Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Creativity offers insights into the past and future
With the long-term future of many fisheries in doubt and severe drought once again hitting the Southwest, coming up with new insights into the past and future on land and sea may be crucial to protecting some of our most precious resources.
- Climate
Year in Review: Carbon dioxide levels pass milestone
Although scientists are confident about humankind’s role in climate change, they still have a lot to learn about the magnitude and timing of future climate shifts.
- Environment
Protein fibers trap greenhouse gas
The method could scrub exhaust from cars and power plants.
- Environment
Stillbirth rates tied to lead in drinking water
Fetal death rates rose in Washington, D.C., in parallel with two recent spikes in drinking water’s lead levels.
- Climate
Tornado intensity climbs in the United States
Larger paths of destruction may be tied to climate change.
- Earth
Green lightning may be caused by positive charges, or by camera lens
Physicist offers possible explanations for stunning photograph of volcanic eruption.
- Environment
World’s worst polluted
A new report by Green Cross Switzerland and the Blacksmith Institute lists places posing the greatest risk to human health.
- Climate
Coldest place moves from one Antarctic site to another
New record low measured by satellite.
- Ecosystems
Online map tracks forest shifts from space
By layering more than 650,000 satellite images onto a Google map, researchers have created a new tool to track forest cover.
- Earth
Earth’s plate boundaries may nurture diamond formation
An experiment mimicking conditions deep in the Earth suggests that some tectonic plate boundaries may make ideal diamond nurseries.
- Earth
Cryovolcano
An ice volcano that erupts slurries of volatile compounds such as water or methane instead of lava.
- Climate
Methane emissions may be far higher than estimated
U.S. fossil fuel and cattle industries may emit far more methane than government estimates indicate.
