Mineral deposits in limestone caves show that the now arid interior of Saudi Arabia repeatedly experienced increased rainfall over the last eight million years. An international team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz supported by the Saudi Heritage Commission, Ministry of Culture, reconstructed the climate of the Saharo-Arabian Desert using isotope analysis of stalagmites. They conclude that the vast desert belt between Africa and Eurasia was not always an impermeable barrier for humans and animals.

Milky seas are a rare bioluminescent phenomenon where vast areas of the ocean glow at night, sometimes for months. This glow, likely caused by Vibrio harveyi bacteria, has been reported by sailors for centuries but remains poorly understood due to its rarity and remote locations, mainly in the Indian Ocean. Researchers at Colorado State University have compiled a 400-year database of sightings, using historical records and satellite data, revealing that milky seas are linked to climatic patterns like the Indian Ocean Dipole and El Niño.

Wildfire victims have a range of needs, including mental health support and information about wildfire smoke, according to a UC Davis study.

About 66 million years ago, an asteroid slammed into the planet, wiping out all non-avian dinosaurs and about 70% of all marine species. But the crater it left behind in the Gulf of Mexico was a literal hotbed for life enriching the overlying ocean for at least 700,000 years, according to research published today in Nature Communications.