Earth

  1. Climate

    Historical events linked to changes in Earth’s temperature

    Ozone treaty, wars and Great Depression influenced global warming rate, scientists find.

    By
  2. Climate

    Natural aerosols confound climate predictions

    Natural aerosol emissions complicate scientists’ attempts to predict future climate change.

    By
  3. Earth

    Greenhouse gas injections may unleash earthquakes

    Plans to pump carbon dioxide into the ground to mitigate climate change could create other problems.

    By
  4. Materials Science

    Qingsongite

    This newly christened mineral has an atomic structure that’s similar to diamond and nearly as hard.

    By
  5. Earth

    Wet terrain responsible for Iceland’s hollow lava towers

    Normally found underwater, the rocky structures form on land too.

    By
  6. Climate

    Tiny shells hint at hidden ocean warming

    Pacific waters are heating up 15 times faster than in earlier eras.

    By
  7. Earth

    Pressure patterns could portend heat waves

    High-pressure systems may help scientists forecast temperature hikes 15 to 20 days out.

    By
  8. Environment

    Polluted water interferes with drug that combats parasitic scourge

    Arsenic contamination fuels resistance to one treatment for leishmaniasis.

    By
  9. Environment

    Mercury contamination in California to last 10,000 years

    Toxic remnants of gold rush will seep into San Francisco area waterways for millennia.

    By
  10. Earth

    Trees mark the spot of buried gold

    Tiny bits of the precious metal in eucalyptus leaves indicate treasure lurks belowground.

    By
  11. Environment

    Feedback

    Readers respond to "Solving soot," trade-offs of horn size for male Soay sheep and the huge galactic explosion story from 50 years ago.

    By
  12. Agriculture

    Fertilizer has staying power

    Nitrogen-based fertilizer may remain in the soil for eight decades, complicating efforts to reduce pollution from runoff into rivers.

    By