Carolyn Gramling

Carolyn Gramling

Earth & Climate Writer

Carolyn is the Earth & Climate writer at Science News. Previously she worked at Science magazine for six years, both as a reporter covering paleontology and polar science and as the editor of the news in brief section. Before that she was a reporter and editor at EARTH magazine. She has bachelor’s degrees in Geology and European History and a Ph.D. in marine geochemistry from MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She’s also a former Science News intern.

All Stories by Carolyn Gramling

  1. Paleontology

    Why the sale of a T. rex fossil could be a big loss for science

    At least half of the roughly 120 known T. rex fossils are owned privately and not available to the public. “Maximus” may join them.

  2. Earth

    Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano is erupting. Here’s what you need to know

    A geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey answers questions about the recent eruption of the world's largest active volcano.

  3. Climate

    Here’s what happened to the Delaware-sized iceberg that broke off Antarctica

    The powerful pull of currents in the Southern Ocean probably pulled apart the largest remnant of a massive iceberg that split off Antarctica in 2017.

  4. Paleontology

    Pterosaurs may have evolved from tiny, fast-running reptiles

    A mysterious little ground-dwelling reptile unearthed in a Scottish sandstone over 100 years ago turns out to be part of a famous flying family.

  5. Paleontology

    Ancient fish fossils highlight the strangeness of our vertebrate ancestors

    New fossils are revealing the earliest jawed vertebrates — a group that encompasses 99 percent of all living vertebrates on Earth, including humans.

  6. Earth

    In 2021, a deadly volcano erupted with no warning. Here’s why

    Before the Nyiragongo eruption, underground magma was already close to the surface and so didn’t trigger instruments that look for lava movement.

  7. Earth

    The Arctic is warming even faster than scientists realized

    The Arctic isn’t just heating up two to three times as quickly as the rest of the planet. New analyses show that warming is almost four times as fast.

  8. Climate

    Humans may not be able to handle as much heat as scientists thought

    Humans’ capacity to endure heat stress may be lower than previously thought — bad news as climate change leads to more heat waves around the globe.

  9. Paleontology

    Mammal ancestors’ shrinking inner ears may reveal when warm-bloodedness arose

    An abrupt shift in inner ear shape of mammal ancestors 233 million years ago, during a time of climate swings, points to evolution of warm-bloodedness.

  10. Paleontology

    A newfound dinosaur had tiny arms before T. rex made them cool

    A predecessor to Tyrannosaurus rex, Meraxes gigas had a giant head and puny but muscular arms, suggesting the limbs served some purpose.

  11. Paleontology

    Feathers may have helped dinosaurs survive the Triassic mass extinction

    New data show that dinosaurs were able to weather freezing conditions about 202 million years ago, probably thanks to warm feathery coats.

  12. Paleontology

    Vampire squid are gentle blobs. But this ancestor was a fierce hunter

    New fossil analyses of 164-million-year-old ancestors of today’s vampire squid show the ancient cephalopods had muscular bodies and powerful suckers.