Earth

Earth

Here are some big-if-true scientific claims that made headlines in 2023

Hominid cannibalism, “dark stars,” the secrets of Earth’s core and more tantalizing findings will require more evidence before scientists can confirm them as fact.

Oceans

Ocean heat waves often lurk out of sight

About 1 in 3 marine heat waves occur below the surface, a new study reports, suggesting these harmful events are more common than previously thought.

Climate

COP28 is making headlines. Here’s why the focus on methane matters

Here’s one takeaway from COP28: Deep cuts to methane are essential to meet the Paris Agreement goals. That’s still possible.

Climate

Here’s how 2023 became the hottest year on record

The effects of climate change were on clear display in 2023 as records not only broke, but did so by surprising amounts.

Environment

Landscape Explorer shows how much the American West has changed

The online tool stitches together historical images into a map that’s helping land managers make decisions about preservation and restoration.

Climate

A new UN report lays out an ethical framework for climate engineering

The report’s release, which coincides with COP28, weighs the ethics of using technological interventions to mitigate climate change.

Earth

Before ancient Egyptians, nature sculpted sphinxes. Here’s how

Steady winds can carve landforms called yardangs — thought to have inspired the Great Sphinx of Gaza — from featureless blobs, a new study suggests.

Animals

This bird hasn’t been seen in 38 years. Its song may help track it down

Using bioacoustics, South American scientists are eavesdropping on a forest in hopes of hearing the song of the long-missing purple-winged ground dove.

Climate

Capturing methane from the air would slow global warming. Can it be done?

Removing methane from the atmosphere requires different technology from removing carbon dioxide. Scientists are taking on the challenge.

Science & Society

Reindeer herders and scientists collaborate to understand Arctic warming

Siberian reindeer herders and scientists are working together to figure out how to predict rain-on-snow events that turn tundra into deadly ice.

Life

Crabs left the sea not once, but several times, in their evolution

A new study is the most comprehensive analysis yet of the evolution of “true crabs.”

Environment

Grassland and shrubland fires destroy more U.S. homes than forest fires

Grassland and shrubland fires destroyed nearly 11,000 homes in the contiguous United States from 1990 to 2020.