Stories by Annie Sneed

Creatures living among the hydrothermal vents burbling under the Arctic Ocean's ice layer have been historically difficult to study, but an underwater vehicle, the Nereid Under Ice, can get close to the vents to peek in at the animals and their homes without disturbing their environment with icebreaking ships.  Scientific American caught up with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution senior scientist, Chris German, on the R/V Neil Armstrong to discuss how studying these Arctic dwellers could shape our understanding of how life evolved.

The growth of renewable energy far from urban and industrial centers is driving a build-out of long-distance direct-current lines 

A detailed analysis shows how much more CO₂ each of Trump’s climate policy changes would send into the atmosphere

A cool climate, sulfur and volcanism may have thrust the planet into an extreme glacial state

Artist and photographer Diane Tuft captures the rapidly changing polar landscape in her new book, The Arctic Melt

The event’s organizers want people of all political persuasions to press for science-based policy

Up to two thirds of SoCal’s sandy shores may erode by 2100 without extra human help

James Hansen, the “father of climate change awareness,” wants the same carbon fee–and-dividend strategy proposed by Republicans

IBM will soon field-test technology that sees methane leaking from oil and gas well pads

Jeffrey Sachs, a leading expert on economic development, says the president’s latest energy directive is misguided

The administration’s proposed budget takes aim at ecosystem and climate tracking efforts across agencies 

Narrowing the Clean Water Rule could increase pollution in critical waters

Freshwater-saltwater ecosystems could provide bountiful renewable energy

The ability to forecast temblors would be a tectonic shift in seismology. But is it a pipe dream? A seismologist is conducting machine-learning experiments to find out

Panel will likely push reforms that many fear will meddle with the scientific process 

If the new president delays climate action as promised, the world is far more likely to miss its Paris agreement goals

The U.S. has only handed over $500 million of its $3-billion pledge to help developing countries deal with global warming

A leading scientist explains that improved computing and statistics can tie extreme events to global warming

Scientists are investigating a range of technologies they hope can capture lots of carbon without a lot of cost

Prominent scientists say researchers and policy makers need to focus more on adapting to warming and on controversial geoengineering techniques to limit it

Science-based jobs and science-savvy millennials can bring conservatives and liberals together

Known and suspected carcinogens including asbestos are among the first compounds to be scrutinized under a reformed law

Nanoporous fabric would cool its wearers, reducing the need for air-conditioning

A method for designing novel compounds could help defeat drug-resistant bacteria