Earth

More Stories in Earth

  1. An elevation image of Kelvin Seamount, in a rainbow of color with purple at the bottom and red at the top, on a black background.
    Oceans

    Satellite data reveal nearly 20,000 previously unknown deep-sea mountains

    By looking for tiny bumps in sea level caused by the gravity of subsurface mountains, researchers have roughly doubled the number of known seamounts.

    By Katherine Kornei
  2. 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
  3. A photo of a trees in a forest taken from the ground and looking up towards the sky.
    Plants

    Ultrasound reveals trees’ drought-survival secrets

    Scientists used ultrasound sensors and electrical probes to reveal how drought affects the tissues of living trees.

    By Katherine Bourzac
  4. A photo of a person standing next to a snow mobile and a stack of supplies with tracks in the snow disappearing into the distance.
    Earth

    A massive cavern beneath a West Antarctic glacier is teeming with life

    A subglacial river has carved out the cavern beneath the Kamb Ice Stream, a West Antarctic glacier, and may be supplying nutrients necessary for life.

    By Douglas Fox
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. A United States maps focused on the average summer temperatures in 2021. The west coast is covered in a darker red color while the rest of the country is a light red/orange color.
    Climate

    The summer of 2021 was the Pacific Northwest’s hottest in a millennium

    Tree ring data from the Pacific Northwest reveal that the region’s average summer temperature in 2021 was the highest since at least the year 950.

    By Sid Perkins
  8. A photo of yellowed corn crops in a field.
    Climate

    ‘Flash droughts’ are growing increasingly common

    Droughts are forming faster more often in much of the world due to climate change, a new study finds.

    By Richard Kemeny
  9. 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