The Conversation

The science, skill – and luck – behind evacuation order calls

Written by Susan L. Cutter, Carolina Distinguished Professor of Geography and Director Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute, University of South Carolina

A sunny day evacuation days before Hurricane Florence made landfall in North CarolinaAP Photo/Tom Copeland

More than 1 million people in the Carolinas were ordered to evacuate days before Hurricane Florence hit landfall.

Government officials order coastal evacuation even when it’s sunny at the beach with not a cloud in the sky and no hint of...

Catastrophe overload? Read philosophers and poetry instead of headlines

Written by Rachel Hadas, Professor of English, Rutgers University Newark

Read poetry.Photo by Priscilla Du Preez/Unsplash, CC BY-SA

For almost two years now, Americans have been confronted daily by ominous tidings. We are living through stressful times. Reading the news feels awful; ignoring it doesn’t feel right either.

Psychologist Terri Apter recently wrote about the “phenomenon in human behavior...

Federal funding for higher ed comes with strings attached, but is still worth it

Written by Jason Alix Coupet, Assistant Professor of Public Administration, North Carolina State University

Even privately run colleges and universities get money from the federal government.ITTIGallery/Shutterstock.com

When nonprofit colleges and universities get federal funding for research and to support students, do government regulations make it difficult to fulfill their missions?

As a professor who studies the organizational performance of...

Digitizing the vast 'dark data' in museum fossil collections

Written by Charles Marshall, Professor of Paleontology and Director of the University of California Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley

With a lot not on display, museums may not even know all that's in their vast holdings.AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

The great museums of the world harbor a secret: They’re home to millions upon millions of natural history specimens that almost never see the light of day. They lie hidden from public view, typically housed behind or above the public...

How the zebrafish got its stripes

Written by Alexandria Volkening, Postdoctoral Fellow in Applied Mathematics, The Ohio State University

Zebrafish are known for their black and gold stripes.NICHD/flickr, CC BY

Stripes are common in our lives. It’s a pretty basic pattern, and easy to take for granted.

As an applied mathematician who studies how patterns form in nature, though, I am wowed by the striped patterns the zebrafish wears across its body and fins.

Take a closer look...

Rivers flood regularly during hurricanes, but get less attention than coastlines

Written by Craig E. Colten, Carl O. Sauer Professor of Geography, Louisiana State University

Flooding in Kinston, North Carolina during Tropical Storm Florence, September 14, 2018.NC National Guard, CC BY

Hurricane Florence, now a tropical depression, has dropped record-setting rainfall on parts of North Carolina. Many river gauges show waterways above flood stage. Flash and long-term flooding, as well as a risk of landslides, are expected...

¿Por qué sentimos el olor de la lluvia?

Written by Tim Logan, Instructional Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University

Su olfato percibe lo que va a pasar.Lucy Chian/Unsplash, CC BY

Cuando caen las primeras gotas de lluvia del verano al suelo caliente y seco, ¿acaso notas el aroma?

Recuerdo muy bien mis primeros años de niñez. Entre mis familiares había unos campesinos que solían decir que anticipaban las tormentas, antes de que...

Barrier islands protect coasts from storms, but are vulnerable too

Written by Anna Linhoss, Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University

Ship Island, one of the Mississippi Gulf islands, photographed in 2004.USGS

When hurricanes like Florence make landfall, the first things they hit often are barrier islands – thin ribbons of sand that line the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It’s hard to imagine how these narrow strips can withstand such forces, but in fact, many of...

Nuclear reactors in hurricanes: 5 questions answered

Written by Theodore J. Kury, Director of Energy Studies, University of Florida

Florida's Turkey Point Nuclear Plant shut down 12 hours before Hurricane Andrew made landfall in 1992.AP Photo/Phil Sandlin

Hurricane Florence may affect the operations of several of the 16 nuclear reactors located in the Carolinas and Virginia, raising concerns about safety and power outages. Ted Kury, director of energy studies at the University...

Immigrant detention in the US: 4 essential reads

Written by Danielle Douez, Associate Editor, Politics + Society

More children are being held in immigrant detention centers in the U.S. than ever previously recorded, according to The New York Times.

The number of immigrant children in detention has risen to about 12,800, the Times reports, a significant increase from 2,400 in 2017. Here are 4 stories from our archive that will help readers understand some...