Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Speed bumps under Thwaites Glacier could help slow its flow to the sea
A seismic survey of Thwaites’ icy underbelly shows the Antarctica glacier may be snagging on tall rises in land. That could help slow global sea level rise.
- Physics
Invisible comet tails of mucus slow sinking flakes of ‘marine snow’
New measurements reveal the gunk that surrounds the particles, an important factor in understanding how the ocean sequesters carbon.
- Climate
3 Antarctic glaciers show rapidly accelerated ice loss from ocean warming
Destabilized by ocean waves and vanishing sea ice, Antarctica’s Hektoria glacier lost 25 kilometers of ice in 16 months — a possible hint of what’s to come.
- Climate
COP28 nations agreed to ‘transition’ from fossil fuels. That’s too slow, experts say
COP28 ended with a historic climate agreement to begin moving away from fossil fuels, but stopped short of mandating phasing them out.
- Earth
Here are some big-if-true scientific claims that made headlines in 2023
Hominid cannibalism, “dark stars,” the secrets of Earth’s core and more tantalizing findings will require more evidence before scientists can confirm them as fact.
- Oceans
Ocean heat waves often lurk out of sight
About 1 in 3 marine heat waves occur below the surface, a new study reports, suggesting these harmful events are more common than previously thought.
- Climate
COP28 is making headlines. Here’s why the focus on methane matters
Here’s one takeaway from COP28: Deep cuts to methane are essential to meet the Paris Agreement goals. That’s still possible.
- Climate
Here’s how 2023 became the hottest year on record
The effects of climate change were on clear display in 2023 as records not only broke, but did so by surprising amounts.
- Environment
Landscape Explorer shows how much the American West has changed
The online tool stitches together historical images into a map that’s helping land managers make decisions about preservation and restoration.
- Climate
A new UN report lays out an ethical framework for climate engineering
The report’s release, which coincides with COP28, weighs the ethics of using technological interventions to mitigate climate change.
- Earth
Before ancient Egyptians, nature sculpted sphinxes. Here’s how
Steady winds can carve landforms called yardangs — thought to have inspired the Great Sphinx of Gaza — from featureless blobs, a new study suggests.
- Animals
This bird hasn’t been seen in 38 years. Its song may help track it down
Using bioacoustics, South American scientists are eavesdropping on a forest in hopes of hearing the song of the long-missing purple-winged ground dove.
