Climatology

Coal-burning power plant in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Syria Joins the Paris Agreement—the U.S. Now Stands Alone in Opposition

The announcement comes on the heels of Nicaragua agreeing to the accords

The last time Earth experienced such high levels of CO2 was three to five million years ago

Carbon Dioxide Levels Reached Record High in 2016

World Meteorological Organization reports that current atmospheric CO2 concentrations are at their highest level in 800,000 years

Egyptians bringing in the harvest

Volcanic Eruptions Could Have Spurred Revolts in Ancient Egypt

A new study comparing eruptions and uprisings looks at how volcanoes meddle with annual Nile floods

Little is known about the relation between these openings and climate change, but by studying them scientists hope to better tease out our impacts on this delicate system.

A Mysteriously Massive Hole in Antarctic Ice Has Returned

These holes are thought to be crucial elements of the currents driving the world's oceans, and after 40 years, one has formed again

Tree rings are easiest to see in trees that grew in temperate places, because the temperature changes at different times of the year.

Why an Astronomer Turned to Trees to Try to Solve a Celestial Mystery

Andrew Ellicott Douglass's theory of sunspots and climate was wrong, but he still pioneered the science of tree-ring dating

Mateo-Vega (derecha) muestra a los compañeros Emberá y Kuna cómo tomar medidas forestales. De izquierda a derecha, los técnicos indígenas Edgar Gariboldo, Chich Chamarro, Baurdino López, Evelio Jiménez, Alexis Solís. (Sean Mattson / Smithsonian)

Cómo Los Científicos y Grupos Indígenas Pueden Aliarse Para Proteger Los Bosques y el Clima

The view from GJ 1132b

Atmosphere Detected Around an Earth(ish)-Sized Planet

Just 39 light years away, GJ 1132b is 1.4 times the Earth's radius and has an atmosphere that may be composed of steam or methane

Proposed Test Heats Up the Debate on Solar Geoengineering

Harvard scientists are moving ahead with plans to investigate using particles to reflect some of the sun's radiation

New research strengthens the theory that different climates influenced the shape of the human nose.

How Climate Helped Shape Your Nose

New research shows how the width of our nasal passages is literally shaped by the air we breathe

Bleached coral discovered earlier this month at Maureen's Cove in the Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef Braces for Another Massive Bleaching Event

After the worst die-off in the reef's history in 2016, scientists are worried that high sea temperatures will affect the area again

Emissions from cars and other forms of transportation is one of the many sources of greenhouse gasses.

Global Emissions Plateaued for Three Consecutive Years. That Doesn't Mean We Can Relax.

Several recent studies provided a glimmer of hope, but these developments alone won't halt climate change

Paleontologist Paul Olsen of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory is co-leading a project in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park to drill deep into rocks dating back more than 200 million years.

Defying Critics, Paleontologist Paul Olsen Looks for Hidden Answers Behind Mass Extinctions

From a childhood spent discovering fossils to tangling over questions of ancient life and death, this scientist constantly pushes the boundaries.

Climate Change Could Devastate Penguin Populations by Century's End

Loss of ice and rising sea temperatures could impact 60 percent of the Adelie penguin colonies in Antarctica

"Water Windfall" Discovered Under California's Drought-Stricken Central Valley

Though the aquifer could help with the current and future droughts, researchers caution getting too greedy with the resource

Climate Fight Moves From the Streets to the Courts

Recent actions by both youth and state attorneys are making climate change a legal issue, not just an environmental cause

The Oldest Species May Win in the Race to Survive Climate Change

It's survival of the fittest, and the oldest may be the fittest, new study says

Lightning over Lake Maracaimbo, November 2015

NASA Announces World's New Lightning Hotspot

The electric capital tops the charts with lightning storms 297 nights per year

A print of Lake Suwa from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.

Japanese Priests Collected Almost Seven Centuries of Climate Data

Historic records from "citizen scientists" in Japan and Finland give researchers centuries of data on ice conditions

Stalactites hang inside of Australia's Jenolan Caves, each one a record of Earth's past.

Caves Can Now Help Scientists Trace Ancient Wildfires

But the chemical clues for fire add an unexpected snarl for researchers using those same caves to track climate change

An artist's rendering of the sweltering surface of Venus.

A Giant Planetary Smashup May Have Turned Venus Hot and Hellish

A collision with a large object may have triggered changes deep inside the planet that ultimately affected its atmosphere

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