8 times nature was totally metal in 2020 By Brandon Specktor Remembering the cannibal dinosaurs, chest-bursting eels, and rampaging galaxies that made 2020 heavier than dark matter.
World's largest iceberg continues to break up off the coast of South Georgia By Harry Baker It is hoped that the icebergs will now miss the island, but their fate is still uncertain.
10 geological discoveries that absolutely rocked 2020 By Nicoletta Lanese Here are 10 of the most amazing geological discoveries of the year.
Humans are destroying our 'perfect planet,' Attenborough says By Yasemin Saplakoglu A new series explores the powerful natural forces that work together to sculpt and support life on our fragile pale blue dot.
13 ways the Earth showed its wrath in 2020 By Stephanie Pappas Eruptions, temblors and severe weather, oh my.
'Zombie' greenhouse gas lurks in permafrost beneath the Arctic Ocean By Nicoletta Lanese Experts say we need to improve our patchy knowledge of subsea permafrost.
Air pressure makes Mount Everest 'shrink' by thousands of feet, new study finds By Brandon Specktor Seasonal changes in air pressure sometimes make Mount Everest's "perceived elevation" to shrink by thousands of feet, a new study finds.
World's ugliest orchid looks like a soul-sucking, eyeless worm By Mindy Weisberger Orchids are usually prized for their loveliness, but a newly described species is no beauty.
Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts with dramatic lava fountains By Jeanna Bryner Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupted beginning Sunday (Dec. 20) night local time, with dramatic lava fountains and huge puffs of gas and steam being launched from the summit crater called Halema'uma'u.
Here's the science of the winter solstice By Laura Geggel Today's winter solstice will boast the year's fewest hours of daylight for the Northern Hemisphere. Here's why.
The world's largest iceberg has just broken in two By Rafi Letzter A chunk of ice about the size of Queens and the Bronx combined has broken off what was, until this fracture, the world's largest iceberg.
Unsafe levels of radiation found in Chernobyl crops By Harry Baker Crops grown near the Chernobyl nuclear site in Ukraine are still contaminated with radiation from the explosive 1986 disaster.
Top 10 deadliest natural disasters in history By Stephanie Pappas, Tiffany Means Here are the world's most deadliest earthquakes, cyclones and floods.
Ötzi the Iceman may have scaled ice-free Alps By Stephanie Pappas Many Alpine summits may have been ice-free before about 5,900 years ago.
Huge methane cache beneath Arctic could be unlocked by the moon By Patrick Pester The moon's tides affect how much methane is released from seafloor sediments and the implications are huge.
Nor'easter could drop a foot of snow on New England By Nicoletta Lanese The storm follows last year's mild winter with below-average snowfall.
Red Sea oil tanker 4 times as big as Exxon Valdez could spill any day now By Rafi Letzter A mammoth oil tanker is decaying into the Red Sea, threatening to pollute the water supply of millions of people and the world's most resilient coral reef.
US could reach 'net-zero' carbon by 2050. Here's how. By Rafi Letzter The U.S. can cut its carbon output to zero by the middle of the 21th century, according to a major new Princeton University study. It might even save money.
The UK is sending robot submarines to watch the world’s largest iceberg crash into an island By Brandon Specktor The world’s largest iceberg appears days away from crashing into a penguin-filled island. These robots will study the aftermath.
The only total solar eclipse of 2020 may be one few get a chance to see By Joe Rao It would only seem appropriate that the final eclipse in this eccentric year of 2020 will be visible only from Patagonia — nicknamed "the end of the world."
