Earth

  1. Earth

    Volcanic gas bursts probably didn’t kill off the dinosaurs

    A new timeline for massive bursts of volcanic gases suggests the Deccan Traps eruptions weren’t the real dinosaur killer 66 million years ago.

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  2. Earth

    2019 was the second-warmest year on record

    2019 was the second-warmest year on record, ending a decade that topped 140 years of heat records.

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  3. Life

    The ‘Blob,’ a massive marine heat wave, led to an unprecedented seabird die-off

    Scientists have linked thousands of dead common murres in 2015–2016 to food web changes caused by a long-lasting marine heat wave nicknamed the Blob.

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  4. Archaeology

    After the Notre Dame fire, scientists get a glimpse of the cathedral’s origins

    Researchers will tackle the scientific questions behind rebuilding Notre Dame, and learn more about its history.

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  5. Animals

    Australian fires have incinerated the habitats of up to 100 threatened species

    Hundreds of fires that are blazing across the continent’s southeast have created an unprecedented ecological disaster, scientists say.

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  6. Earth

    Wildfires could flip parts of the Amazon from a carbon sponge to a source by 2050

    Climate change and deforestation could double the area burned by fire in the southern Amazon by 2050, flipping the forest from carbon sponge to source.

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  7. Earth

    Here’s how climate change may make Australia’s wildfires more common

    An El Niño–like ocean-atmosphere weather pattern called the Indian Ocean dipole helped fuel extremely dry conditions in Australia.

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  8. Climate

    Climate models agree things will get bad. Capturing just how bad is tricky

    Climate models are better than ever at simulating complex interactions between ocean, air, ice and land. But scientists still aren’t really sure what the worst-case scenario might be for Earth’s future climate.

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  9. Earth

    Climate change is bringing earlier springs, which may trigger drier summers

    An earlier than normal start to spring foliage is associated with drier soils come summer across much, but not all, of the Northern Hemisphere.

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  10. Earth

    Debate over signs of early life inspires dueling teams to go to Greenland — together

    The remote site — which may or may not contain evidence of the most ancient life on Earth — could help scientists plan how to study such signs on Mars.

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  11. 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.

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  12. 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.

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