Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Devastation detectives try to solve dinosaur disappearance
Dinosaurs and others faced massive losses 66 million years ago from an asteroid impact, volcanic eruptions or maybe a mix of the two.
- Environment
Humans’ stuff vastly outweighs humans
The human-made technosphere weighs 30 trillion tons and surpasses the natural biosphere in mass and diversity, researchers estimate.
- Climate
Earth’s last major warm period was as hot as today
Sea surface temperatures today are comparable to those around 125,000 years ago, a time when sea levels were 6 to 9 meters higher, new research suggests.
- Climate
Monsoon deluges turned ancient Sahara green
The ancient Sahara Desert sprouted trees and lakes for thousands of years thanks to intense rainfall.
- Climate
For three years in a row, Earth breaks heat record
Spurred by climate change and heat from a strong El Niño, 2016 was the hottest year on record.
- Earth
Coastal waters were an oxygen oasis 2.3 billion years ago
Coastal waters contained enough oxygen to support complex life-forms including some animals hundreds of millions of years before fossils of such life first appear.
- Climate
Petrified tree rings tell ancient tale of sun’s behavior
The 11-year cycle of solar activity may have been around for at least 290 million years, ancient tree rings suggest.
- Earth
Mapping the future of continents and batteries
Editor in chief Eva Emerson discusses how science provides new perspectives on the past and the future.
- Earth
Evidence falls into place for once and future supercontinents
Shifting landmasses have repeatedly reshaped Earth’s surface. Researchers piecing together the past are now picturing a new supercontinent, due in 250 million years.
- Earth
Antarctic ice shelf heading toward collapse
A fast-growing crack in Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf could soon break off a 5,000-square-kilometer hunk of ice into the ocean.
- Earth
Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf nears breaking point
A fast-growing crack in Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf could soon break off a 5,000-square-kilometer hunk of ice into the ocean.
- Climate
Warming could disrupt Atlantic Ocean current
The Atlantic current that keeps northwestern Europe warm may be less stable under future climate change than previously thought, revised simulations show.
