Climate
- Climate
The Southern Ocean may be less of a carbon sink than we thought
The Southern Ocean’s ability to suck up much of the carbon that humans pump into the atmosphere is in question.
- Climate
Thousands of birds perished in the Bering Sea. Arctic warming may be to blame
A mass die-off of puffins and other seabirds in the Bering Sea is probably linked to climate change, scientists say.
- Climate
Himalayan glacier melting threatens water security for millions of people
Asia’s glaciers are melting faster than they are accumulating new stores of snow and ice.
- Earth
This iconic Humboldt map may need crucial updates
A seminal, 212-year-old diagram of Andean plants by German explorer Alexander von Humboldt is still groundbreaking — but outdated, researchers say.
- Earth
Only a third of Earth’s longest rivers still run free
Mapping millions of kilometers of waterways shows that just 37 percent of rivers longer than 1,000 kilometers remain unchained by human activities.
- Archaeology
Ancient South American populations dipped due to an erratic climate
Scientists link bouts of intense rainfall and drought around 8,600 to 6,000 years ago to declining numbers of South American hunter-gatherers.
- Life
1 million species are under threat. Here are 5 ways we speed up extinctions
One million of the world’s plant and animal species are now under threat of extinction, a new report finds.
- Earth
Warm, dry winds may be straining Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf
Wind-induced melting that occurred during the Antarctic autumn may be accelerating the Larsen C ice shelf’s collapse, which could raise sea levels.
- Climate
Tiny microplastics travel far on the wind
Airborne bits of plastic that originated in cities ended up in pristine mountains at least 95 kilometers away, a study finds.
- Climate
Climate change made the Arctic greener. Now parts of it are turning brown.
Arctic browning could have far-reaching consequences for people and wildlife, affecting habitat and atmospheric carbon uptake as well as increasing wildfire risk.
- Climate
Antarctica’s iceberg graveyard could reveal the ice sheet’s future
Drilling deep into the seafloor beneath Antarctica’s “Iceberg Alley” could reveal new clues about how quickly the continent has melted in the past.
- Climate
One Antarctic ice shelf gets half its annual snowfall in just 10 days
Antarctica’s coasts get most of their snow from just a few big storms each year.
