Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Agriculture and fossil fuels are driving record-high methane emissions
Releases of the heat-trapping gas methane from human activities have ramped up in the 21st century, especially in Africa and Asia.
- Earth
Earth’s annual e-waste could grow to 75 million metric tons by 2030
Unwanted electronic waste is piling up rapidly around the globe, while collection and recycling efforts are failing to keep pace, a new report shows.
- Climate
4 ways to put the 100-degree Arctic heat record in context
June’s record heat in Siberia is part of a much bigger picture of dramatic climate change in the Arctic.
- Earth
Two lightning megaflashes shattered distance and duration records
Satellite data show that the two extreme bolts, both appearing over South America, more than doubled the previous records.
- Climate
A Siberian town hit 100 degrees, setting a new record for the Arctic Circle
Verkhoyansk’s high temperature, which has yet to be confirmed, follows a six-month period of record heat in the region.
- Tech
Bubble-blowing drones may one day aid artificial pollination
Drones are too clumsy to rub pollen on flowers and not damage them. But blowing pollen-laden bubbles may help the machines be better pollinators.
- Earth
Machine learning helped demystify a California earthquake swarm
Computer algorithms helped scientists find that circulating groundwater probably triggered a four-year-long series of tiny quakes in Southern California.
- Earth
Smoke from Australian fires rose higher into the ozone layer than ever before
The catastrophic wildfires in Australia around New Year’s generated a massive smoke plume that still hasn’t dissipated in the stratosphere.
- Environment
How giving cash to poor families may also save trees in Indonesia
Indonesia’s poverty reduction program also reduced deforestation by 30 percent, researchers say.
- Earth
50 years ago, scientists were getting a better glimpse inside storms
In 1970, experts were harnessing technologies that provided a three-dimensional picture of the inside of a storm.
- Climate
Rapid sea level rise could drown protective mangrove forests by 2100
Mangroves have kept up with rising water so far, but new research reveals their limits.
- Earth
Chicxulub collision put Earth’s crust in hot water for over a million years
An asteroid impact 66 million years ago caused hot fluids to circulate in the crust, creating conditions that may have been ideal for microbial life.
