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Natural Disasters

This Past November Was the Hottest November Ever Recorded

In the 134-year observational record, we’ve never had a hotter November

Scientists had to use a remotely operated vehicle to retrieve temperature sensors from a borehole drilled into the Japan Trench, 6,900 meters below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

Fault That Caused Japan’s 2011 Earthquake Is Thin and Slippery

A group of scientists drilled miles beneath the Pacific Ocean, uncovering conditions that made the Tohoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami so devastating

Large swaths of Brazil’s Amazon have been wiped out, but deforestation there is starting to slow.

Hotspots of Deforestation Revealed in New Maps

New maps of global forest loss find that while Brazil is decreasing its rate of deforestation, many other nations are rapidly losing forest cover

The accelerometer chip in iPhones can accurately detect seismic movement, and perhaps even provide a few crucial seconds of warning before the most energetic waves from an earthquake arrive.

Your Smartphone Could Someday Warn You That Earthquake Waves Are About to Hit

The accelerometer chip in iPhones can detect seismic movement and may even provide a few seconds of warning before the most violent shaking strikes

Risk analysis groups have detected an increased frequency of Atlantic hurricanes due to climate change, forcing insurance companies to rethink their models.

How the Insurance Industry Is Dealing With Climate Change

The rising chance of extreme weather is forcing insurance companies to adjust their models as they take on more risk

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We Can Handle a Hurricane or Tornado, But What About a Mega-Disaster?

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Warming, Rising Acidity and Pollution: Top Threats to the Ocean

Since the last World Oceans Day, we’ve documented trash in the deep sea, sea snails with acid-weakened shells, high ocean temperatures and more

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Which Primate Is the Most Likely Source of the Next Pandemic?

To help anticipate the next outbreak of an emerging infectious disease, scientists scrutinize our closest relatives in the animal kingdom

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The Colorado: America’s Most Endangered River

A new report points to drought, climate change and increased demand for water as the reasons the iconic river no longer reaches the sea

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New Web Tool Helps Avoid Flooding by Finding the Best Spots to Build Wetlands

Specifically placed small wetlands can help capture watershed runoff, helping city planners to guard against flood disasters

Landslides can be both sudden and devastating to people living in the shadows of mountains. This one, which slid in 2006 in the Philippine province of Southern Leyte, killed more than 1000 people.

Landslide “Quakes” Give Clues to the Location and Size of Debris Flows

Scientists can now quickly assess characteristics of a landslide soon after slopes fail, based on its seismic signature

Locusts covering a bush during the 2004 swarm near the Red Sea cost in Israel.

A Plague of Locusts Descends Upon the Holy Land, Just in Time for Passover

Israel battles a swarm of millions of locusts that flew from Egypt that is giving rise to a host of ecological, political and agricultural issues

Melting sea ice is a threat to many Arctic species, including polar bears.

Anthropocene

How Climate Change Affects the Smithsonian

Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough looks at how our scientists are studying our changing climate

A dark Manhattan after Superstorm Sandy

Can We Ever Stop Worrying About Blackouts?

Only if utility companies are able to make their power grids smart enough to spot outages and “heal” themselves

According to oral tradition, the Mayflower Pilgrims landed near Plymouth Rock in 1620—but first-person accounts of their arrival make no mention of it.

Did the Pilgrims Really Land on Plymouth Rock and More Questisons From our Readers

Where do hurricanes start, the Big Bang, sea gulls and other answers from the Smithsonian’s experts

Hydraulic fracturing for natural gas may increase the risk of earthquake, a new study finds.

‘Fracking’ for Natural Gas Is Linked With Earthquakes

A new study finds a correlation between the underground injection of waste fluids from fracking and dozens of small earthquakes

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Ocean Acidity Rivals Climate Change As Environmental Threat

Rising ocean acidity is now considered to be just as much of a formidable threat to the health of Earth’s environment as the atmospheric climate changes

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The DC Derecho of 2012

A devastating storm swept through Washington Friday night. By Saturday morning we were all left wondering, “what in the world had happened?”

The 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption, one of the largest in recent history, is dwarfed by the scale of supervolcano eruptions

Can Supervolcanoes Erupt More Suddenly Than We Think?

Enormous magma reserves may sit quietly for just thousands or even hundreds of years

The supermoon of March 2011, rising behind the Lincoln Memorial In Washington, DC

The Biggest Supermoon in Years is Coming Saturday Night

The moon’s closest approach to earth will coincide with a perfectly full moon

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