Earth Science

The pollution in California’s San Joaquin Valley, including above this Norton cornfield, was tested by NASA as part of a program to monitor air quality from space.

New Study Examines San Joaquin Valley, Home to America’s Dirtiest Air

The smog-filled valley recently hosted NASA planes that tested air quality to help calibrate future satellite efforts to measure air pollution

None

The (Natural) World, According to Our Photo Contest Finalists

From a caterpillar to the Milky Way, the ten finalists in the contest's Natural World category capture the peculiar, the remarkable and the sublime

We did it! Gold stars for everybody!

2012 Saw the Second Highest Carbon Emissions in Half a Century

For more than 50 years observations from Hawaii have tracked rising carbon dioxide. We're still ignoring those warnings

Will these cows look good with my outfit?

Buy a Handbag, Burn a Forest

Brazilian deforestation is tied to producers of luxury Italian leather goods

None

From Wyoming to Mexico, A Beautiful Time-Lapse Trip Down the Colorado River

A time lapsed kayak trip down the Colorado River

Rapidly melting sea ice will open up shipping lanes across the Arctic, potentially making the Northwest Passage (left) and North Pole (center) navigable during the summer.

Climate Change Could Allow Ships to Cross the North Pole by 2040

Melting sea ice will open up shipping lanes across the Arctic, potentially making the Northwest Passage and North Pole navigable during summer

None

This Might Be Why People Don’t Move Away From Tornado Zones

Living through a tornado doesn't change our optimism about our chances of injury compared to other people

None

Trapped as Climate Changes, Giant Gusts of Hot Air Trigger Weather Extremes

Thanks to global warming, hot air piles up at mid-latitudes and causes storms and heat waves to linger for long stretches of time, new research shows.

None

Transforming Raw Scientific Data Into Sculpture and Song

Artist Nathalie Miebach uses meteorological data to create 3D woven works of art and playable musical scores

None

What Does the Unbelievably Bad Air Quality in Beijing Do to the Human Body?

The level of soot in Beijing's air is off the charts, leading to higher risks of lung cancer, heart attacks and other health problems

Dust lofted up from the Sahara can be blown across the Pacific and seed clouds over California.

Dust from the Sahara Can Seed Rain and Snow Clouds Over the Western U.S.

Clouds above California contain dust and bacteria from China, the Middle East and even Africa, new research shows

Carbon capture and storage equipment in Germany.

Canadian Government Winds Down Research That Could Help Stop Climate Change

If carbon dioxide emissions don't start dropping in the next few decades, we're looking at hundreds of years of high temperatures

A naturally occurring aurora in Alaska.

Lighting Up the Arctic Sky With Artificial Aurorae

The U.S. military's Naval Research Lab teamed up with university researchers and defense contractors to set the atmosphere aglow

The AirWaves mask by Frog Shanghai

How to Survive China’s Pollution Problem: Masks and Bubbles

The air quality in China's biggest cities is famously atrocious, but designers think they may have found a way to combat the issue

None

The Red Planet Is Only Red on the Outside

A rusty sheen turns Mars red, but beneath the rock is a plain gray

High temperatures and high levels of humidity reduce the human body’s ability to do work.

Climate Change is Reducing Our Ability to Get Work Done

Increased temperature and humidity have already limited humankind's overall capacity for physical work—and it will only get worse in the future

Brace Yourselves, the Drought’s Not Close to Over Yet

Unless we get a lot of rain, soon, the U.S. is heading for another summer of drought

In China, most electricity comes from coal power plants. A turn to natural gas could help limit carbon dioxide emissions.

Natural Gas Fracking May Be the Only Industry in China That’s Developing Slowly

It has the largest shale gas reserves in the world, but China is slow to push for fracking

None

Scientists Pluck Blind Shrimp and Other Strange Life Forms From World’s Deepest Hydrothermal Vent

More than three miles beneath the waves, the world's deepest hydrothermal vent is home to ghostly creatures

None

Will the Next Lake-Effect Snowstorm be Severe? Ask Mountains Far Far Away

Scientists use computer simulations to test how geographic features help create intense snowstorms that blanket cities near lake shores with snow

Page 26 of 42