Earth
- Climate
Mercury levels in fish are rising despite reduced emissions
Climate change and overfishing can increase how much mercury accumulates in fish, counteracting efforts to reduce human-caused emissions.
- Science & Society
With nowhere to hide from rising seas, Boston prepares for a wetter future
Boston has armed itself with a science-driven master plan to protect itself from increasingly inevitable storm surges and rising seas.
- Science & Society
How the 5 riskiest U.S. cities for coastal flooding are preparing for rising tides
The five U.S. cities most at risk of coastal flooding from rising sea levels are in various stages of preparedness.
- Earth
A new map is the best view yet of how fast Antarctica is shedding ice
Stitching together data from several satellite missions allowed scientists to create the most comprehensive map of Antarctic ice flow ever.
- Earth
Decades of dumping acid suggest acid rain may make trees thirstier
Acidified soil loses calcium, which can affect trees’ ability to hang on to water.
- Climate
The Arctic is burning and Greenland is melting, thanks to record heat
A heat wave is melting Greenland’s ice and fueling blazes across the Arctic that are pumping record amounts of carbon dioxide into the air.
- Tech
Tiny magnetic coils could help break down microplastic pollution
Carbon nanotubes designed to release plastic-eroding chemicals could clear the long-lasting trash from waterways.
- Particle Physics
How a 2017 radioactive plume may be tied to Russia and nixed neutrino research
A botched attempt at producing radioactive material needed for a neutrino experiment may have released ruthenium-106 to the atmosphere in 2017.
- Climate
How today’s global warming is unlike the last 2,000 years of climate shifts
Temperatures at the end of the 20th century were hotter almost everywhere on the planet than in the previous two millennia.
- Earth
U.S. wells are pumping up groundwater from increasing depths
Around the United States, groundwater wells are getting deeper in search of new sources of freshwater, a new study shows.
- Ecosystems
Planting trees could buy more time to fight climate change than thought
Earth has nearly a billion hectares suitable for new forests to start trapping carbon, a study finds.
- Earth
Night-shining ‘noctilucent’ clouds have crept south this summer
Clouds high in the atmosphere that catch the sun’s rays even after sundown may be seen farther from the poles due to an increase in moisture in the air.
