Earth

Climate

50 years ago, scientists puzzled over a slight global cooling

Five decades ago, scientists were puzzled over a slight dip in global temperatures. Today we know it was just a blip, and that Earth’s climate is warming thanks to industrial activity over the last century.

Climate

The loss of ‘eternal ice’ threatens Mongolian reindeer herders’ way of life

Mongolian reindeer herders help scientists piece together the loss of the region’s vital “eternal ice” patches.

Climate

5 things to know about fighting climate change by planting trees

One group’s idea of planting vast swaths of trees to curb climate change exaggerates the proposal’s power to trap carbon, some argue.

Climate

California landfills are belching high levels of climate-warming methane

Airborne remote sensing spots the Golden State’s biggest emitters of the potent greenhouse gas from the sky.

Earth

Plastics outnumber baby fish 7-to-1 in some coastal nurseries

Ocean slicks serve as calm, food-rich nurseries for larval fish. A new study shows that slicks also accumulate plastics, which get eaten by baby fish.

Animals

Power lines may mess with honeybees’ behavior and ability to learn

Under power lines, honeybees might suffer neurological effects from exposure to electromagnetic fields.

Earth

Geology, not CO₂, controlled monsoon intensity in Asia’s ancient past

For millions of years, shifting geologic plates — not carbon dioxide levels —held the most sway over the intensity of Asia’s seasonal winds and rains.

Ecosystems

Can forensics help keep endangered rosewood off the black market?

Timber traffickers are plundering the world’s forests, but conservationists have a new set of tools to fight deforestation.

Tech

Here’s what it will take to adapt the power grid to higher wildfire risks

Better sensing tech on power lines and reliance on more local power sources could help avoid vast power outages like those in California in October.

Climate

A new estimate triples the number of people in the path of rising seas

Sea level rise could flood coastal areas now home to 340 million to 480 million people by 2100, with Asia most affected, a study finds.

Earth

Powerful storms may be causing offshore ‘stormquakes’

A perfect-storm mixture of hurricane, ocean and seafloor topography can create distinct seismic signals called “stormquakes.”

Animals

Humpback whales use their flippers and bubble ‘nets’ to catch fish

A study reveals new details of how humpback whales hunt using their flippers and a whirl of bubbles to capture fish.