Earth

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.

Environment

Teen engineer finds eco-friendly way to fight harmful algal blooms

The Netflix series Outer Banks inspired this teen engineer to help clean up algal blooms in a local waterway.

Life

After the dino-killer asteroid, life bounced back quickly

New ocean dwellers arrived millennia — maybe decades — after the Chicxulub impact. That forces a rethink of evolution's response to wipeout events.

Environment

Human-built ‘beaver’ dams help save struggling streams

To help restore streams, ecologists and other scientists are taking tips from the rodents — and hoping some beavers also join in.

Oceans

Experiment: Build your own beach!

Summer is a time for sun and sand. If you live inland, build your own mini beach in this science experiment.

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.

Earth

Scientists Say: Cave Popcorn

This type of cave formation can occur as glossy, soaplike bubbles or as a bristly, cauliflower-like clusters.

Agriculture

This engineer designed a device to make farm work easier

Juan Espinoza engineered a device to help ease physical demands on workers at citrus farms.

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.

Earth

Build your own seismograph with this science activity

By recording earthquakes, seismographs help scientists better understand and hopefully predict quakes.