All Stories by Carolyn Gramling
- Earth
Critter-finding mission to Antarctica’s Larsen C iceberg scrapped
Thick sea ice ended a rapid-response mission to study seafloor that lay beneath Larsen C iceberg.
- Earth
Early land plants led to the rise of mud
New research suggests early land plants called bryophytes, which include modern mosses, helped shape Earth’s surface by creating clay-rich river deposits.
- Earth
New mapping shows just how much fishing impacts the world’s seas
Industrial fishing now occurs across 55 percent of the world’s ocean area while only 34 percent of Earth’s land area is used for agriculture or grazing.
- Paleontology
New fossils are redefining what makes a dinosaur
While some researchers question what characteristics define the dinosaurs, others are uprooting the dino family tree altogether.
- Animals
Strong winds send migrating seal pups on lengthier trips
Prevailing winds can send northern fur seal pups on an epic journey.
- Climate
Look to penguins to track Antarctic changes
Scientists say carbon and nitrogen isotopes found in penguin tissues can indicate shifts in the Antarctic environment.
- Plants
Ancient ozone holes may have sterilized forests 252 million years ago
Swaths of barren forest may have led to Earth’s greatest mass extinction.
- Ecosystems
Humans are overloading the world’s freshwater bodies with phosphorus
Human activities are driving phosphorus levels in the world’s lakes and other freshwater bodies to a critical point.
- Earth
Gassy farm soils are a shockingly large source of these air pollutants
California’s farm soils produce a surprisingly large amount of smog-causing air pollutants.
- Earth
Life may have been possible in Earth’s earliest, most hellish eon
Heat from asteroid bombardment during Earth’s earliest eon wasn’t too intense for life to exist on the planet, a new study suggests.
- Earth
Overlooked air pollution may be fueling more powerful storms
The tiniest particles in air pollution aren’t just a health threat. They also strengthen thunderstorms, new research suggests.
- Earth
Volume of fracking fluid pumped underground tied to Canada quakes
Study links volume of fracking fluid injected underground with hundreds of quakes in central Canada, and not the rate at which the fluids were injected.
