Carolyn Gramling

Carolyn Gramling

Earth & Climate Writer

Carolyn Gramling 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. Earth

    Towering fire-fueled thunderclouds can spew as many aerosols as volcanic eruptions

    A massive plume of smoke lofted into the stratosphere during Australia’s fires may represent a new class of “volcanic-scale” pyrocumulonimbus clouds.

  2. Paleontology

    How massive long-necked dinosaurs rose to rule the Jurassic herbivores

    New dinosaur fossil dates to same time as a volcanic surge, suggesting ensuing changes in plant life allowed these long-necked giants to emerge.

  3. Climate

    Once hurricanes make landfall, they’re lingering longer and staying stronger

    Warmer ocean waters due to human-caused climate change can help power hurricanes’ fury even after they roar ashore.

  4. Life

    An ancient amphibian is the oldest known animal with a slingshot tongue

    A tiny amphibian that lived 99 million years ago waited for invertebrate prey before snatching them with a swift, shooting tongue.

  5. Paleontology

    Bat-winged dinosaurs were clumsy fliers

    The two known species of bat-winged dinosaurs were a dead end when it comes to the evolution of bird flight, a new study finds.

  6. Paleontology

    Cannibalism in the womb may have helped megalodon sharks become giants

    The ancient sea terror Otodus megalodon may have grown to at least 14 meters long thanks to a firstborn pup’s predatory behavior, some researchers say.

  7. Climate

    By 2100, Greenland will be losing ice at its fastest rate in 12,000 years

    The rate of loss of Greenland’s ice will soar over the next century even with greatly reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

  8. Climate

    Global warming may lead to practically irreversible Antarctic melting

    Simulations suggest that even if the Paris climate goals are met, melting Antarctica ice will still cause sea levels to rise by more than 2 meters.

  9. Oceans

    Underwater earthquakes’ sound waves reveal changes in ocean warming

    A new technique uses the echoes of earthquakes in seawater to track the impact of climate change on the oceans.

  10. Earth

    Earth’s rarest diamonds form from primordial carbon in the mantle

    Chemical analyses of the rarest diamonds suggest the planet’s carbon cycle may not go as deep as scientists thought.

  11. Climate

    New maps show how warm water may reach Thwaites Glacier’s icy underbelly

    New seafloor maps around Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica reveal how deep channels could help warm ocean water melt the glacier from below.

  12. Climate

    Bering Sea winter ice shrank to its lowest level in 5,500 years in 2018

    Peat cores that record five millennia of climate shifts in the Arctic region suggest recent ice loss is linked to rising carbon dioxide levels.