Climate
- Paleontology
Sudden heat spikes did in Ice Age’s mammoth mammals
Abrupt warming and excessive hunting by ancient humans were responsible for the disappearance of many large mammals, including woolly mammoths, during Earth’s last glacial period.
- Animals
Sea level rise threatens sea turtles
Sea level rise is causing coastal areas to be inundated with water. Even short periods of being wet can kill sea turtle eggs, a new study finds.
- Climate
Carbon dating may soon lead to mismatches
Carbon released from burning fossil fuels will jeopardize the effectiveness of many carbon dating applications, new research predicts.
- Oceans
Blooming phytoplankton seed clouds in the Southern Ocean
Booming phytoplankton populations spark cloud formation in the Southern Ocean.
- Climate
Current El Niño coming on strong
Meteorologists expect the ongoing El Niño to strengthen in the coming months and alter weather patterns worldwide, including bringing potential drought relief to California.
- Climate
Wildfire seasons have gotten almost 20 percent longer
The average length of wildfire seasons has increased 18.7 percent since 1979, new research shows.
- Climate
Bumblebee territory shrinking under climate change
Climate change is shrinking bumblebee habitat as southern territories heat up and bumblebees hold their lines in the north.
- Climate
Greenland’s out-of-sync climate explained
Small variations in the sun’s activity cause big changes in Greenland’s temperatures decades later by altering ocean currents, new research suggests.
- Climate
Pink salmon threatened by freshwater acidification
Ocean acidification gets more attention, but freshwater systems are also acidifying. That’s a problem for young salmon, a new study finds.
- Earth
Fast-spreading crack threatens giant Antarctic ice shelf
A fast-spreading crack threatens Larsen C, one of Antarctica’s biggest ice shelves, satellite data suggest.
- Agriculture
Many of Earth’s groundwater basins run deficits
Twenty-one of Earth’s 37 largest groundwater basins are rapidly depleting, satellite data show.
- Climate
Greenhouse effect from fossil fuels felt almost immediately
The warming caused by burning fossil fuels is surpassed within months by the greenhouse gas effect of the released carbon dioxide, new research shows.
