Climate Change

Common "hard" coastal defenses, like concrete sea walls, might struggle to keep up with increasing climate risks. A new study published in Nature Communications shows that combining them with nature-based solutions could, in some contexts, create defenses that are better able to adapt.... Read more

Recently, researchers have made breakthroughs in flash flood forecasting by studying how different rainfall patterns affect flash floods in China's mountainous regions. This research leads to the possibility of more accurate and localized flood warnings, potentially enhancing disaster preparedness and reducing the devastating effects of flash floods on at-risk communities.... Read more

A new study introduces the Hybrid Global Annual 1-km International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) Land Cover Maps for the period 2000–2020.... Read more

The 4.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the Northeast on April 5 didn't seem to cause much damage, but it was enough to send tremors of concern through anyone who felt it. It's not that the region never experiences seismic shifts. It's just that most earthquakes in the region go undetected.... Read more

Wetlands have flourished along the world's coastlines for thousands of years, playing valuable roles in the lives of people and wildlife. They protect the land from storm surge, stop seawater from contaminating drinking water supplies, and create habitat for birds, fish and threatened species.... Read more

"March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers", goes the old British proverb. The term was even (almost) used in the Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the 1300s: "Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote".... Read more

It's rare to feel earthquakes in the U.S. Northeast, so the magnitude 4.8 earthquake in New Jersey that shook buildings in New York City and was felt from Maryland to Boston on April 5, 2024, drew a lot of questions. It was one of the strongest earthquakes on record in... Read more

Sinkholes are back in the news after a 13-year-old boy fell down a two meter deep hole in a waterlogged football field in Sydney over the weekend. The boy reportedly sank further into the hole every time he tried to push down with his feet, but was later rescued by... Read more

The boreal forest, covering much of Canada and Alaska, and the treeless shrublands to the north of the forest region, may be among the worst impacted by climate change over the next 500 years, according to a new study.... Read more

The Arctic is often cited for a plethora of impacts resulting from anthropogenic climate change, including glacier retreat and reductions in floating sea ice, meltwater incursions changing ocean salinity, as well as sea level rise to name but a few. As the region is warming three times faster than the... Read more

The Southern Ocean is renowned for having the cleanest air on Earth. But the precise reasons why have remained a mystery, until now.... Read more

Headlines declaring a "Black Nor'easter" appeared this week as New South Wales and Queensland copped heavy rain—and residents have been warned to brace for more.... Read more

Human activity is changing the way water flows between the Earth and atmosphere in complex ways and with likely long-lasting consequences that are hard to picture.... Read more

In Earth science, small details can help explain massive events. Rita Parai, an assistant professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, uses precision equipment to measure trace levels of noble gases in rocks, samples that can provide key insights into... Read more

The population of Africa, the second-largest continent in the world, currently sits at about 1.4 billion, but is set to exceed 2 billion by 2040. This means greater swaths of land than ever before are being used for agriculture, and livestock numbers are increasing. A new estimate of Africa's greenhouse... Read more