Earth

  1. Science & Society

    Russia’s invasion could cause long-term harm to Ukraine’s prized soil

    War will physically and chemically damage Ukraine’s prized, highly fertile chernozem soils. The impacts on agriculture could last for years.

    By
  2. Health & Medicine

    Western wildfires’ health risks extend across the country

    As western wildfires become more common, hazardous smoke is sending people — especially children — to emergency rooms on the East Coast.

    By
  3. Climate

    Ancient penguin bones reveal unprecedented shrinkage in key Antarctic glaciers

    Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers are losing ice faster than any other time in the last 5,500 years. That history is written in bones and shells.

    By
  4. Earth

    Ancient zircons offer insights into earthquakes of the past

    Analyzing zircons’ chemical makeup can help expose intense quakes from the past and improve our understanding of the physics of today’s tremors.

    By
  5. Science & Society

    Growing wildfire threats loom over the birthplace of the atomic bomb

    Climate change is expected to make wildfires worse across much of the Southwest United States. A key nuclear weapons lab could be in the hot zone.

    By
  6. Ecosystems

    Just 3 ingredients can quickly destroy widely used PFAS ‘forever chemicals’

    Ultraviolet light, sulfite and iodide break down enduring PFAS molecules faster and more thoroughly than other UV-based methods.

    By
  7. Climate

    Scientists hope to mimic the most extreme hurricane conditions

    A $12.8 million NSF grant is funding the design of a facility that can generate winds of at least 290 kilometers per hour and towering storm surges.

    By
  8. Life

    High altitudes may be a climate refuge for some birds, but not these hummingbirds

    After being moved to a spot high above their typical home, Anna’s hummingbirds seemed to struggle to hover in the thin air.

    By
  9. Ecosystems

    Biocrusts reduce global dust emissions by 60 percent

    Lichens and other microbes construct biological soil crusts that concentrate nutrients and slash global dust emissions.

    By
  10. Climate

    Farmers in India cut their carbon footprint with trees and solar power

    Planting trees near crops and pumping water with solar power in India is reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.

    By
  11. Earth

    Machine learning and gravity signals could rapidly detect big earthquakes

    Large earthquakes make speed-of-light adjustments to Earth’s gravitational field. Researchers have now trained computers to detect the signals.

    By
  12. Agriculture

    These six foods may become more popular as the planet warms

    Millet, kelp, Bambara groundnut and cassava are resilient, sustainable and nutrient dense — good options for future dinner plates.

    By