Farmers in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, pay four to six times more for crop insurance than their counterparts in the upper Midwest, and Hunter Biram wanted to know why. The result of his research with colleagues in Kansas was published in late July in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

According to the 35th annual State of the Climate report, greenhouse gas concentrations, the global temperature across land and oceans, global sea level, and ocean heat content all reached record highs in 2024, and glaciers lost the most ice of any year on record. The authoritative international yearly review of the world’s climate, published by the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS), is based this year on contributions from 589 scientists in 58 countries.

Harvard SEAS and University of Chicago researchers have tested and validated lightweight nanofabricated structures that can passively float in the mesophere, which is about 45 miles above Earth’s surface. The devices levitate via photophoresis, or sunlight-driven propulsion, which occurs in the low-pressure conditions of the upper atmosphere.

Biochar, hailed as a climate change mitigation tool for its ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, may not be as effective as once thought when microplastics are in the picture. A new study investigates how polyethylene microplastics interact with aged biochar to affect carbon and nitrogen stability in Fluvic Cambisol soil, offering surprising results.

Climate modeling leveraged by calibrating the so-called “soil color” parameter to enhance surface albedo simulation in the Weather Research and Forecasting model. This weakens land-atmosphere interactions with attenuated sensible heat and evapotranspiration, and suppresses water vapor flow into the Tibetan Plateau. Eventually, it reduces summertime precipitation wet bias by ~16% on the plateau. This study highlights the promise of enhancing climate modeling through the optimization of key land surface parameters, which is highly affordable through satellite remote sensing.