Earth
How hot can our planet get? Earth’s climate history holds clues
Learning from the Earth's past climate swings — what happened to life and when — can help us understand where we might be headed.
By Elise Cutts
HS-ESS3-5
Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.
More Stories in HS-ESS3-5
- Environment
During heat waves, trees spew chemicals that worsen air pollution
New data point to how heat waves and other climate change will make it harder to curb ozone and other types of toxic air pollution — even outside of cities.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Heat dome
Typically, weather enters an area, storms through, then leaves. Here's what happens when steamy summer air gets stalled.
- Oceans
The seas’ record-breaking hot streak may bring unwelcome changes
Off-the-charts warming could fire up more hurricanes, intensify coral bleaching and accelerate the melting of Antarctic sea ice.
- Artificial Intelligence
To ‘green’ AI, scientists are making it less resource-hungry
Energy demands of ChatGPT and similar AI tools can threaten Earth’s climate. So researchers have begun redesigning how to run data centers and build AI.
- Oceans
Explainer: Why are so many hurricanes strengthening really fast?
This dangerous trend appears relatively new — and growing. Studies also have begun linking it to our warming world.
- Climate
Let’s learn about why summer 2023 was so hot
Human-caused climate change has played a big role in this summer’s historic heat.
- Oceans
Summer 2023 is when the ocean first turned ‘hot tub’ hot
Unfortunately, scientists worry that this atypical sea warming may actually be the beginning of an unwelcome new ‘normal.’
- Agriculture
Native Amazonians make rich soils — and ancient people may have too
Modern Amazonians make nutrient-rich soil from ash, food scraps and burns. The soil strongly resembles ancient “dark earth” found in the region.
- Animals
A love of small mammals drives this scientist
Alexis Mychajliw’s science is driven by her love of animals. She now looks to tar pits and fossilized poop to understand ancient ecosystems.
