Climate Change

Sea surface temperatures are abnormally warm in the Pacific Ocean. Will that drive an El Niño event later this year?

Another El Niño Could Be On Its Way

There’s a 40 percent chance of the pattern later this year

Wilson works to band waterfowl in the summer to help track the birds. Hunters that harvest banded birds will report their harvest to state wildlife officials.

This Biologist Defies Gravity (and Glass Ceilings) to Document the Effects of Climate Change

As one of five American women in this role, Heather Wilson blends aviation and birds to bolster climate change records

The Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario is one of the world's leading long-term experiments tracking the effects of climate change, pollution and other factors on freshwater ecosystems.

Canadian Scientists Explain Exactly How Their Government Silenced Science

It wasn’t just climate research. Rock snot, sharks and polar bears: All were off-limits during the Harper administration

While it has some kinks to work out, this sleek new device could help in the bid to limit landfill-bound waste.

Can This Trash Can Turn Food Waste Into Garden Treasure?

The Zera Food Recycler may not transform scraps into ready-to-use soil, but it could still help take a bite out of landfill-bound waste

An illustration of Australia's past megafauna.

Changing Climate, Not Humans, Killed Australia’s Massive Mammals

But that mass extinction could help us predict what today’s human-wrought climate change may bring

2016 broke temperature records on land and sea, report both NOAA and NASA.

2016 Was the Hottest Year Ever Recorded

Never in modern memory has the Earth's surface and sea temperature been so high

As his ancestors have done for generations, Icelander Árni Hilmarsson catches an Atlantic puffin in a net called a háfur.

Disappearing Puffins Bring an Icelandic Hunting Tradition Under Scrutiny

Historically, hunting seabirds has been a distinctive feature of Nordic coastal culture. Should it still be?

Smallmouth salamanders reproduce sexually, which may give them certain advantages.

When Is Sex Worth Going the Distance? When You’re a Salamander, Apparently

Asexual amphibians may be less equipped to handle modern threats than their sexual counterparts

Warming Oceans Could Make These Seafood Favorites Toxic

New study links rising temperatures to dangerous toxins

In 300 years of fundamentally altering the Earth and its climate, what have we learned?

Your Guide to All Things Anthropocene

Documenting an era of manmade change

A wide view of the rift in Larsen C as seen on November 10, 2016. The crack has since lengthened by about 12 miles.

An Iceberg Larger Than Rhode Island Is Poised to Break From Antarctica

Its break from the ice shelf could spell trouble for the frozen expanse

Workers on a NOAA ocean buoy

New Study Confirms There Was No Global Warming Hiatus

An independent evaluation of NOAA's disputed data further supports the steady upward march of temperatures

This year we've seen swelling efforts to protect vast swaths of ocean. Are they scientifically sound?

Do Ocean Preserves Actually Work?

The U.S. now leads the world in protected marine areas. But are they a scientifically sound strategy?

Chinchorro mummy at San Miguel de Azapa Museum in Arica, Chile

What Have the World’s Oldest Mummies Kept Under Wraps?

Researchers are making digital reconstructions of the 7,000-year-old bodies, which face rapid deterioration from microbes

This year's science left us speechless and maybe a tiny bit more knowledgeable.

The Top 9 Baffling, Humbling, Mind-Blowing Science Stories of 2016

From gravity's song to the evolutionary secrets of dogs, this year unlocked a treasure trove of scientific discovery

At the top of Dome A, an unmanned research station, is a smattering of antenna masts, small shipping containers, scientific equipment and a lot of footprints that take years for the snow and meager wind to cover up.

The Coldest, Driest, Most Remote Place on Earth Is the Best Place to Build a Radio Telescope

This remote Antarctic field station is an ice-covered arid desert, perfect for peering deep into space

This year, the Great Barrier Reef was found to be hiding another reef beneath it.

Top Eight Ocean Stories That Made Waves in 2016

2016 wasn't all bad: Stubborn environmental problems were livened up thanks to new solutions, “gee whiz” discoveries and mysterious orbs

Never Fear, an Oceanic Asteroid Impact Wouldn’t Cause Apocalyptic Tidal Waves

But it could have long-term effects on the climate

A view of Chicago during the last polar vortex, which plunged the Midwest into winter misery in 2014.

Grab Your Sweaters: The Polar Vortex Is Back

The atmospheric phenomenon will pack a chilly one-two punch this week

Rice paddies are one source of global methane emissions.

Methane Levels Have Surged, and Scientists Don’t Know Why

As Earth heads toward climate crisis, the pressure is on to learn more about CH4

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