Geotechnology

Morocco gets plenty of sun—about 3,000 hours per year, according to the Solar GCC Alliance. A new solar plant in that desert country is poised to take advantage of the ample Saharan sunlight.

The Palisades fire ignited around 10:30 a.m. on January 7, 2025, near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. By midday the next day, the fire had grown to over 11,000 acres (44 square kilometers), and after one week, it had consumed nearly 24,000 acres (97 square kilometers) of wildland and developed areas.

A deadly cyclone ripped through the islands of Mayotte on December 14, 2024. Cyclone Chido’s hurricane-force winds downed electric poles, uprooted trees, and tore roofs off homes in the French territory, according to news reports.

The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) is revolutionizing our understanding of the planet's surface by using a state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer. Mounted on the International Space Station (ISS), EMIT focuses on detecting and analyzing mineral dust sources, which play a critical role in Earth’s climate and ecosystem dynamics.