Earth

  1. Earth

    Weird ‘superionic’ matter could make up Earth’s inner core

    Computer simulations suggest that matter that behaves like a mash-up of solid and liquid could explain oddities of Earth’s center.

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  2. Animals

    Deep-sea Arctic sponges feed on fossilized organisms to survive

    Slow-moving sponges, living deep in the Arctic Ocean where no currents deliver food, scavenge a carpet of long-dead critters.

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  3. Climate

    Satellites have located the world’s methane ‘ultra-emitters’

    Plugging leaks from methane ultra-emitters would make a dent in greenhouse gas emissions — and be cost-effective for those countries, scientists say.

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  4. Oceans

    The past’s extreme ocean heat waves are now the new normal

    Marine heat waves that were rare more than a century ago now routinely occur in more than half of global ocean, suggesting we’ve hit a “point of no return.”

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  5. Tech

    Materials of the last century shaped modern life, but at a price

    From our homes and cities to our electronics and clothing, the stuff of daily life is dramatically different from decades ago.

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  6. Planetary Science

    Machine learning points to prime places in Antarctica to find meteorites

    Using data on how ice moves across Antarctica, researchers identified more than 600 spots where space rocks may gather on the southern continent.

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  7. Earth

    What the Tonga volcano’s past tells us about what to expect next

    The January 15 eruption of a Tongan volcano triggered atmospheric shock waves and a rare volcanic tsunami; its history suggests it may not be done.

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  8. Climate

    Intense drought or flash floods can shock the global economy

    Rainfall extremes have powerful impacts on the global economy, affecting the manufacturing and services sectors more than agriculture.

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  9. Earth

    Volcanic avalanches of rock and gas may be more destructive than previously thought

    Pressures within pyroclastic flows may be as much as three times as great as observations had suggested.

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  10. Climate

    Climate change communication should focus less on specific numbers

    Even if nations don’t meet goals to curb global climate change, any progress is better than none.

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  11. Earth

    Some volcanic hot spots may have a surprisingly shallow heat source

    Mysterious hot spots of volcanic activity in the interior of tectonic plates just got a little stranger.

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  12. Climate

    Africa’s ‘Great Green Wall’ could have far-reaching climate effects

    The “Great Green Wall,” a tree-planting project to stop desertification in northern Africa, could alter climate patterns in the region and beyond.

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