Earth

  1. Climate

    ‘The New Climate War’ exposes tactics of climate change ‘inactivists’

    In his new book, climate scientist Michael Mann draws the battle lines for a new phase of the struggle against climate change denialism.

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  2. Climate

    2020 and 2016 tie for the hottest years on record

    Ocean temperature data as well as temperatures measured over land at weather stations around the globe revealed the extent of the warming.

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  3. 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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  4. Science & Society

    Marie Tharp’s groundbreaking maps brought the seafloor to the world

    In part because of her gender, Tharp was the right person in the right place at the right time to make the first detailed maps of the ocean’s bottom.

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  5. 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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  6. 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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  7. 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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  8. 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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  9. 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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  10. 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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  11. 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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  12. 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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