Earth
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
