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. Earth

    Geology, not CO2, controlled monsoon intensity in Asia’s ancient past

    For millions of years, shifting geologic plates — not carbon dioxide levels —held the most sway over the intensity of Asia’s seasonal winds and rains.

  2. Earth

    Powerful storms may be causing offshore ‘stormquakes’

    A perfect-storm mixture of hurricane, ocean and seafloor topography can create distinct seismic signals called “stormquakes.”

  3. Paleontology

    Big dinosaurs kept cool thanks to blood vessel clusters in their heads

    Giant dinosaurs evolved several strategies for cooling their blood and avoiding heatstroke.

  4. Climate

    In a climate crisis, is geoengineering worth the risks?

    Some scientists say the world needs to reconsider some human-made ideas to cool the climate as dire warnings about the looming crisis ramp up.

  5. Climate

    Malin Pinsky seeks to explain how climate change alters ocean life

    As global temperatures rise, Malin Pinsky’s research attempts to understand how marine ecosystems are changing and why.

  6. Climate

    IPCC report warns of a bleak future for oceans and frozen regions under climate change

    A new IPCC report offers dire warnings about how climate change is altering oceans, the polar regions and the high snowy mountains.

  7. Climate

    Expanding ice slabs are increasing Greenland’s contribution to sea level rise

    Since 2001, melting and refreezing have created vast ice layers near the surface that could drastically amp up meltwater runoff and sea level rise.

  8. Earth

    How Kilauea’s lava fed a massive phytoplankton bloom

    Kilauea’s heavy flow of lava into the ocean in 2018 added both food and heat to fuel a sudden bloom of ocean algae.

  9. Earth

    Hurricane Dorian’s slow pace makes it dangerous and hard to predict

    Hurricane Dorian is one of several recent hurricanes that moved extremely slowly. Whether that's due to climate change isn't yet clear.

  10. Earth

    Ocean acidification could weaken diatoms’ glass houses

    Ocean acidification may lead to smaller, lighter diatoms in seawater, which could also shrink how much carbon the tiny ocean algae can help sequester.

  11. Climate

    Mercury levels in fish are rising despite reduced emissions

    Climate change and overfishing can increase how much mercury accumulates in fish, counteracting efforts to reduce human-caused emissions.

  12. Climate

    The Arctic is burning and Greenland is melting, thanks to record heat

    A heat wave is melting Greenland’s ice and fueling blazes across the Arctic that are pumping record amounts of carbon dioxide into the air.