Carolyn Gramling

Carolyn Gramling

Earth & Climate Writer

Carolyn is the Earth & Climate writer at Science News. Previously she worked at Science magazine for six years, both as a reporter covering paleontology and polar science and as the editor of the news in brief section. Before that she was a reporter and editor at EARTH magazine. She has bachelor’s degrees in Geology and European History and a Ph.D. in marine geochemistry from MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She’s also a former Science News intern.

All Stories by Carolyn Gramling

  1. Climate

    2024 was Earth’s hottest year on record, passing a dangerous warming threshold

    Global temperatures were the hottest on record in 2024; it was the first year where the average temperature topped 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times.

  2. Paleontology

    Humans, not climate change, may have wiped out Australia’s giant kangaroos

    About 40,000 years ago, giant kangaroos vanished Down Under. Dental analyses suggest a varied diet, meaning climate change was not the main cause.

  3. Artificial Intelligence

    AI sniffs out whiskey flavor notes as well as the pros

    A machine learning algorithm identified the top five flavor notes in 16 types of whiskey. Each matched the aggregate of what a panel of human pros said.

  4. Space

    The 2024 eclipse gave a rare view of the sun. Here’s a peek at early data

    Teams are starting to analyze data from the total solar eclipse to learn more about the sun’s corona, gravity waves and changes in Earth’s ionosphere.

  5. Earth

    The 2004 tsunami killed hundreds of thousands. Are we better prepared now?

    Twenty years after the deadliest wave in recorded history, most oceans have warning systems and communities have learned how best to escape the danger.

  6. Climate

    Climate change made 2024 the hottest year on record. The heat was deadly

    Heat waves fueled by climate change killed scores of people and upended daily life. Here are some of those stories.

  7. Paleontology

    China’s famously rich dinosaur fossil beds get a new origins story

    Cave-ins and floods may have buried the Cretaceous creatures of the fossil Jehol Biota rather than volcanic eruptions, a new study claims.

  8. Climate

    From electric cars to wildfires, how Trump may affect climate actions

    Trump’s first term, campaign pledges and nominees point to how efforts to address climate change and environmental issues may fare.

  9. Climate

    Satellite space junk might wreak havoc on the stratosphere

    Hundreds of defunct satellites plunge toward Earth every year. Scientists are studying how the chemical stew left in their wake impacts the atmosphere.

  10. Climate

    Meet Chonkus, the mutant cyanobacteria that could help sink climate change

    The mutant of the lab-studied Synechococcus elongatus has traits good for ocean carbon storage.

  11. Climate

    Fans may not keep older adults cool during heat waves

    Older adults are at higher risk of suffering health consequences during heat waves. Fans may not do enough to prevent that.

  12. Science & Society

    The ‘Does It Fly?’ podcast separates fact from science fiction

    The podcast ‘Does It Fly?’ asks whether the technology of Star Trek, Doctor Who and other popular sci-fi shows could really work.