Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Deep heat may have spawned one of the world’s deadliest tsunamis
The 2004 Indonesian quake was surprisingly strong because of dried-out, brittle minerals far below.
- Environment
When it’s hot, plants become a surprisingly large source of air pollution
During a heat wave, trees and shrubs can sharply raise ozone levels, a new study shows.
- Climate
Higher temperatures could trigger an uptick in damselfly cannibalism
Experiments in the lab suggest that increases in temperature could indirectly lead to an increase in cannibalistic damselfly nymphs.
- Earth
Stunning images reveal glacial landscapes under the oceans
The most detailed atlas of the seafloor ever compiled offers colorful imagery and ghostly glimpses of Earth’s glacial past.
- Earth
Ice particles shaped like lollipops fall from clouds
Small ice particles called ice-lollies, because of their lollipop-like appearance, can form in clouds.
- Environment
Peace and quiet is becoming more elusive in U.S. wild areas
Human noise stretches into the wilderness.
- Animals
Sea creatures’ sticky ‘mucus houses’ catch ocean carbon really fast
A new deepwater laser tool measures the carbon-filtering power of snot nets created by little-known sea animals called giant larvaceans.
- Earth
Crack in Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf forks
An 180-kilometer-long rift in Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf has forked into two branches, new satellite observations show.
- Earth
Crack in Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf forks
An 180-kilometer-long rift in Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf has forked into two branches, new satellite observations show.
- Climate
Radical idea could restore ice in the Arctic Ocean
Windmill-powered pumps on buoys throughout the Arctic Ocean could help bring back shrinking sea ice, researchers say.
- Climate
Lakes worldwide feel the heat from climate change
Lakes worldwide are warming with consequences for every part of the food web, from algae, to walleye, to freshwater seals.
- Climate
Ocean acidification may hamper food web’s nitrogen-fixing heroes
A new look at marine Trichodesmium microbes suggests trouble for nitrogen fixation in an acidifying ocean.
