Environment

  1. A photo of sprinklers watering crops.
    Earth

    Irrigation may be shifting Earth’s rotational axis

    Computer simulations suggest that from 1993 to 2010 irrigation alone could have nudged the North Pole by about 78 centimeters.

    By Sid Perkins
  2. A photo of a dusty barren ground with the tree line seen in the middle distance.
    Ecosystems

    The Amazon might not have a ‘tipping point.’ But it’s still in trouble

    Scientists race to foretell the fate of the vast forest facing deforestation and climate change.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  3. an aerial image of the Halaco Engineering Company site
    Environment

    Rising groundwater threatens to spread toxic pollution on U.S. coastlines

    Sea level rise is pushing groundwater into shallower layers of earth, threatening to spread hazardous chemicals from contaminated soils.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  4. A photo of a conifer forest with mountains in the background and a bright blue sky.
    Environment

    Surviving a drought may help forests weather future dry spells

    Climate change is making droughts more intense and frequent, but conifer forests have a trick up their sleeve, airplane and satellite data show.

    By Katherine Kornei
  5. A house in Indonesia
    Environment

    This house was built partly from recycled diapers

    Disposable diapers can replace nearly a third of the materials used in load-bearing structures, offering a potential path to more affordable housing.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  6. A photo from high up of Lake Urmia in Iran.
    Environment

    More than half of the world’s largest lakes are drying up

    Satellite data from 1992 to 2020 reveal that 53 percent of the world’s largest freshwater bodies shrank during that period while only 24 percent grew.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  7. A Siberian landscape marred by an oil spill
    Climate

    Thawing permafrost may unleash industrial pollution across the Arctic

    As the frozen ground warms due to climate change, industrial pollutants could flow free from thousands of sites across the Arctic.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  8. A photo of three cows standing in a grassy field behind a small body of water where their reflections are seen.
    Climate

    Methane may not warm the Earth quite as much as previously thought

    Methane absorbs both longwave and shortwave radiation, with competing effects on climate, a study finds. The gas remains a potent warmer of the planet.

    By Douglas Fox
  9. A photo of the Great Salt Lake with the dried gray ground and a bright blue sky in the background.
    Earth

    The Great Salt Lake is shrinking. What can we do to stop it?

    A dropping lake level affects agriculture, public health and the environment — but water conservation can halt the decline.

    By Brianna Randall
  10. A satellite view of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with a clear tornado track carving through the city
    Environment

    Satellite imagery reveals ‘hidden’ tornado tracks

    Twisters that churn over barren landscapes leave scars that are invisible to human eyes but are detectable with infrared light.

    By Katherine Kornei
  11. A photo of the salt flats in Badwater Basin in Death Valley, California in the foreground with mountains and sky in the background.
    Math

    Here’s why the geometric patterns in salt flats worldwide look so similar

    New research suggests the shared geometry of salt flats from Death Valley to Iran comes from fluid flows underground.

    By Matthew R. Francis
  12. A photo of a city street with over large bits of microplastics overlaying the image.
    Health & Medicine

    Microplastics are in our bodies. Here’s why we don’t know the health risks

    Researchers are racing to try to understand how much humans are exposed and what levels are toxic.

    By Anne Pinto-Rodrigues