Science Saturday: Wildfires in California, Climate Change, and Additional Topics
Science Saturday: Examining California wildfires, the impact of global warming, and additional topics.
TroibNews 
This week on Science Saturday, we reflect on significant advancements in science and technology over the past year.
California wildfires have been fueled by extreme weather events. The process began with the intense Santa Ana winds, reaching 161 kilometers per hour, followed by severe drought. This was exacerbated by the rapid growth of vegetation during downpours, which subsequently dried out in record-high temperatures. Additionally, an unstable jet stream and downed power lines swayed in strong winds contributed to the crisis. Experts attribute these weather patterns to climate change.
Global warming is set to worsen in the future. The Earth experienced its hottest year on record in 2024, surpassing the extreme heat of 2023 and continuing to climb. Alarmingly, temperatures have exceeded the long-term warming threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius that was established by the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Experts point to the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to the combustion of coal, oil, and gas as the main contributor to this worrying trend.
In a fascinating discovery, scientists have unearthed ancient ice from Antarctica, drilling nearly 2.8 kilometers deep to access ice that is at least 1.2 million years old. This team had previously extracted an 800,000-year-old core. They report that greenhouse gas levels during the warmest periods over the last 800,000 years have never reached the levels seen during the Industrial Revolution. With these new findings, scientists aim to illustrate the evolution of Earth’s atmosphere and climate.
In the realm of moon exploration, China's Chang'e-5 mission has provided insights indicating that the moon possessed a magnetic field 2 billion years ago. Experts describe this field as persistent yet weak, measuring less than 10 percent of Earth's current field strength. This discovery suggests that the lunar dynamo remained active at least until the moon's middle years and could help bridge a significant gap in our understanding of the moon's magnetic evolution.
Aarav Patel for TROIB News
California wildfires have been fueled by extreme weather events. The process began with the intense Santa Ana winds, reaching 161 kilometers per hour, followed by severe drought. This was exacerbated by the rapid growth of vegetation during downpours, which subsequently dried out in record-high temperatures. Additionally, an unstable jet stream and downed power lines swayed in strong winds contributed to the crisis. Experts attribute these weather patterns to climate change.
Global warming is set to worsen in the future. The Earth experienced its hottest year on record in 2024, surpassing the extreme heat of 2023 and continuing to climb. Alarmingly, temperatures have exceeded the long-term warming threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius that was established by the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Experts point to the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to the combustion of coal, oil, and gas as the main contributor to this worrying trend.
In a fascinating discovery, scientists have unearthed ancient ice from Antarctica, drilling nearly 2.8 kilometers deep to access ice that is at least 1.2 million years old. This team had previously extracted an 800,000-year-old core. They report that greenhouse gas levels during the warmest periods over the last 800,000 years have never reached the levels seen during the Industrial Revolution. With these new findings, scientists aim to illustrate the evolution of Earth’s atmosphere and climate.
In the realm of moon exploration, China's Chang'e-5 mission has provided insights indicating that the moon possessed a magnetic field 2 billion years ago. Experts describe this field as persistent yet weak, measuring less than 10 percent of Earth's current field strength. This discovery suggests that the lunar dynamo remained active at least until the moon's middle years and could help bridge a significant gap in our understanding of the moon's magnetic evolution.
Aarav Patel for TROIB News
