bacteria-could-control-the-clouds/

Microbes in the clouds seem able to hijack the weather for their own good, summoning drizzle and downpours. Can we use them to control where rain falls?

Writing on the Church Wall

Archaeology Magazine, 10 August 2015
www.archaeology.org/issues/190-1509/letter-from/3554-letter-from-england-medieval-church-graffiti

Graffiti from the Middle Ages provides insight into personal expressions of faith in medieval England

When hurricanes hardly happen

The Guardian, 22 June 2015
www.theguardian.com/news/2015/jun/22/weatherwatch-when-hurricanes-hardly-happen

Kate Ravilious on the current North American hurricane drought, and why it might have another year to run.

Meteorology outwits malaria

The Guardian, 15 June 2015
www.theguardian.com/news/2015/jun/15/weatherwatch-meteorology-outwits-malaria

Kate Ravilious on how thousands of lives could be saved by a new system that uses targeted weather forecasts to predict outbreaks of malaria.

Terrawatch: the enemy below

The Guardian, 31 May 2015
www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/31/terrawatch-volcano-eruption

Kate Ravilious on the near impossibility of predicting eruptions, even on well-monitored volcanoes, let alone those that appear inactive.

How to keep wind turbines turning

The Guardian, 25 May 2015
www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/25/weatherwatch-wind-turbines-research

Research from the University of Colorado on wind data from Australia, Canada and the US, shows how careful spacing of turbines can keep the power on.

Quake heightens Nepal landslide concern

BBC News, 13 May 2015
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32721277

The magnitude 7.3 earthquake that shook Nepal on Tuesday lies right under one of the most landslide-prone parts of the country.

Pollen shed in rain – brings more showers

The Guardian, 13 May 2015
www.theguardian.com/news/2015/may/13/weatherwatch-ravilious-research-michigan-pollen-trees-rain-clouds-asthma

Cycle of plant growth revealed as scientists find trees’ pollen exploding in downpours helps to form clouds.

Terrawatch: a continental pile up

The Guardian, 3 May 2015
www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/03/terrawatch-nepal-earthquake-fault

Kate Ravilious explains the geological background to the devastating earthquake that rocked Nepal.

Why some quakes are worse than others

BBC News, 1 May 2015
www.bbc.co.uk/news/32549706

Nepal quake: Why are some tremors so deadly?

Kathmandu earthquake nightmare not yet over

Cosmos , 27 April 2015
cosmosmagazine.com/earth-sciences/kathmandu-earthquake-nightmare-not-yet-over

Geologists believe unrelieved strain still remains within the fault line that ruptured in Nepal on Saturday and claimed thousands of lives. Kate Ravilious reports

Nepal earthquake: how to prevent thousands more deaths

New Scientist, 27 April 2015
www.newscientist.com/article/dn27416-nepal-earthquake-how-to-prevent-thousands-more-deaths.html#.VT5EfbqR8UU

The 2008 Sichuan earthquake taught us that managing and preventing landslides could save thousands of lives in Nepal over the coming weeks

Even a deluge can have its upside

The Guardian, 27 April 2015
www.theguardian.com/news/2015/apr/27/weatherwatch-even-deluge-upside

Kate Ravilious on how analysis of satellite data overturned an assumption about the effect of rainfall on violent winds.

Nepal quake ‘followed historic pattern’

BBC News, 26 April 2015
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32472310

Nepal’s devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake on Saturday was primed over 80 years ago by its last massive earthquake in 1934, geologists working in the region say.

Case of the Giant Blob

The Guardian, 16 April 2015
www.theguardian.com/news/2015/apr/16/weatherwatch-case-giant-blob

Kate Ravilious on how an unusual envelope of warm water in the Pacific has been bringing extraordinary weather to parts of the US.

Terrawatch: the history of dirt

The Guardian, 5 April 2015
www.theguardian.com/science/2015/apr/05/terrawatch-soil-earth-origins-life-erosion

Kate Ravilious on the soil to which we owe our existence, relatively new to Earth at a mere 450 million or so years old, and now under increasing threat of eroding away.

Weatherwatch: It may feel like spring, but we are not out of the winter woods yet

The Guardian, 23 March 2015
www.theguardian.com/news/2015/mar/23/weather-spring-oceans-snow

Weatherwatch: The ‘eclipse wind’ – help solve the mystery

The Guardian, 16 March 2015
www.theguardian.com/science/2015/mar/16/solar-eclipse-wind-uk-friday-experiment-weather

Iron from the sky

Archaeology, 1 March 2015
www.archaeology.org/issues/

Archaeologists and planetary scientists experiment with meteorites, ancient Egypt’s first source of precious iron

Terrawatch: The wells will run dry

The Guardian, 1 March 2015
www.theguardian.com/science/2015/mar/01/terrawatch-oil-energy

Oil is millions of years in the making: we consume it at a rate of 30 billion barrels per year. We have to accept that it is going to run out.

Weatherwatch: Hay bale city is finding way to a healthier environment indoors

The Guardian, 23 February 2015
www.theguardian.com/news/2015/feb/23/weatherwatchuk-environment

Weatherwatch: The ups and downs of North Atlantic storms

The Guardian, 16 February 2015
www.theguardian.com/news/2015/feb/16/weatherwatch-north-atlantic-storms-historical-research

Terrawatch: The rain that fell in the light of the faint young sun

The Guardian, 1 February 2015
www.theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/01/terrawatch-fossil-raindrops-atmosphere

Kate Ravilious on a project using fossil raindrop craters to study Earth’s early atmosphere

fossil raindrops

Looking for microbes on Mars

Cosmos, 29 January 2015
cosmosmagazine.com/physical-sciences/looking-microbes-mars

Scientists are fossicking in our planet’s most unearthly places to practise searching for life on Mars. Kate Ravilious investigates.

Weatherwatch: Juno storm switches tack barrelled along by jet stream

The Guardian, 28 January 2015
www.theguardian.com/news/2015/jan/28/weatherwatch-us-juno-storm-jetstream-alberta-clipper

Kate Ravilious New Yorkers braced for severe blizzard receive milder Alberta Clipper storm

Weatherwatch: Too hot for take-off

The Guardian, 18 January 2015
www.theguardian.com/news/2015/jan/18/weatherwatch-aviation-take-off-speed

Kate Ravilious on a study showing that higher temperatures could lead to increased numbers of aircraft carrying reduced cargo or fewer passengers to achieve take-off speed.

When Earth was a frozen Snowball

BBC Earth, 12 January 2015
www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150112-did-snowball-earth-make-animals

715 million years ago the entire planet was encased in snow and ice. This frozen wasteland may have been the birthplace of complex animals

Weatherwatch: A real icy blast

The Guardian, 12 January 2015
www.theguardian.com/news/2015/jan/12/weatherwatch-real-icy-blast

Kate Ravilious explains the ‘weather bomb’ phenomenon that was responsible for the unusually strong winds that have been pounding Scotland and northern England

Terrawatch: Taking a closer look at Ben Nevis

The Guardian, 31 December 2014
www.theguardian.com/science/2014/dec/31/terrawatch-a-closer-look-at-ben-nevis

Taking a closer look at Ben Nevis

Under Stonehenge

Archaeology, 15 December 2014
www.archaeology.org/issues/161-1501/features/2782-england-stonehenge-neolithic-ceremonial-landscape

Remote-sensing technologies reveal that Stonehenge is surrounded by thousands of yet-to-be-interpreted Neolithic archaeological features.

Weatherwatch: If it’s snow you want – head for the heights

The Guardian, 14 December 2014
www.theguardian.com/news/2014/dec/14/weatherwatch-snowfall-britain-altitude

Kate Ravilious compares the statistics for snowfall in the UK, and finds that your chances of getting out the toboggan this winter depend on where exactly you live

Weatherwatch: Why a chilly morning was good news for Oxfordshire slatters

The Guardian, 8 December 2014
www.theguardian.com/news/2014/dec/08/weatherwatch-slatters-stonesfield-slate-oxford-quarry

Stonesfield slate, which covers many Oxford colleges’ roofs, needs a frost – a cold snap meant plenty of work for quarrymen

Terrawatch: Fire and ice creators of Yosemite’s plains and canyons

The Guardian, 3 December 2014
www.theguardian.com/science/2014/dec/03/terrawatch-ravilious-yosemite-fire-ice-granite-canyons

How did fire and ice create Yosemite’s plains and canyons?

Transport pollution killed nearly quarter of a million in 2005

Environmental Research Web, 25 November 2014
environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/news/59309

Particulate matter from vehicles caused 242,000 premature deaths

Climate change could cut West African sorghum yields by a fifth

Environmental Research Web, 24 November 2014
environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/news/59308

Rising temperatures, rainfall changes and shifting monsoon set to harm crop output

Sun’s magnetic field alters lightning strikes on Earth

Environmental Research Web, 19 November 2014
environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/news/59305

Sun’s magnetic field alters lightning strikes on Earth. Findings could ultimately help with lightning forecasts

Weatherwatch: ‘No flowers, no birds – November!’

The Guardian, 16 November 2014
www.theguardian.com/news/2014/nov/16/weatherwatch-no-flowers-no-birds-november

Kate Ravilious finds Thomas Hood’s poem describes a different month to the ones we experience today

Weatherwatch: All eyes on the sun

The Guardian, 10 November 2014
www.theguardian.com/news/2014/nov/10/country-diary-all-eyes-sun

Kate Ravilious on why astronomers are keeping an anxious watch on AR 12192, the biggest sunspot to appear since 1990

Terrawatch: Tibetan plateau shifting and stretching over time

The Guardian, 5 November 2014
www.theguardian.com/science/2014/nov/05/terrawatch-tibetan-plateau-shift-height-zhada-basin-shells

Kate Ravilious on the Tibetan Plateau shift

Weatherwatch: The greatest droughts in a thousand years

The Guardian, 19 October 2014
www.theguardian.com/news/2014/oct/19/california-drought-dust-bowl

Kate Ravilious on a study showing that California’s current crippling three-year drought may be caused by the same atmospheric conditions as triggered the “Dust Bowl” of the 1930s