Earth

Environment

People are changing which parts of Earth get more (or less) water

Human activities have been reshaping the planet’s water map. Some changes created new lakes. Others caused lakes to disappear.

Ecosystems

Bird poop helps keep coral reefs healthy, but rats are interfering

Eradicating invasive rats from islands may help boost numbers of seabirds. The birds’ droppings provide nutrients to nearby coral reefs.

Earth

Kilauea’s volcanic fireworks show no signs of stopping

Watch some of the most striking videos and images of the ongoing eruption’s strange, fiery beauty.

Earth

After erupting, one volcano sings a unique ‘song’

After a strong eruption in 2015, one Ecuadoran volcano “rang like a bell.”

Earth

Scientists Say: Upwelling

This is a process in which a substance rises and spreads out over something else. Upwelling happens in the ocean, inside the Earth and even in a planet’s atmosphere.

Animals

Here’s what narwhals sound like underwater

Scientists eavesdropped while narwhals clicked and buzzed. The work could help pinpoint how the whales may react to more human noise in the Arctic.

Climate

Antarctica’s melting speeds up

Antarctica’s ice has been melting faster in the last five years. This has raised the world’s oceans almost 8 millimeters on average.

Chemistry

‘Thirdhand’ smoke can hitchhike to non-smoking sites

Harmful “thirdhand” smoke — the type that attaches to surfaces — can hitch a ride on airborne particles or clothes and travel into non-smoking buildings.

Climate

Tropical cyclones are getting more sluggish

Hurricanes and other storms are traveling more slowly than they used to. That might mean even more rainfall for communities they batter.

Climate

Hurricane Maria’s Puerto Rican death toll skyrockets 72-fold

The death toll had been just 64 — and then scientists launched household surveys. Those showed the “official” toll was off by more than 4,500.

Environment

Analyze This: Beauty products are big sources of urban air pollution

In cities, a larger share of urban air pollution comes from the use of bath products, cleansers and more than does the burning of fossil fuels.

Ecosystems

Surprise! Fire can help some forests keep more of their water

In California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, a century of fire suppression has led to forests with too many trees. But areas thinned by fire now show one benefit: more water.