Environment
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Environment
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill ruined long-term shore stability
For at least eight years, the oil disaster continued to kill soil-retaining marsh plants along the Louisiana coast, accelerating shoreline loss.
- Climate
Many Antarctic glaciers are hemorrhaging ice. This one is healing its cracks
Scientists have explored the recesses of an Antarctic glacier that is currently stable, helping improve predictions of the continent’s fate.
- Environment
Air pollution made an impression on Monet and other 19th century painters
The impressionist painting style can be partly explained by the reality of rising air pollution from the industrial revolution, an analysis finds.
- Climate
Greta Thunberg’s new book urges the world to take climate action now
Greta Thunberg's ‘The Climate Book’ covers the basic science of climate change, the history of denialism and inaction, environmental justice and solutions.
- Oceans
50 years ago, scientists discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
In 1973, plastic bottles adrift in the North Pacific alarmed scientists. Fifty years later, more than 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic litter the area.
- Climate
Rapid melting is eroding vulnerable cracks in Thwaites Glacier’s underbelly
Thwaites is melting slower than thought, but the worst of it is concentrated in underbelly cracks, threatening the Antarctica glacier’s stability.
