Methanol production consumes enormous amounts of energy and generates significant carbon dioxide. New process uses tiny bursts of underwater plasma to convert methane to methanol in just one step. Plasma is a rare form of matter on Earth but makes up 99% of the observable universe. If scaled, new system could convert methane into fuels at the source of leaks.

New review challenges conventional wisdom, revealing land-atmosphere interactions play a crucial role even in wet monsoon climates.

New evidence shows melt ponds in the northern parts of the Arctic may be biological sources of ice-nucleating particles, a key ingredient for cloud formation that has been largely overlooked.