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. Earth

    This iconic Humboldt map may need crucial updates

    A seminal, 212-year-old diagram of Andean plants by German explorer Alexander von Humboldt is still groundbreaking — but outdated, researchers say.

  2. Paleontology

    Signs of red pigment were spotted in a fossil for the first time

    For the first time, scientists have identified the chemical fingerprint of red pigment in a fossil.

  3. Planetary Science

    Apollo-era moonquakes reveal that the moon may be tectonically active

    Moonquakes recorded decades ago suggest the moon is tectonically active. Knowing more about that activity could help scientists identify where to land future spacecraft.

  4. Earth

    Only a third of Earth’s longest rivers still run free

    Mapping millions of kilometers of waterways shows that just 37 percent of rivers longer than 1,000 kilometers remain unchained by human activities.

  5. Life

    1 million species are under threat. Here are 5 ways we speed up extinctions

    One million of the world’s plant and animal species are now under threat of extinction, a new report finds.

  6. Earth

    The search for new geologic sources of lithium could power a clean future

    Futuristic clean-energy visions of electric vehicles are driving the hunt for lithium.

  7. Paleontology

    A dinosaur’s running gait may reveal insights into the history of bird flight

    In what may have been a precursor to avian flight, a flightless winged dinosaur may have flapped its wings as it jogged.

  8. Animals

    Hippo poop cycles silicon through the East African environment

    By chowing down on grass and then excreting into rivers and lakes, hippos play a big role in transporting a nutrient crucial to the food web.

  9. Earth

    Dry sand can bubble and swirl like a fluid

    Put two types of sand grains together in a chamber, and they can flow like fluids under the right conditions.

  10. Science & Society

    How we reported a controversial story about the day the dinosaurs died

    Here’s how we covered the story of new fossils found in the Tanis site in North Dakota, including the story’s more controversial elements.

  11. Life

    See beautiful fossils from top Cambrian sites around the world

    Troves of Cambrian fossils are known at more than 50 places around the world. Here are five standout spots.

  12. Planetary Science

    NASA’s Mars InSight lander may have the first recording of a Marsquake

    NASA’s InSight mission appears to have detected a Marsquake for the first time.