Earth

  1. 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.

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  2. Environment

    Fracking doesn’t always go to great depths

    Fracking at shallow depths is unexpectedly common in the United States and raises new concern for drinking water contamination.

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  3. 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.

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  4. Animals

    Eyewitness account of a dolphin birth takes a dark turn

    Scientists witnessed the first wild birth of a bottlenose dolphin — and an attempt at infanticide.

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  5. 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.

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  6. Oceans

    Blooming phytoplankton seed clouds in the Southern Ocean

    Booming phytoplankton populations spark cloud formation in the Southern Ocean.

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  7. 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.

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  8. 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.

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  9. Earth

    Bringing mammoths back, life on early Earth and more reader feedback

    Readers debate the pros and cons of reviving extinct species, discuss the odd light-processing machinery of the eye and more.

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  10. Plants

    Flowers’ roles considered in ecosystems and economics

    In ‘The Reason for Flowers’, a pollination ecologist chronicles the science and culture of blossoms from the dawn of humanity.

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  11. 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.

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  12. Earth

    Natural concrete keeps lid on Italian volcano

    Naturally occurring, concretelike rock allows the ground around Italy’s Campi Flegrei caldera to bulge without bursting.

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