Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Climate
Can solar farms and crop farms coexist?
Researchers working in the field of agrivoltaics are studying how to combine solar farming with grazing, crop production or ecological restoration.
- Planetary Science
Scientists find a long-sought electric field in Earth’s atmosphere
The Earth’s ambipolar electric field is weak but strong enough to control the shape and evolution of the upper atmosphere.
- Life
Mega El Niños kicked off the world’s worst mass extinction
Long-lasting, widespread heat and weather extremes may have caused the Great Dying extinction event 252 million years ago.
- Environment
How much is climate change to blame for extreme weather?
Scientists can estimate how much more likely or severe some past natural disasters were due to human-caused climate change. Here's how.
- Health & Medicine
California droughts may help valley fever spread
Droughts temporarily dampen the number of valley fever cases across the state, but cases spike in the years after rains return.
- Earth
How earthquakes build beefy gold nuggets
The strain imparted by an earthquake can generate voltages in quartz veins that stimulate the mineralization of gold.
- Environment
Fiddler crabs are migrating north to cooler waters
The crabs are climate migrants and could be a harbinger of changes to come as more species move in.
- Climate
Summer-like heat is scorching the Southern Hemisphere — in winter
Warmer winters are fast becoming a global phenomenon and can affect everything from the food we grow to the spread of diseases.
- Earth
Mantle waves buoy continents upward and bedeck them with diamonds
A phenomenon occurring deep underground may explain how vast plateaus form far away from tectonic plate boundaries.
- Health & Medicine
Extreme heat and rain are fueling rising cases of mosquito-borne diseases
Extreme Climate Update looks at the perfect storm climate change is creating for mosquitoes and the diseases they carry, like dengue and West Nile.
- Oceans
National Geographic’s ‘OceanXplorers’ dives into the ocean’s mysteries
National Geographic’s documentary series ‘OceanXplorers,’ produced by James Cameron, invites you aboard one of the most advanced research vessels in the world.
- Agriculture
Can scientists make fruits and veggies resilient to climate change?
Combining traditional plant breeding with new genomics tools is allowing scientists to grow plants that are better adapted to a warming climate.
