Earth
- Climate
Global carbon dioxide emissions will hit a record high in 2018
Carbon dioxide emissions from China, the United States and India all rose this year, a new report finds.
- Oceans
Volcanic eruptions that depleted ocean oxygen may have set off the Great Dying
Massive eruptions from volcanoes spewing greenhouse gases 252 million years ago may have triggered Earth’s biggest mass extinction.
- Climate
Half the world’s annual rain falls in just 12 days
Climate change could shorten the time it takes for the world to receive half its annual precipitation from 12 days to 11 by 2100.
- Environment
An acid found in soil may make a disease killing deer less infectious
An incurable neurodegenerative disease crippling North American deer, elk and moose may be thwarted by an organic soil compound.
- Climate
Here’s how much climate change could cost the U.S.
A report by hundreds of scientists from 13 federal agencies starkly outlines the economic impacts of climate change on the United States.
- Earth
A new algorithm could help protect planes from damaging volcanic ash
A computer program that tracks the temperature and height of clouds in the atmosphere could keep planes away from volcanic ash.
- Environment
Engineers are plugging holes in drinking water treatment
Drinking water quality has come a long way in the past hundred years — but challenges remain.
- Agriculture
50 years ago, screwworm flies inspired a new approach to insect control
The United States has wiped out screwworm flies repeatedly since 1966 using the sterile male eradication technique.
- Animals
Hemp fields offer a late-season pollen source for stressed bees
Colorado’s legal fields of low-THC cannabis can attract a lot of bees.
- Climate
Development near natural areas puts more Californians in the path of wildfires
As urbanization extends its reach into once-natural areas, more homes and people are at risk from wildfires.
- Earth
A massive crater hides beneath Greenland’s ice
The discovery of a vast crater in Greenland suggests that a 1-kilometer-wide asteroid hit the Earth between 2.6 million and 11,700 years ago.
- Animals
Climate change may have made the Arctic deadlier for baby shorebirds
What were once relatively safe havens in the Arctic are now feasting sites for predators of baby birds.
