Continents have lost so much water since 2002 that they have surpassed ice sheets as the biggest contributor to global sea level rise, a new study reveals. Almost 70% of this loss is due to unchecked groundwater extraction, which removes water from deep aquifers and eventually transfers it to the ocean, researchers found. Together with … Read more
Scientists have found new evidence that a massive comet trail may have caused climate upheaval on Earth more than 12,000 years ago. Tiny particles detected in ocean sediment cores suggest that dust from a large, disintegrating comet entered Earth’s atmosphere around the beginning of the Younger Dryas event, a period of abrupt cooling that caused … Read more
More than 5,000 people have applied for a first-of-its-kind migration visa that offers residents of a Pacific island an escape from the worst effects of climate change. Applications for the visa opened to people in Tuvalu on June 16 and close today (July 18). Under its terms, 280 Tuvaluans can relocate to Australia each year … Read more
Melting glaciers could make volcanic eruptions more explosive and frequent, worsening climate change in the process, scientists have warned. Hundreds of volcanoes in Antarctica, Russia, New Zealand, and North America rest beneath glaciers. But as the planet warms and these ice sheets melt and retreat, these volcanoes are likely to become more active, according to … Read more
Scientists in Switzerland have created a new “living” material that contains blue-green algae and could one day be used in buildings to fight climate change, they say. Thanks to the blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, the new material is photosynthetic. This means it can chemically convert carbon dioxide (CO2), sunlight and water into oxygen and sugars, … Read more
Our understanding of plant and tree roots may have been somewhat shallow. New research reveals many plants have a hidden second set of roots that extend far deeper into the soil. According to a new study published June 17 in the journal Nature Communications, this second layer of roots extend over 3 feet (1 meter) … Read more
Earth’s oceans are in worse condition than scientists thought, with acidity levels so high that our seas may have entered a “danger zone” five years ago, according to a new study. Humans are inadvertently making the oceans more acidic by releasing carbon dioxide (CO2) through industrial activities such as the burning of fossil fuels. This … Read more
In the dim twilight of an Arctic winter’s day, with the low sun stretching its orange fingers across the frozen sea, a group of researchers drill a hole through the ice and insert a hydrogen-powered pump. It looks unremarkable — a piece of pipe protruding from a metal cylinder — but it holds many hopes … Read more
We live in places that will be flooded by rising sea levels. We have food production systems dependent on specific climates. And we have built economic structures, trade relationships and social dynamics contingent on certain temperatures. What’s more, we are not alone in this world, and the rapidly changing climate is a threat to the … Read more
Changes in Earth’s tilt relative to the sun have governed the movements of giant ice sheets over the past 800,000 years, triggering the start and end of eight ice ages, new research suggests. The new study revealed an “amazing correlation” between Earth’s tilt and ice sheet formation, said lead author Stephen Barker. Based on these … Read more
