Earth
- Environment
Carbon dioxide levels hit landmark in Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere experienced the first full month with the greenhouse gas at or above the symbolic 400 parts per million level.
- Climate
Violent storms may shatter sea ice
Tall waves’ effect on sea ice hints at troubled water in the future.
- Climate
Environmental change may spur growth of ‘rock snot’
A controversial new theory suggests alga that forms rock snot isn’t an invader, but a low-key species native to many rivers.
- Ecosystems
Deep-sea trawling threatens oceans’ health
Dragging large nets along the seafloor to catch fish cuts organic matter and biodiversity in half and may threaten all of the world's underwater ecosystems.
- Climate
Forest fires may speed demise of Greenland’s ice sheet
Black carbon released by burning woodland darkens Greenland’s ice sheet, quickening its melt.
- Health & Medicine
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Readers question pertussis vaccination scheduling, share stories about earthquakes and more.
- Environment
Fukushima contamination affects butterfly larvae
Butterfly larvae fed leaves with radioactive cesium from the Fukushima nuclear disaster had a higher rate of death and development abnormalities than larvae that got leaves from a location farther from the accident.
- Earth
Tiny earthquakes may follow groundwater loss
Draining California’s aquifers may stress San Andreas Fault, triggering earthquakes and forcing mountains to rise.
- Oceans
Deepwater Horizon methane lingered longer than thought
Microbes may not have consumed methane from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill as fast as previously thought.
- Climate
Antarctic glacier melt is unstoppable
The inevitable collapse of Antarctic’s western glaciers could raise global sea level by more than 4 meters in coming centuries.
- Climate
Tropics leave trace in Arctic warming
Cooling temperatures in the Pacific may be responsible for the recent rapid warming of northeastern Canada and Greenland.
- Environment
BP oil spill may have killed hundreds of thousands of birds
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill may have killed 600,000 to 800,000 coastal birds, new simulations suggest.
