Latest science news in Earth & Climate
For small island nations, marine plastic cleanup is prohibitively expensive
Island nations like the Seychelles are uniquely vulnerable to the barrage of plastic pollution pouring into the world's oceans, and new research suggests the cleanup bill is prohibitively expensive.
Grammy Museum announces new streaming service, Collection: Live
The Grammy Museum announced on Friday that it will be launching a new streaming service, named Collection: Live, on Sept. 17.
Scientists map freshwater transport in the Arctic Ocean
The Ob, Yenisei, and Lena rivers flow into the Kara and Laptev seas and account for about half of the total freshwater runoff to the Arctic Ocean. The transport and...
Understanding the 'deep-carbon cycle'
New geologic findings about the makeup of the Earth's mantle are helping scientists better understand long-term climate stability and even how seismic waves move through the planet's layers.
Velcro-like food sensor detects spoilage and contamination
Engineers have designed a Velcro-like food sensor, made from an array of silk microneedles, that pierces through plastic packaging to sample food for signs of spoilage and bacterial contamination.
New process boosts lignin bio-oil as a next-generation fuel
A new low-temperature multi-phase process for upgrading lignin bio-oil to hydrocarbons could help expand use of the lignin, which is now largely a waste product left over from the productions...
Historical climate fluctuations in Central Europe overestimated due to tree ring analysis
"Was there a warm period in the Middle Ages that at least comes close to today's? Answers to such fundamental questions are largely sought from tree ring data," explains lead...
Removing marine plastic litter is costly for small island states
Removing all of the plastic litter from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Aldabra Atoll—a ring of islands formed from coral reef in the Seychelles—would cost US $4.68 million and...
To cruise or not to cruise. Loyalists face a dilemma
Will travelers ever want to sail again? Cruise junkies say yes; experts say it might take a long time for the industry to recover.
Wild weather this year shows growing impact of climate change, scientists say
Ferocious wildfires in the U.S. West, torrential rains in Africa and record heat waves in the Siberian Arctic are all wild weather consistent with climate change, scientists say. And the...
California wildfires growing bigger, moving faster than ever
When it comes to California wildfires, it now takes days, not decades, to produce what had been seen as a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
Studying short-term cloud feedback to understand climate change in East Asia
It is very important to understand how clouds responded to climatic change in the past, as it can help in reducing errors when predicting future global warming using climate models....
German study highlights carbon footprint of video streaming
Streaming high-definition videos and games can result in significant greenhouse gas emissions, depending on the technology used, according to a German government-backed study released Thursday.
Community land trusts could help heal segregated cities
American cities represent part of the nation's long and grim history of discrimination and oppression against Black people. They can also be part of the recovery from all that harm.
Another fire erupts at port in Beirut; 2nd blaze this week
Barely a month after fire and explosions killed dozens of people and scarred Beirut, another large fire broke out at a warehouse in the Lebanese capital on Thursday.
Scientists select the best potential evapotranspiration model for river basins in China
Potential evapotranspiration (PET), the amount of evaporation that would occur under certain meteorological conditions with a sufficient water supply, plays an important role in both energy and hydrological cycles at...
Human disturbance and environmental change factors affect biological nitrogen fixation in terrestrial ecosystems
Biological nitrogen (N) fixation, a key process of N conversion performed by symbiotic or free-living N-fixing organisms, plays an important role in terrestrial N cycling and represents a key driver...
Faith and politics mix to drive evangelical Christians' climate change denial
U.S. Christians, especially evangelical Christians, identify as environmentalists at very low rates compared to the general population. According to a Pew Research Center poll from May 2020, while 62% of...
Cooperative research effort documents northward migration of kelp forests
In a sweeping display of the power of community-based science to capture data spanning the entire West Coast of North America, a team of scientists and countless volunteers from 14...
7 lessons Canada should use from WW2 to fight the climate emergency
Canada's approach to climate change for the past 30 years is simply not working. Greenhouse gas emissions in the year 2018 (the last year for which we have statistics) were...
California wildfires moving, growing at record speeds due to climate change
When it comes to California wildfires, it now takes days, not decades, to produce what had been seen as a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
Global COVID-19 death toll passes 900K; cases near 28M
As the number of COVID-19 infections inched closer to the 28 million milestone, the global death toll surpassed 900,000 over Wednesday.
Researchers document the 'life cycle' of a volcano
Volcanoes are born and die—and then grow again on their own remains. The decay of a volcano in particular is often accompanied by catastrophic consequences, as was the most recent...
Death toll climbs as fires burn 3.4M acres in western United States
At least seven people have died in California, Oregon and Washington as a result of wildfires burning throughout the western United States, which have destroyed hundreds of homes and prompted...
Rise in sea level from ice melt in Greenland and Antarctica match worst-case scenario: study
A recent study says melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are the main contributor to sea level rise around the world and the rate of their melt matches the Intergovernmental...
Germany confirms 1st case of swine fever on its territory
Germany has confirmed the first case of African swine fever on its territory, after a wild boar cadaver found in the eastern state of Brandenburg tested positive, the country's agriculture...
Tanker salvage begins as Sri Lanka battles oil slick
International experts boarded an oil tanker stricken off Sri Lanka to begin salvage operations, the navy said Thursday, as firefighters looked to contain a large oil slick in the Indian...
Tropical Storm Paulette moving slowly across central Atlantic
Tropical Storm Paulette is slowly moving westward across the central Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said Thursday.