KENT STATE UNIVERSITY TENURE-TRACK FACULTY POSITION IN THE EARTH SCIENCES  The Department of Earth Sciences at Kent State University (http://www.kent.edu/earth-sciences) invites applications for a tenure-track open-rank faculty member whose research focuses on interactions between the hydrosphere and other aspects of the earth sciences (lithosphere, biosphere, cryosphere and/or atmosphere). The position starts August 2024. The successful candidate will hold a Ph.D. in the Earth or Marine Sciences, and be able to interface well with faculty working at the nexus of environmental a...

So, this summer has been a doozy for those of us who live in the upper Midwest and Northeast. The wildfires raging in Canadian forests have been generating massive amounts of smoke. As 2023 saw the start of an El Niño, wind patterns shifted to allow pressure systems to draw air masses from where those fires were occurring. There are two major variables at work here; the lack of precipitation in Canada over the winter creating dry conditions conducive to wildfires and the El Niño wind patterns drawing that smoke our way. Had either of these things not occurred, we would be enjoying our norma...