Mast Years In many parts of the Midwestern and Eastern United States (and perhaps more of the country), Autumn 2023 has contained a bit of an oddity. Yard owners and hikers have noticed a spate of squirrels on the prowl and a seemingly unending deluge of nuts on the ground. A member of my family …
Ring of Fire During the summer of 2023, we learned about the Omega block, a weather pattern shaped like a Greek letter that locks in conditions for extended periods. Though this phenomenon is hardly rare, we often barely notice its existence. Sometimes it produces heat domes that trap high temperatures in regions for weeks or months …
Ring of Fire We’ve explored Rings of Fire in the sky, and we’ve investigated Rings of Fire in the ground. This imagery seems to be one humans are quite taken with, as today we have another Ring of Fire. This halo of conflagration mixes a bit of the previous examples. It’s associated with the sun, and …
The Ring of Fire Close your eyes and picture a real-world volcano. Where are you on the globe? You might be at one of Italy’s famous spewers, Etna or Vesuvius. You might be in Hawaii on Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa. Maybe you went to Africa’s High Point, Kilimanjaro. Or, likely, you’re in one of many spots where continental …
Ring of Fire If you’ve followed this project for a while, you know we’re big fans of eclipses. Lunar, solar, partial, full: we love them all. The United States is currently in the midst of a glittering age of eclipses. In 2017, many across the country glimpsed the “Great American Eclipse,” a full solar eclipse. Under seven years later …
Katahdin – Maine’s High Point Then here’s a hail to each flaring dawn!And here’s a cheer to the night that’s gone!And may I go a-roaming onUntil the day I die! — Robert Service, A Rolling Stone This was my Everest.In my fifth or sixth year on the planet, I embarked on a climb of Katahdin with my …
Dalmatia Make a list of the world’s 101 Most Recognizable Dog Breeds and one type of canine will likely top it. Photo by Bradlien Photo by Carlos Estrada Disney’s 101 Dalmatians A white coat punctuated by black dots can mean only one type of pupper. Adored by firefighters and bizarrely coveted by Disney villains, the Dalmatian is …
Infantile Amnesia On my eldest daughter’s second birthday, we ferried her to one of her favorite parks. After cake, singing, and gifts at a shelter house, I took her toward the playground. When we approached the slides, a smile erupted on her face that seemed to illuminate the entire planet. It was one of the …
Fat Bear Week Katmai National Park in Alaska is a massive tract, larger than Connecticut. It’s home to one of the most alien locations on the planet: The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. The result of the largest volcanic eruption by volume in the 20th century, the valley is strewn with ash, in some places as …
Medicanes The world’s largest storms occur in its two biggest oceans, the Pacific and Atlantic. Tropical cyclones are massive dynamos that produce swirling destruction on unparalleled levels. We call storms that transpire in the Atlantic or Northeastern Pacific hurricanes, while those in the Northwestern Pacific go by typhoons. In the Indian Ocean and the extreme …