https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Millions of people living on tropical islands could face a future of increasingly dangerous heat as climate change drives longer and more intense periods of humid conditions. While rising temperatures are often discussed as the main consequence of climate change, humidity plays a crucial role in determining how much heat the human body can tolerate. When the air is already full of moisture, sweat evaporates less effectively, making it harder for people to cool down. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-small-tropical-islands-dangerous-humid.html Earth Sciences Fri, 24 Jul 2026 07:20:01 EDT news704017856 Africa is home to around 70% of the world's burned area—the total area of land scorched by wildfires each year—making it the planet's biggest wildfire hotspot. Yet despite this, satellite observations have revealed an unexpected trend over the past two decades: The amount of land burned across the continent has been steadily falling. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-africa-wildfire-season-shorter-scientists.html Earth Sciences Mon, 20 Jul 2026 06:40:01 EDT news703496227 When a record-breaking drought and heat wave swept across China's Yangtze River Basin in 2022, forests across the region faced an extreme test. The event provided a rare opportunity for researchers to test how different forests respond when rising temperatures and water shortages strike at the same time. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-natural-forests-survive.html Plants & Animals Fri, 10 Jul 2026 15:40:01 EDT news702896047 The Southern Ocean has long stood out as an oddity in the global climate system. While most of the planet's surface oceans have warmed in response to rising greenhouse gases, waters circling Antarctica showed an unexpected tendency to cool during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This cooling coincided with a period when Antarctic sea ice briefly expanded before its more recent decline, adding to the mystery. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-antarctic-ozone-loss-drove-unexpected.html Earth Sciences Fri, 03 Jul 2026 13:20:01 EDT news702288123 Scientists investigating a proposed way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using seawater have found that adding too much alkalinity to neutralize acids can trigger chemical reactions that undermine the process. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-coastal-estuarine-carbon-technique-backfire.html Earth Sciences Sat, 27 Jun 2026 09:40:01 EDT news701342319 The Himalayas are often seen as one of Earth's great natural barriers, separating the heavily populated and industrialized regions of South Asia from the remote Tibetan Plateau. But new research, published in Geophysical Research Letters, suggests that this mountain range is not an impenetrable wall for air pollution. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-coal-pollution-earth-remote-mountain.html Earth Sciences Fri, 26 Jun 2026 18:00:01 EDT news701690585 Climate change is altering where and when rocks are most likely to fracture across Spain, according to new research that suggests warming temperatures are redistributing a key process responsible for breaking down mountain landscapes. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-climate-reshapes-spain-rockfall-frost.html Earth Sciences Mon, 15 Jun 2026 05:40:02 EDT news700479435 Large volcanic eruptions may have played a bigger role in triggering historical famines across China than previously understood, according to a new study that traced links between eruptions, climate disruption, and food shortages over more than four centuries. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-volcanic-eruptions-linked-famine-china.html Earth Sciences Sat, 06 Jun 2026 10:20:01 EDT news699624109 Freshwater from melting Antarctic glaciers may be influencing the Southern Ocean in ways scientists have largely overlooked. New research, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, has found that glacial meltwater is not confined to the ocean's surface, as previously assumed, but can also be detected much deeper in coastal waters along the Western Antarctic Peninsula. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-hidden-meltwater-deep-antarctic-coastal.html Earth Sciences Fri, 05 Jun 2026 08:00:06 EDT news699710011 Tropical forests, often described as the lungs of the planet, may be edging closer to a dangerous threshold as droughts become more frequent and widespread across the world's humid tropics. New research suggests these ecosystems are increasingly struggling to recover from prolonged dry conditions, raising concerns that some forests could eventually shift from absorbing carbon dioxide to releasing it back into the atmosphere. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-droughts-tropical-forests-dangerous-threshold.html Earth Sciences Mon, 18 May 2026 08:40:01 EDT news698071491 Dramatic droughts linked to the decline of the Classic Maya civilization approximately 800 to 1000 CE may not have required any external trigger, according to a new climate modeling study. Instead, they could have emerged from Earth's own natural climate variability—shifts within the climate system that, when aligned, are capable of producing prolonged dry periods on their own. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ancient-maya-droughts-fueled-earth.html Earth Sciences Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:40:03 EDT news695476101 The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, caused widespread population displacement and infrastructure damage. However, it has also led to an unintended environmental effect with notable changes in the country's landscape, according to a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters. Among the concerns are the complex impacts of wars on water resources. These repercussions can be direct, such as wastewater pollution and destruction of water infrastructure, or indirect, including increased deforestation, soil erosion, and abrupt cropland losses. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-conflict-driven-farmland-abandonment-syria.html Earth Sciences Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:40:02 EDT news694258051 As global temperatures climb, rainfall patterns are shifting in ways that could put water resources and agriculture under increasing strain, a new study published in Water Resources Research suggests. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-index-reveals-global-resources-extreme.html Earth Sciences Tue, 31 Mar 2026 09:40:05 EDT news694089365 Every time we do a load of laundry, tiny fibers of polyester escape from our clothes and slip down the drain. These microfibers, so small they can be invisible to the naked eye, are among the most common forms of microplastic in the ocean. Yet, new research published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans shows that most of them may not make it that far. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-rivers-tidal-currents-microfibers-oceans.html Earth Sciences Fri, 20 Mar 2026 14:40:01 EDT news693227053 The future of one of Antarctica's most iconic glaciers could be far more dramatic than scientists previously thought. Using satellite calibrated ice sheet models, a team of researchers from the University of Edinburgh found that the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica could be shedding 180–200 gigatonnes of ice per year by 2067—a rate roughly comparable to the entire Antarctic ice sheet's current mass loss. That would represent a stunning acceleration in ice loss from a single glacier and underlines urgent concerns about future contributions to sea level rise. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-thwaites-glacier-rival-entire-antarctic.html Earth Sciences Sun, 15 Mar 2026 13:00:03 EDT news692613890 Our planet plunged into one of the most dramatic climate states in its long history, approximately 720–635 million years ago. During a period geologists call Snowball Earth, ice sheets crept from the poles all the way to the tropics, covering the oceans and continents in a nearly global freeze. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-salt-snowball-earth-million-years.html Earth Sciences Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:00:02 EST news692011001 Greenland's largest glacier, Jakobshavn Glacier, may be edging closer to a critical threshold as meltwater runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet accelerates in ways not seen in over a century, according to new research published in Climate of the Past. The study reconstructs more than 100 years of freshwater discharge flowing from the ice sheet into Disko Bay in western Greenland, revealing a striking and sustained change that began in the early 2000s. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-greenland-largest-glacier-scientists.html Earth Sciences Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:20:01 EST news691407701 When the supercontinent Pangea began to fragment around 200 million years ago during the Early Jurassic, it reshaped the face of the planet. Vast new oceans opened, continents drifted apart and the familiar geography of today slowly emerged. For decades, many geoscientists have suggested that this dramatic breakup was fueled by an accumulation of heat beneath the supercontinent, a kind of planetary "thermal insulation" effect that caused the underlying mantle (the thick layer of rock between Earth's crust and its core) to grow unusually hot. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-earth-mantle-cooler-thought-pangea.html Earth Sciences Mon, 23 Feb 2026 07:00:01 EST news690808614 Extreme rainfall is reshaping coastal waters along South Korea's shoreline, flushing nutrients from land into the sea and fueling the growth of algal blooms. A new multi-year study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, tracked water quality in and around a major river estuary and shows how intense downpours can shift where and when these blooms appear, with consequences for marine ecosystems and coastal communities. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-extreme-rainfall-worsening-algal-blooms.html Earth Sciences Sun, 15 Feb 2026 12:30:01 EST news690204955 China's sweeping efforts to clean up its air have delivered one of the biggest public health success stories of recent decades. Since the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan was launched in 2013, coal-fired power plants have been fitted with scrubbers, heavy industry has been modernized and pollution standards tightened, leading to an over 50% reduction in atmospheric particulate matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-china-emissions-policies-climate-problem.html Earth Sciences Tue, 10 Feb 2026 07:50:01 EST news689850775 Mangrove forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle, particularly within the marine carbon system. Growing along tropical and subtropical coastlines, these salt-tolerant trees are among nature's most efficient "blue carbon" sinks, capturing and burying vast amounts of carbon dioxide that would otherwise warm Earth's atmosphere. Much of this carbon is stored in thick, waterlogged soils, where it can remain locked away for centuries, making mangroves a major contributor to long-term coastal carbon sequestration. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-mangrove-methane-emissions-forests-powerful.html Earth Sciences Wed, 28 Jan 2026 07:00:01 EST news688647653 Across the world, water scarcity is emerging as one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. Climate change is pushing rivers and aquifers into unprecedented extremes, droughts and floods are intensifying, and demand for freshwater is rising with population growth and economic development. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-aging-populations-global.html Environment Mon, 26 Jan 2026 11:40:03 EST news688647645 Stronger El Niño events are more likely when springtime surface waters in the western Pacific Ocean become unusually salty, a new study in Geophysical Research Letters suggests. Traditionally, scientists have focused on temperature and wind patterns to understand El Niño—periodic shifts in the tropical Pacific between warmer and cooler conditions that influence weather patterns across the globe. But researchers now show that subtle variations in ocean salinity north of the equator during boreal spring (March to May) can substantially amplify El Niño's strength and nearly double the odds of an extreme event. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-saltier-seas-chance-extreme-el.html Earth Sciences Mon, 26 Jan 2026 07:30:02 EST news688384721 Ancient pine trees growing in the Iberian mountains of eastern Spain have quietly recorded more than five centuries of Mediterranean weather. Now, by reading the annual growth rings preserved in their wood, scientists have uncovered a striking message: today's storms and droughts are becoming more intense and more frequent than almost anything the region has experienced since the early 1500s. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-ancient-spanish-trees-reveal-mediterranean.html Earth Sciences Sat, 24 Jan 2026 10:00:01 EST news688383030 When hurricanes or strong storms sweep up the United States' East Coast and meet the shores of the country's largest estuary, Chesapeake Bay, the familiar pattern of storm activity gets a little more complicated. A new study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, shows that water levels inside the bay can spike far more dramatically than along the open ocean, raising flood risks for coastal and inland communities. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-chesapeake-bay-storm-surge-tides.html Earth Sciences Tue, 02 Dec 2025 08:00:01 EST news683822642 Groundwater replenishing beneath temperate farmland fields may come from very recent rainfall, merely one to two weeks old, whereas the water actually taken up by crops is drawn from much older sources. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-young-recharges-aquifers-crops.html Earth Sciences Mon, 03 Nov 2025 10:29:39 EST news681388172 The towering peaks of the Southern Andes are not just shaping the skyline of South America—they are also quietly influencing Earth's atmosphere. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-weathering-southern-andes-plays-critical.html Earth Sciences Mon, 27 Oct 2025 10:20:05 EDT news680779130 Powerful pulses of groundwater flow up from beneath Lakes Michigan and Huron, which together form one of the largest freshwater systems in the world. This groundwater flux may dramatically alter how and where ice forms, with important implications for ice-climate models. As climate change pressures the system, new research suggests that conventional models may underestimate how groundwater can destabilize lake ice along its shorelines (coasts). https://phys.org/news/2025-09-intense-groundwater-destabilizes-ice-north.html Earth Sciences Fri, 26 Sep 2025 06:50:01 EDT news678022875 Satellite observations have documented a pronounced decline in Antarctic sea ice extent since 2014, with especially sharp losses in recent years. Whether Antarctica's declining sea ice can recover hinges not only on how much carbon dioxide we emit, but also on how stratified the Southern Ocean is, according to new research published in Geophysical Research Letters. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-reversing-antarctic-sea-ice-loss.html Earth Sciences Sun, 21 Sep 2025 08:00:02 EDT news677507670 Air pollution has become an ever-pressing issue since the Industrial Revolution began in the mid-18th century. Progressive urbanization, industrialization and agricultural development over more recent decades have been linked to a plethora of consequences for the environment and health of humans and wildlife. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-atmospheric-pollutants-offsetting-primary-productivity.html Environment Wed, 26 Feb 2025 06:40:02 EST news659637091