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Extreme wildfires, droughts and storms could happen even under moderate global warming, study findsNew research suggests devastating climate outcomes that are typically associated with extreme global warming could hit even we limit heating to 3.6 F above preindustrial levels.
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Scientists discover potentially huge freshwater reservoir hidden beneath Great Salt LakeResearchers have found a layer of fresh water beneath Utah's Great Salt Lake that reaches up to 2.5 miles deep and could turn out to be as big, or bigger, than the lake.
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Lençóis Maranhenses: Brazil's dune-filled expanse that sits at the intersection of 3 biomesLençóis Maranhenses National Park hosts sand-dune fields that fill up with lagoons every wet season, but the reserve also has mangrove swamps where species such as the scarlet ibis thrive.
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Iran war has already released a staggering amount of CO2 — and the destruction of schools, homes and buildings is the biggest sourceIn a new analysis, researchers estimated direct, indirect and future greenhouse gas emissions that were created in the first two weeks of the Iran war, between Feb. 28 and March 14.
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Antarctica could warm 1.4 times faster than the rest of the Southern Hemisphere in the coming decades, study findsAntarctica could warm much faster than its surroundings over the next few decades due to a phenomenon known as polar amplification that is well established in the Arctic.
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Watch sperm whale headbutt another for no apparent reasonResearchers have captured extraordinary footage of sperm whales randomly headbutting each other, confirming anecdotal reports from mariners and whalers in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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'Dark oxygen' discovery on the seafloor is 'fundamentally at odds with thermodynamics' and should be retracted, experts sayIn a recent opinion article, marine scientists and electrochemists listed a number of reasons why it's unlikely that metallic nodules on the deep seafloor could produce oxygen in total darkness.
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'We got evidence of boars, deer, bears, aurochs': Ancient DNA reveals sunken realm Doggerland had habitable forests during the last ice ageA landmass that once connected Britain to mainland Europe had temperate forests that could have sustained Stone Age people for millennia before the landmass was flooded, a new study suggests.
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Sørvágsvatn: The lake that 'floats' above the ocean thanks to a unique optical illusionSørvágsvatn, also called Leitisvatn, is the largest lake in the Faroe Islands. Viewed from a certain angle, one side appears to hover above the Atlantic Ocean.
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'Blackwater' lakes and rivers in the Congo Basin are now emitting ancient carbon into the atmosphereCarbon that has been buried in the Congo Basin's peatlands for millennia is seeping into lakes and rivers. Why this is happening remains unclear, but researchers warn that tropical peatlands could be nearing a tipping point.
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Early warning indicator hidden within the Gulf Stream could signal the collapse of key Atlantic currents, study findsShifts in the Gulf Stream could help researchers predict the human-driven failure of a huge system of ocean currents known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.
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Scientists find 2 marsupial species, thought to have gone extinct 6,000 years ago, living in the forests of New GuineaThe pygmy long-fingered possum and the ring-tailed glider, two marsupials believed to have died out thousands of years ago, are still alive in Papuan Indonesia.
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Permafrost thaw and 'shrubification' have tipped Alaska's North Slope into a wildfire regime not seen for 3,000 yearsAn analysis of peatland soil samples and satellite images has found that wildfires on Alaska's North Slope are more frequent and severe now than they were at any point over the past 3,000 years.
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China has planted so many trees around the Taklamakan Desert that it's turned this 'biological void' into a carbon sinkHuge-scale ecological engineering around the edges of one of the world's largest and driest deserts has turned it into a carbon sink that absorbs more CO2 than it emits, research suggests.
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The largest reservoir of hydrogen on Earth may be hiding in its coreEarth's core contains nine to 45 times more hydrogen than the planet's oceans do, according to a new study that could settle a debate about when and how hydrogen was delivered to Earth.
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Bandera Volcano Ice Cave: The weird lava tube in New Mexico whose temperature is always below freezingDue to a weird quirk of geology, New Mexico's Bandera Volcano Ice Cave never warms above 31 degrees Fahrenheit, even when temperatures outside exceed 100 F in summer.
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New map shows weird magnetic anomaly lurking beneath Australia's Northern TerritoryAdvanced modeling has revealed an Australia-shaped magnetic anomaly beneath the country's Northern Territory that holds valuable information about Australia's geological history.
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Grim photo captures polar bear mom and cubs resting in mud in summer heatAn image of polar bears napping along the Hudson Bay coast in Canada has been shortlisted for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People's Choice Award 2026.
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A deer carrying the rotting head of its vanquished foe and a playful lynx shortlisted for Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People's Choice AwardHere are the 24 images shortlisted for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People's Choice Award 2026.
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The Colorado River's largest tributary flows 'uphill' for over 100 miles — and geologists may finally have an explanation for itMillions of years ago, the Green River carved a path through the Uinta Mountains instead of flowing around the formation. Now, researchers have discovered how this could have happened.
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Thousands of dams in the US are old, damaged and unable to cope with extreme weather. How bad is it?Dams in the U.S. are showing signs of damage that are worsening with age and climate change. Could satellites help prioritize repairs amid budget and inspection constraints?
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Teenage girl who lived in Italy 12,000 years ago had a rare form of dwarfism, DNA study showsIn 1963, researchers unearthed two Stone Age skeletons that were buried in an embraced position in a cave in Italy. Now, DNA testing has revealed that one of them had a rare genetic condition.
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People, not glaciers, transported rocks to Stonehenge, study confirmsA new analysis of mineral grains has refuted the "glacial transport theory" that suggests Stonehenge's bluestones and Altar Stone were delivered to Salisbury Plain by glaciers.
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Chocolate Hills: The color-changing mounds in the Philippines that inspired legends of mud-slinging giantsThe Chocolate Hills are 1,776 mounds on Bohol Island in the Philippines where grassy cover turns brown during the dry season.
