Earth
- Climate
Expanding ice slabs are increasing Greenland’s contribution to sea level rise
Since 2001, melting and refreezing have created vast ice layers near the surface that could drastically amp up meltwater runoff and sea level rise.
- Life
Climate change may be throwing coral sex out of sync
Several widespread corals in the Red Sea are flubbing cues to spawn en masse.
- Agriculture
Birds fed a common pesticide lost weight rapidly and had migration delays
Scientists have previously implicated neonicotinoid pesticides in declining bee populations. Now a study suggests that songbirds are affected, too.
- Earth
Ancient crystal growths in caves reveal seas rose 16 meters in a warmer world
The Pliocene era cave formations on the Spanish coast of Mallorca offer hints about how oceans could respond to human-driven climate change.
- Earth
How Kilauea’s lava fed a massive phytoplankton bloom
Kilauea’s heavy flow of lava into the ocean in 2018 added both food and heat to fuel a sudden bloom of ocean algae.
- Earth
Hurricane Dorian’s slow pace makes it dangerous and hard to predict
Hurricane Dorian is one of several recent hurricanes that moved extremely slowly. Whether that's due to climate change isn't yet clear.
- Earth
How ancient oceans of magma may have boosted Earth’s oxygen levels
Chemical reactions involving iron could have increased the amount of oxygen-rich compounds in the early Earth’s mantle, lab experiments suggest.
- Earth
Ocean acidification could weaken diatoms’ glass houses
Ocean acidification may lead to smaller, lighter diatoms in seawater, which could also shrink how much carbon the tiny ocean algae can help sequester.
- Life
How a newly identified bacterium saps corals of their energy
A parasitic bacterium that preys on corals quickly reproduces when it senses more nutrients in its host.
- Earth
Brazil’s Amazon has burned this badly before. This year’s fires are still bad
An environmental scientist discusses possible impacts from the thousands of fires burning across the Brazilian Amazon rainforest.
- Science & Society
‘End Times’ explores the catastrophic events that could kill us all
A new book looks at the threats that could wipe out humankind and what can be done to counteract them.
- Climate
Climate change may make El Niño and La Niña less predictable
Atlantic Niñas and Niños have been fairly reliable bellwethers for severe El Niño and La Niña events in the Pacific. A warming world may change that.
