Using data on glacier loss and estimations of ground water pumping, Liu and her colleagues calculated how the water stored on land changed. They found that the contributions of water loss from the polar regions is the main driver of polar drift, with contributions from water loss in nonpolar regions. Together, all this water loss explained the eastward change in polar drift. “I think it […]

The locations of the North and South poles aren’t static, unchanging spots on our planet. The axis Earth spins around—or more specifically the surface that invisible line emerges from—is always moving due to processes scientists don’t completely understand. The way water is distributed on Earth’s surface is one factor that drives the drift. Melting glaciers redistributed enough water to cause the direction of polar wander […]

Having files actually saved on your phone means you won’t be cut off on long plane or train rides without an internet connection, ensures you won’t have to wait an age for large files to download, and can significantly reduce the strain on your phone’s data plan while you’re away from home. Whether you’re prepping for a trip without a reliable link to the web, […]

Notifications pop up on your computer screen to tell you about important security updates, messages from friends, and even tweets. But if you enable alerts from all of your applications, the barrage of new information can overwhelm and distract you at the worst possible times. That’s why operating systems like Windows and macOS come with built-in controls for taming the number of messages that intrude […]

Drone flights generally aren’t remarkable, but this one was for a simple reason—the entire time the Hybrid Tiger was in the sky, it drew power from two distinct systems: solar panels in the wings, and a compact hydrogen fuel cell in the body. The flight marked a major milestone for the program from the US Naval Research Laboratory, a sign that the drone is at […]