Earth

  1. Climate

    Tree rings tell tale of drought in Mongolia over the last 2,000 years

    Semifossilized trees preserved in Mongolia contain a 2,000-year climate record that could help predict future droughts.

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  2. Earth

    Will Smith narrates ‘One Strange Rock,’ but astronauts are the real stars

    Hosted by Will Smith, ‘One Strange Rock’ embraces Earth’s weirdness and explores the planet’s natural history.

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  3. Science & Society

    What we can and can’t say about Arctic warming and U.S. winters

    Evidence of a connection is growing stronger, but scientists still struggle to explain why.

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  4. Earth

    Diamonds reveal sign of the deepest water known inside Earth

    A rare form of ice crystal in the gems could have formed only at the crushing pressures found in the mantle.

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  5. Ecosystems

    When bogs burn, the environment takes a hit

    Bogs and other peatlands around the world store outsized amounts of carbon. Climate change and agriculture are putting them at risk.

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  6. Ecosystems

    Pollution regulations help Chesapeake Bay seagrass rebound

    Regulations that have reduced nitrogen runoff into the Chesapeake Bay are driving the recovery of underwater vegetation.

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  7. Earth

    By 2100, damaged corals may let waves twice as tall as today’s reach coasts

    Structurally complex coral reefs can defend coasts against waves, even as sea levels rise.

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  8. Earth

    Critter-finding mission to Antarctica’s Larsen C iceberg scrapped

    Thick sea ice ended a rapid-response mission to study seafloor that lay beneath Larsen C iceberg.

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  9. Earth

    Early land plants led to the rise of mud

    New research suggests early land plants called bryophytes, which include modern mosses, helped shape Earth’s surface by creating clay-rich river deposits.

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  10. Earth

    New mapping shows just how much fishing impacts the world’s seas

    Industrial fishing now occurs across 55 percent of the world’s ocean area while only 34 percent of Earth’s land area is used for agriculture or grazing.

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  11. Plants

    The flowers that give us chocolate are ridiculously hard to pollinate

    Cacao trees are really fussy about pollination.

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  12. Animals

    Strong winds send migrating seal pups on lengthier trips

    Prevailing winds can send northern fur seal pups on an epic journey.

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