Diane Hope
Diane Hope, Ph.D., is a former ecologist and environmental scientist turned audio producer, sound recordist and writer. Originally from northern England, she has spent much of the last 25 years in Arizona and has been contributing scripts to Earth Notes for 15 years.
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Annual meteor showers like the Perseids can give lovely shooting star displays – but they don’t produce meteorites. That’s because the tiny particles involved are made of fluffy, low-density clay-like material which burn up before reaching the ground. -
On the evening of October 9, 1946, members of the Kaibab Trail crew at the Grand Canyon National Park were watching the sky during a meteor shower caused by the trail of Comet Giacobini-Zinner. -
New research shows a small change in where homes are built could make a big difference for wildlife like elk, mule deer and pronghorn. -
That unmistakable smell after rain has a name: petrichor. It's been signaling the arrival of rain for millions of years. -
The Coconino National Forest established designated "Quiet Areas" — now known as "Seasonal Closures" — in the 1980s to provide recreational spaces free from motorized traffic at certain times of the year. -
Three decades ago, the use of cloud seeding to enhance precipitation over the region was tested as part of a large field experiment. -
Quicksand can form in rivers and washes across the Colorado Plateau. Conditions beneath the surface can create unstable ground and potential hazards. -
April in northern Arizona is heralded by the loud metallic wing trills of broad-tailed hummingbirds returning from winter in the Highlands of Mexico and Central America. -
Every spring, thousands of sheep were herded on a three-week trek across northern Arizona, up onto the Colorado Plateau for summer grazing. -
Fremont cottonwoods form a ribbon of green along Arizona’s rivers and streams. They have heart-shaped leaves which turn golden in fall and fluffy, cotton-like seeds.
