An online navigation tool developed at Arizona State University chooses walking paths based on forecasts of mean radiant temperature, a measure of the total heat load experienced in a given location, including reflected heat and sun exposure. The current version covers ASU's Tempe campus, but it is an open-source framework that can be put to work in other cities to support walking, biking, and public transit use.

A Boston College-led study suggests that enhanced mid-ocean-ridge volcanism may have released hydrothermal iron that fertilized plankton in the eastern equatorial Pacific during ice-age transitions. The work reveals a hidden connection among sea level, deep-sea volcanism, ocean productivity, carbon storage, and climate.

Millions of children under age five worldwide suffer from childhood stunting. A critical marker of chronic undernutrition, stunting represents a lifelong constraint on human potential, carrying a heightened risk of mortality, chronic disease, impaired cognitive development and reduced economic opportunity. A new study from the University of Notre Dame reveals that human-caused climate change is actively worsening this public health crisis, acting alongside structural socioeconomic disparities that already challenge the next generation’s ability to thrive.

A new study published in National Science Review has revealed that global warming may reshape the distribution of sunlight reaching Earth’s surface. Climate models project reduced downward surface solar radiation over polar regions but increased radiation over Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, especially in local summer. The contrast is driven by increased atmospheric water vapor, reduced mid-latitude clouds, and enhanced polar cloud liquid water.

Researchers discover that tiny atmospheric particles can have opposite effects on Earth's climate depending on how quickly the atmosphere responds. Why it matters: Aerosols are one of the largest sources of uncertainty in climate projections. This study shows that their impact can change over time, initially warming the atmosphere before later cooling it. The findings could help scientists improve climate models and make more accurate predictions of future climate change.

A three-year study has cracked open the hidden biology behind coral reproduction, revealing hormone cycles that echo those of humans and other animals, and a new way to detect reef distress before it's too late.