Earth

Earth

Ahead of the wave

Scientists are working to predict — and tame — the tsunamis that can threaten some coastal communities

Climate

Explainer: El Niño and La Niña

Climate

Climate’s troublesome kids

The recurring climate events El Niño and La Niña trigger long-lived changes to weather around the world.

Earth

Piercing a buried polar lake

Researchers in Antarctica drilled through a half-mile of ice to reach water that hasn’t had contact with the atmosphere for thousands of years.

Earth

Surprising hot springs

Scientists find shallow source of water for volcano’s hot springs.

Earth

Less ice, more seawater

Shrinking ice sheets contribute to rising sea levels, large-scale study confirms.

Environment

Trees on the edge

Serious drought is a threat to most trees, worldwide survey finds.

Climate

Twister science

Meteorologists are learning what makes a tornado.

Chemistry

Explainer: Ocean acidification

Here’s why shellfish and other animals in the sea suffer when the ocean is forced to absorb too much carbon dioxide.

Climate

The high life

The sky is full of microscopic life, some of which might even trigger rain or snow.

Climate

Evolution of a Frankenstorm

Huge, late October hurricane turned into a superstorm that savaged much of the eastern United States.

Earth

Groundwater removal linked to quake

Pumping water from the ground in southeastern Spain may have triggered a deadly 2011 earthquake there.