Earth

  1. Earth

    How the Earth-shaking theory of plate tectonics was born

    Plate tectonics explains many of Earth’s geologic wonders and natural hazards — and may hold clues to the evolution of life.

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  2. Earth

    Earth’s oceans are storing record-breaking amounts of heat

    2020 was just the latest in a series of record-breaking years for ocean heat.

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  3. Climate

    Ocean acidification may make some species glow brighter

    Ocean organisms use bioluminescence for hunting, defense and more. A new analysis shows that declines in water pH might change who glows and how much.

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  4. Earth

    Reawakened Yellowstone geyser isn’t a sign of imminent explosion

    The 2018 reactivation of Yellowstone’s Steamboat Geyser isn’t a portent of dangerous volcanic or hydrothermal eruptions, scientists say.

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  5. Climate

    What the pandemic can teach us about ways to reduce air pollution

    Data collected during COVID-19 shutdowns may help tease out the complicated chemistry that brews poor air quality.

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  6. Earth

    Plastic drinking water pipes exposed to high heat can leak hazardous chemicals

    Lab tests exposing commonly used water pipes to wildfire-like heat show damaged pipes can leach the carcinogen benzene and other chemicals.

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  7. Chemistry

    A new iron-based catalyst converts carbon dioxide into jet fuel

    Jet fuel made from carbon dioxide could one day reduce pollution from air travel.

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  8. Climate

    Wildfires, heat waves and hurricanes broke all kinds of records in 2020

    Climate change did not take a break during the pandemic.

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  9. Earth

    Towering fire-fueled thunderclouds can spew as many aerosols as volcanic eruptions

    A massive plume of smoke lofted into the stratosphere during Australia’s fires may represent a new class of “volcanic-scale” pyrocumulonimbus clouds.

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  10. Animals

    Plastic waste forms huge, deadly masses in camel guts

    Eating plastic isn’t just a sea animal problem. Researchers found suitcase-sized masses of plastic in dromedaries’ guts in the United Arab Emirates.

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  11. Earth

    In the past 15 years, climate change has transformed the Arctic

    Accumulating evidence and new tools have helped scientists better understand how the Arctic is changing, but the pace has been faster than expected.

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  12. Archaeology

    Ancient people may have survived desert droughts by melting ice in lava tubes

    Bands of charcoal from fires lit long ago, found in an ice core from a New Mexico cave, correspond to five periods of drought over 800 years.

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