Backstory in 2009

Emily Sekula-Wood and colleagues held their breath as they waited for results to rise up from the depths of the coastal ocean off California.

Robert Field and colleagues turned their attention to the newspapers and used the simplest of weather observations to better understand the climatological and human causes of Indonesia's fire problem.

Daniel Rothman and colleagues imaged underground water and made friends with a hatchet-wielding prisoner during their attempt to understand the mechanics of stream development.

Robin Fergason and colleagues sent a rover to Meridiani Planum to better understand the history of the red planet.

Timm John and colleagues soaked up the beauty, and rain, of Western Norway while attempting to unlock the secrets of deep earthquakes.

Russell Schnell and colleagues trawled through meteorological datasets to solve the mystery of the winter ozone anomalies in Wyoming.