Evaporation is a phase transition in which molecules at the surface of a liquid acquire sufficient kinetic energy to overcome intermolecular forces and escape into the gas phase, occurring at temperatures below the liquid’s boiling point. It is governed by factors such as temperature, vapor pressure gradients, relative humidity, surface area, and airflow, and is often described quantitatively using mass-transfer models like Fick’s law or bulk aerodynamic formulations. In research, evaporation plays a central role in hydrology, climate and energy balance studies, industrial drying processes, and surface-atmosphere exchange modeling, influencing latent heat fluxes and boundary-layer dynamics.
Sea-surface salinity, the concentration of dissolved salts in the upper layer of the ocean, is much more than a measure of how salty the sea is. It responds rapidly to changes in rainfall, evaporation, river discharge and, ...
Earth Sciences
6 hours ago
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Before rain falls, the moisture that forms it may have traveled anywhere from just a few kilometers to hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away. It usually begins as water that evaporated from oceans, lakes, forests ...
Human-caused climate change has intensified a drought across Europe, with extreme heat rather than low rainfall driving the exceptionally dry conditions, a team of international scientists said Thursday.
Environment
Jul 23, 2026
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A new paper in the journal Nature Physics offers insights into the physics of liquid droplets—and while many people may not appreciate the mathematical accomplishment, they will benefit from the athletic wear and raincoats ...
General Physics
Jul 18, 2026
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The Caspian Sea, the largest inland body of water on Earth, is shrinking. Not fluctuating, not entering another natural cycle, but shrinking.
Earth Sciences
Jun 22, 2026
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Soils that are exposed to prolonged drought often develop desiccation cracks, which impact soil properties and exacerbate moisture loss through evapotranspiration. Now, a study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 18, 2026
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Heat waves are arriving sooner and becoming hotter, with the United Kingdom recording May 25 as its hottest day in May since tracking began more than a century ago, only for the record to be broken again the next day. While ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 16, 2026
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Planting trees is widely promoted as a natural solution to climate change. But a new study led by researchers from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences finds that the hydrological consequences ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 15, 2026
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About two-thirds of the U.S. is in some stage of drought in late spring 2026, yet at the same time the country has been seeing more intense downpours. It might seem contradictory, but both are symptoms of rising global temperatures.
Environment
May 26, 2026
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Tropical forests, often described as the lungs of the planet, may be edging closer to a dangerous threshold as droughts become more frequent and widespread across the world's humid tropics. New research suggests these ecosystems ...
