Climate

Ecosystems

Hurricane Katrina shaped this coastal ecologist’s life and work

Surviving Hurricane Katrina inspired Elliott White Jr.’s scientific journey to studying how humans and climate change impact wetlands.

Climate

Rockin’ farm fields suck up tons of CO₂

Called enhanced rock weathering, spreading crushed basalt on crop lands can deliver farmers yet another bonus: bigger harvests.

Oceans

The sea surface covered by seaweed is now as big as South America

The first global mapping of macroalgae blooms in the ocean, last year, reveals rapid growth and a new record for the area seaweed blankets.

Ecosystems

The Okefenokee’s dark waters hold secrets about climate and more

This Georgia peat swamp’s vast stores of carbon and water are under threat from mining and pollution. Scientists and locals are fighting to protect it.

Science & Society

Volcanic ash might have helped spread the Black Death to Europe

A volcanic eruption might have triggered events that led Italy to import grain — food that arrived in ships infested with plague-infected rats.

Physics

Scientists Say: Equilibrium

This steady state may look like a total standstill, but it’s actually an equal opposition of forces.

Climate

Microbes that dwell in tree bark devour major climate gases

Hidden in plain sight, this huge community of tree-bark microbes dines on gases — such as methane — that warm Earth’s atmosphere.

Environment

Antarctica faces a green and weedy future

Warming is allowing alien species to invade a land that had been isolated for 30 million years. They now threaten local ecosystems unique to Antarctica.

Climate

As winters warm, athletes must cope with harder snow and tricky ice

Ice arenas and artificial snow now dominate the winter Olympics. Athletes there — and everywhere — may need to adjust how they train and perform.

Earth

Experiment: Weather and climate in your neighborhood

In this experiment, use historical weather data to investigate how weather and climate conditions have changed in your area over time.

Animals

Polar bears leave thousands of tons of food scraps for other species

The new finding quantifies how much of polar bears' food goes uneaten. As these bears decline, Arctic scavengers risk losing a critical food source.

Climate

Global coral die-offs signal Earth’s first climate tipping point

The corals offer a dire warning, scientists say, and suggests that more such catastrophic points of no return could occur soon — some within a decade.