New observations of Jupiter’s lightning reveal unexpectedly complex and powerful storms.
Category: climatology
Milky Way’s ‘little cousins’ may hold clues about infant universe
Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies—tiny satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way—have long been seen as cosmic fossils. Now, a new study published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society uses an unprecedented set of simulations to show just how powerfully these faint systems can reflect the conditions of the early universe and tell us why some galaxies grew and others did not.
They could also reveal what the universe’s earliest “climate” was like—for example, the level of radiation and how this impacted whether and where stars formed.
Dwarf galaxies are often described as small cousins of the Milky Way. They form in small dark matter halos which are predicted by the standard model of cosmology. The faintest examples of such systems are extreme in both size and fragility, and lie on the boundary of our knowledge about galaxy formation and dark matter.
UV Camera Captures Glowing Coronae on Leaves During Storms
“It’s nearly invisible to the naked eye but our instruments give rise to a vision of swaths of scintillating corona glowing as thunderstorms pass overhead,” said Patrick McFarland. [ https://www.labroots.com/trending/earth-and-the-environment/…s-storms-2](https://www.labroots.com/trending/earth-and-the-environment/…s-storms-2)
Can storms cause electrical discharges on trees? This is something that has eluded scientists for decades, but a recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters might finally have an answer as a team of researchers collected first-time images of trees emanating ultraviolet (UV) light during a thunderstorm. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand how weather could affect plants worldwide.
For the study, the researchers traveled to Florida, which is known for its frequent and powerful thunderstorms, with the goal of imaging electric pulses that appear at the tips of trees during such storms. The primary motivation behind the study was to provide direct evidence of an atmospheric phenomenon that had been hypothesized since the 1930s but never captured in nature. During this time, scientists suspected that trees emit light during thunderstorms due to the electrical discharges but never had direct evidence.
Using a customized camera capable of capturing only corona light, lightning, and fire, this team of researchers successfully captured first-time evidence of trees emitting UV light during a Florida thunderstorm. These findings are crucial in helping researchers better understand the link between atmospheric electricity and forest ecology.
Western U.S. water supply at risk as snow turns to rain
“This study provides a crucial step in improving projections of water resource responses to climate change and underscores the value of integrating water transit time dynamics into future hydrologic assessments,” said Zachariah Butler. [ https://www.labroots.com/trending/earth-and-the-environment/…now-rain-2](https://www.labroots.com/trending/earth-and-the-environment/…now-rain-2)
How can climate change impact how fast snow turns into water? This is what a recent study published in Scientific Reports hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated snow drought conditions and how this could lead to poor water quality. This study has the potential to help scientists, legislators, and the public better understand the negative impacts of climate change on water management systems and how to mitigate them.
For the study, the researchers analyzed a combination of data from historical (2006−2013) and future (2086−2093) estimates from five regions in the U.S. Pacific Northwest for rain-snow transition times. The motivation behind the study comes from a knowledge gap regarding how climate change impacts the speed of water as it transitions from snow to rain, as opposed to simply the amount of water.
In the end, the researchers found that water transit times were estimated to be an average of 18 percent higher in the late 21st century if present climate change continues. These findings indicate that higher water transit times when snow becomes rainwater could result in greater levels of water contaminants due to shallower water getting into local water supplies.
Arctic Stabilization Initiative
Renaissance Philanthropy is facilitating infrastructure development for tackling an extremely important problem which affects all of humanity — preventing us from crossing a deadly climate tipping point that would result in a self-reinforcing cycle of greenhouse gas release and ice melting. Kudos to them for looking this problem right in the eye!
Fund | US | Climate, Energy, Geologic Hydrogen | The Chimaera Fund aims to responsibly and rapidly scale geologic hydrogen – the first new primary energy source discovered in 80 years.
AI model accurately predicts the spread of wildfires in real time
USC researchers are developing a computational model that combines satellite data and physics-based simulations to forecast a wildfire’s path, intensity, and growth rate. If you’ve ever been evacuated from your home during a wildfire, you’ll be aware of the terrifying unpredictability of the situation. From your location on the ground—rapidly gathering a few vital belongings and attempting to identify the best route to safety—there’s no way of knowing how fast a fire is growing or which direction it’s likely to take.
That was the experience of Assad Oberai, Hughes Professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. He was evacuated from his home during the Eaton Fire in January 2025—one of the most destructive wildfires in Southern California history, burning for 24 days before full containment and leaving more than 9,400 structures destroyed and over 1,000 damaged.
“Due to changing climate, we’re seeing more of these extremely intense fires—those that burn very fast and very bright,” he reflected. “We have the data at our fingertips. It all comes down to how we put it to use.”
How Google DeepMind is researching the next Frontier of AI for Gemini — Raia Hadsell, VP of Research
In this presentation, Raia Hadsell, VP of Research at Google DeepMind and AI Ambassador for the United Kingdom, opens AIE Europe and explores what’s open in Frontier AI and the future of intelligence by focusing on advancements beyond standard large language models. She categorizes these innovations into three key areas:
00:00 Introduction.
05:05 Advanced Embedding Models: Raia discusses the importance of embedding models for fast retrieval and recognition, similar to how the human brain uses ‘Jennifer Aniston cells’ to identify concepts across modalities. She highlights Gemini Embeddings 2, a fully omnimodal model that processes text, video, and audio into unified semantic vectors.
09:53 AI for Weather Forecasting: The team has developed revolutionary models for atmospheric prediction, moving away from traditional physics simulations. Notable breakthroughs include:
11:00 GraphCast: A spherical graph neural network that provides accurate 15-day weather forecasts.
12:47 GenCast: A probabilistic model that offers higher efficiency and accuracy (97% of the time compared to gold-standard benchmarks).
13:51 FGN: A functional generative network that directly predicts cyclone behavior, which is currently being utilized by the US National Hurricane Center.
14:35 World Models: Hadsell introduces Genie, a project focused on creating interactive, real-time environments. Starting from Genie 1 (2D platformers) and progressing to Genie 3, these models allow users to create and interact with high-quality, 3D photorealistic worlds. These environments demonstrate capabilities like memory, consistency, and the ability to be dynamically prompted by the user to change the surroundings in real-time.
Speaker info:
/ raia-hadsell-35400266
https://github.com/raiah
Temperature shifts change plant proteins powering photosynthesis
Humans adjust to changes in temperature by putting on a sweater or taking off layers. Plants adjust to temperature changes, in part, by switching the way they express the protein that performs the critical first step of photosynthesis, according to new research from Cornell, Texas A&M and Stockholm University.
Rubisco is the most abundant protein on Earth, and it is responsible for fixing carbon so that plants can convert it into photosynthetic energy. Better understanding of the basic science underpinning rubisco’s function, therefore, has implications for increasing agricultural yields, improving carbon sequestration technology and understanding how plants may adapt to a warming climate.
In the paper “ Rubisco Kinetic Acclimation at the Holoenzyme Level,” published April 15 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers demonstrate that while rubisco’s protein core remains consistent, parts of its exterior can be swapped out, akin to an outfit. A stiffer exterior is preferred in the heat, for protection, and a looser one in the cold, to increase efficiency. This study, using the mustard-family plant Arabidopsis, is the first to show how rubisco acclimates to temperature changes in any plant species.
EarthSpace 2026
Register now for 2026! A discussion of Earth and space on Earth Day, with Frank White, me, and other great guests!
EarthSpace 2026 brings together leaders, thinkers, and builders to explore one core idea: the future of Earth and the future of space are not separate conversations.
From climate solutions to space infrastructure, from policy to culture, the choices we make today will define how humanity lives on this planet—and beyond it.
This is not a passive webinar. It’s a focused, high-signal conversation with people actively shaping the frontier.
