Earth
- Life
Ocean acidification could degrade sharks’ tough skin
Nine weeks of exposure to acidic seawater corroded the toothlike denticles that make up a puffadder shyshark’s skin, a small experiment found.
- Earth
Climate change may be why birds are migrating earlier across the United States
Birds are migrating earlier in recent decades in the United States, which could disrupt feeding or nesting cycles.
- Animals
A year of big numbers startled the world into talking about nature
One million species are at risk. Three billion birds have been lost. Plus surges in Amazon burning.
- Climate
Record-breaking heat amplified waves of student climate protests in 2019
While the world experienced record-breaking heat, Greta Thunberg and other activists pushed decision makers to take climate change seriously.
- Earth
Flooding Earth’s atmosphere with oxygen may not have needed a triggering event
Building an oxygen-rich world doesn’t require volcanism, supercontinent breakups or the rise of land plants — just nutrient cycling, a study finds.
- Climate
How the Arctic’s poor health affects everyday life
A new NOAA report features testimony from indigenous communities in Alaska who are weathering the impacts of Arctic warming.
- Earth
Fingerprints of climate change are increasingly appearing in extreme weather
A new report finds evidence that some of 2018’s extreme weather events were linked to human-caused climate change.
- Climate
See how an Alaskan glacier has shrunk over time
Scientists have created a time-lapse series of images of the retreat of an Alaskan glacier using NASA and U.S. Geological Survey Landsat data.
- Ecosystems
A newly found Atacama Desert soil community survives on sips of fog
Lichens and other fungi and algae unite to form “grit-crust” on the dry soil of Chile’s Atacama Desert and survive on moisture from coastal fog.
- Oceans
Stealthy robots with microphones could improve maps of ocean noise
Recordings from underwater microphones on stealthy robotic gliders could create a better “soundscape” of noises throughout the ocean, researchers say.
- Earth
Climate-warming CO₂ emissions will hit a record high in 2019
Despite countries adopting renewable power sources and coal use falling slightly, oil and gas use are pushing global carbon dioxide emissions to record heights.
- Climate
Countries urgently need to ramp up emissions cuts to meet climate targets
A new U.N. report finds that pledged emissions cuts aren’t nearly enough to limit warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius by 2100.
