Earth's Systems
- Chemistry
Explainer: Our atmosphere — layer by layer
Earth’s five layers extend from the ground up and into outer space. Each has its own distinct features and serves as the site of different activities and phenomena.
- Climate
Surprising long-haul dust and tar are melting high glaciers
Dust and tar blown onto high mountains, like the Himalayas, boost the melting of snow and ice far more than scientists had realized. Here’s why.
- Computing
Explainer: What is an algorithm?
These step-by-step instructions underlie social media, internet searches and other computer-based activities. But what are they exactly? We explain.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Earthquake
An earthquake is a sudden and sometimes violent shaking of the ground.
- Agriculture
Student scientists work to help all of us survive a warmer world
From glaciers in the refrigerator to a rover in the field, here’s how young scientists are looking to help us adapt to climate change.
- Climate
The faster trees grow, the younger they die
As climate change spurs forest tree growth, it also shortens trees’ lives. That results in a quicker release of climate-warming carbon back into the atmosphere.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Gravity
Gravity is a fundamental force that attracts objects with mass to other objects with mass. It decreases with distance.
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A dirty and growing problem: Too few toilets
As the famous book says, everybody poops. That’s 7.8 billion people, worldwide. For the 2.4 billion with no toilet, the process can be complicated.
- Ecosystems
Soggy coastal soils? Here’s why ecologists love them
Coastal wetlands can protect our shores from erosion, flooding and rising sea levels.
- Climate
Siberian heat wave that caused an oil spill made more likely by climate change
The six-month heat wave in Siberia during the first half of 2020 would not have happened without human-caused climate change, researchers find.
- Chemistry
Australian wildfires pumped smoke to record heights
Wildfires in Australia in late December and early January spurred an unusual smoke plume that still hasn’t fully dispersed.
- Earth
Lightning megaflashes set big new distance and duration records
Scans of satellite images identified two lightning bolts with previously unheard-of dimensions. Both flashed through the skies over South America.
