Earth's Systems

Climate

Siberian heat wave that caused an oil spill made more likely by climate change

The six-month heat wave in Siberia during the first half of 2020 would not have happened without human-caused climate change, researchers find.

Environment

Australian wildfires pumped smoke to record heights

Wildfires in Australia in late December and early January spurred an unusual smoke plume that still hasn’t fully dispersed.

Earth

Lightning megaflashes set big new distance and duration records

Scans of satellite images identified two lightning bolts with previously unheard-of dimensions. Both flashed through the skies over South America.

Health & Medicine

Deadly heat: Expected by century’s end, it’s here already

Instances of hot and humid conditions that threaten human lives are on the rise.

Fossils

The challenge of dinosaur hunting in deep caves

Spelunkers aren’t the only people to find caves interesting. So do paleontologists. Though getting to work may be harrowing, they find it’s worth it.

Earth

Did rain put the Kilauea volcano’s lava-making into overdrive?

Scientists share strongly conflicting opinions about why Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano spewed an overabundance of lava in 2018.

Animals

Minecraft’s big bees don’t exist, but giant insects once did

Big bees buzz in Minecraft. In our world, blocky bees might starve and be stuck on the ground. Yet long ago, giant insects did roam our planet.

Earth

A rainforest once grew near the South Pole

A forest flourished within 1,000 kilometers of the South Pole. That was a while ago, as in millions of years ago.

Climate

How to curb the climate heating by contrails

Contrails are narrow clouds left behind in the sky by jets. They add to climate change. But a new study suggests a way to curb their contribution.

Tech

Here’s one way to harvest water right out of the air

Need water but you have no access to rain, lakes or groundwater? Materials known as metal-organic frameworks could be used to slurp that water from the air, new data show.

Earth

Newfound ‘dunes’ is among weirdest of northern lights

There’s a new aurora dubbed the 'dunes.' It’s weird and joins the ranks of black auroras, STEVE and other odd natural light shows.

Earth

Study appears to rule out volcanic burps as causing dino die-offs

New data on when massive volcanic eruptions happened do not match when the dinosaur mass extinction took place.