HS-ESS3-6
Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.
- Animals
Tiny animals survive 24,000 years in suspended animation
Tiny bdelloid rotifers awake from a 24,000-year slumber when freed from the Arctic permafrost.
- Earth
Greece’s Santorini volcano erupts more when the sea level drops
Data showing this association go back at least 360,000 years.
- Climate
Warming cities may see more rain — and frequent flooding
Scientists are seeking to understand why and how to mop up excess precipitation.
- Climate
Explainer: Urban heat islands and how to cool them
Cities transform landscapes covered in plants to ones covered in heat-absorbing asphalt and concrete. But ways exist to cool these urban heat islands.
- Environment
Let’s learn about plastic pollution
The world is cluttered with plastic waste. All that junk kills animals far and wide.
- Climate
New UN climate report finds no time for denial or delay
It links extreme weather around the globe to Earth’s changing climate.
- Earth
Let’s learn about Antarctica
This continent is dry, windy and very cold — and home to penguins, ice and a lot of scientific research.
- Climate
‘Zombie’ wildfires can reemerge after wintering underground
Climate change may make these not-quite-dead blazes more common. Scientists are learning to predict where a zombie might emerge.
- Climate
U.S. records reveal the last 30 years were the hottest on record
New ‘climate normals’ show that average temperatures increased notably just since 1990.
- Climate
‘Tree farts’ make up about a fifth of greenhouse gases from ghost forests
Heat-trapping gases from dead trees play an important role in the environmental impact of “ghost” forests.
- Animals
Only 3 percent of Earth’s land is unchanged by people
A sweeping survey of land-based ecosystems finds that very few still support all the animals they used to. Reintroducing lost species could help.
- Climate
Local glacier could be gone in a decade, young scientist finds
A teen calculated the volume of a glacier by drilling into it with jets of steam — then used that to estimate how long before all its ice will be gone.
