Life on Earth kept to darkness for much of history, study finds
Tiny creatures that lived in the dark—either underground or below the sea floor—were the dominant life forms on Earth for much of the planet's history, a study suggests.
Earth news
16 hours ago
in
Atlantic circulation is not collapsing—but as it shifts gears, warming will reaccelerate
A huge circulation pattern in the Atlantic Ocean took a starring role in the 2004 movie "The Day After Tomorrow." In that fictional tale the global oceanic current suddenly stops and New York City freezes over.
In the ocean's twilight zone, tiny organisms may have giant effect on Earth's carbon cycle
Deep in the ocean's twilight zone, swarms of ravenous single-celled organisms may be altering Earth's carbon cycle in ways scientists never expected, according to a new study from Florida State University researchers.
Ferocious Ferguson fire in California threatens Mariposa—again
One year ago today residents of Mariposa, California, the largest town bordering Yosemite National Park, were evacuated due to the threat of the Detwiler Fire. Although thate fire burned thousands of acres and scorched ...
Billion-year-old lake deposit yields clues to Earth's ancient biosphere
A sample of ancient oxygen, teased out of a 1.4 billion-year-old evaporative lake deposit in Ontario, provides fresh evidence of what the Earth's atmosphere and biosphere were like during the interval leading up to the emergence ...
Warming rivers make marked contribution to global greenhouse gas levels
Warming streams and rivers could be disproportionately contributing to the amount of planet-warming greenhouse gases, according to a new study.
Researchers to present new results on hurricanes and other extreme events
The availability of water from underground aquifers is vital to the basic needs of more than 1.5 billion people worldwide.
Air pollution negatively associated with US national park visitation
More than 300 million visitors travel to U.S. national parks every year to experience America's iconic landscapes. But poor air quality in parks may negatively affect visitation, according to a study published in Science ...
Cities as study proxies for climate change
Cities can serve as useful proxies to study and predict the effects of climate change, according to a North Carolina State University research review that tracks urbanization's effects on plant and insect species.
Study finds climate determines shapes of river basins
There are more than 1 million river basins carved into the topography of the United States, each collecting rainwater to feed the rivers that cut through them. Some basins are as small as individual streams, while others ...
