Earth
- Climate
An ancient log shows how burying wood can fight climate change
A blanket of clay soil helped the wood hold onto the carbon it had absorbed — for thousands of years.
- Earth
Thunderstorms churn up a ‘boiling pot’ of high-energy gamma rays
A thunderstorm seen in gamma ray vision plays out as a complex, frenzied lightshow above the clouds.
- Earth
Analyze This: Why do atmospheric ‘ghosts’ glow green after red sprites?
Green ghosts — blurs of light that sometimes follow lightning — get their color from oxygen and metals in space dust.
- Oceans
Underwater mountains in the Pacific Ocean may be home to 20 new species
A recent expedition to undersea mountain ranges off the coast of Chile revealed a new seamount and a rich world of deep-sea biodiversity.
- Environment
Scientists want to create a sort of Noah’s Ark on the moon
Climate change is threatening Earth’s biodiversity banks. A lunar “ark” would safeguard seeds and cells against changes happening on Earth.
- Earth
Surprise! The jet stream can trigger cloud formation
Most cloud-seeding particles may come from a newly discovered mechanism — stratospheric intrusion.
- Earth
Meet the sneaky and surprisingly dangerous squall-line tornado
These destructive, radar-dodging twisters often form at night. Emerging data from the U.S. Southeast might soon make forecasting the tornadoes possible.
- Animals
This biologist tracks seadragons, with help from the public
Nerida Wilson uses artificial intelligence to identify seadragons in photos taken by citizen scientists.
- Climate
Let’s learn about how much climate change is to blame for extreme weather
Scientists can find out whether a natural disaster was more frequent or severe due to human-caused climate change. Here’s how.
- Earth
As Yellowstone’s supervolcano slumbers, another big danger lurks
Superheated water beneath Yellowstone could fuel hydrothermal explosions with the force of an atomic bomb. And lessons from the past suggest they could happen today.
- Tech
New system uses evaporation to greatly cool artificial turf
It relies on rainwater that gets stored below a field of plastic "grass." The design also limits how much rain — and pollution — will run off artificial turf.
- Space
Here’s why some shooting stars have long-lasting afterglows
Atmospheric chemistry is the most important factor in determining which meteors leave behind these persistent trails.
