Earth's Systems

Environment

Wildfire smoke seeds the air with potentially dangerous microbes

Studies now show that most wildfires don’t kill microbes. That’s fueling worries about what risks these smoke hitchhikers might pose to people.

Earth

Greece’s Santorini volcano erupts more when the sea level drops

Data showing this association go back at least 360,000 years.

Environment

Explainer: Urban heat islands and how to cool them

Cities transform landscapes covered in plants to ones covered in heat-absorbing asphalt and concrete. But ways exist to cool these urban heat islands.

Environment

Warming cities may see more rain — and frequent flooding

Scientists are seeking to understand why and how to mop up excess precipitation.

Environment

‘Zombie’ wildfires can reemerge after wintering underground

Climate change may make these not-quite-dead blazes more common. Scientists are learning to predict where a zombie might emerge.

Fossils

Sudden shark die-off 19 million years ago eliminated most species

New fossil evidence shows 90 percent of sharks died in the mysterious event.

Animals

Let’s learn about dinosaurs’ fearsome neighbors

Dinosaurs may get much of our attention, but there were plenty of other interesting critters during the Age of Reptiles, including our mammal ancestors.

Earth

‘Tree farts’ make up about a fifth of greenhouse gases from ghost forests

Heat-trapping gases from dead trees play an important role in the environmental impact of “ghost” forests.

Earth

Let’s learn about lightning

Around 100 times a second, every hour of every day, lightning strikes somewhere on Earth. It’s beautiful — and deadly.

Agriculture

New technologies might help keep drought-prone farms green

After learning how much damage drought can do to crops, two teens designed ways to detect a thirsty plant and make sure it gets enough water.

Earth

Here’s how lightning may help clean the air

Airplane observations show that storm clouds can generate huge quantities of air-cleansing chemicals known as oxidants.

Space

Raindrops on alien worlds will obey Earth-like rules

Their size will be similar no matter what they’re made of or on which planet they fall, a new analysis finds.