Climate
What Antarctica Looked Like before the Ice
Antarctica was flat, warm and crisscrossed with rivers before glaciers buzz-sawed its steep valley
Stories by OurAmazing Planet
The Sciences
Fish, Turtle and Duck Excrement Helps Spread Sea Grass
It was already known that animals consume seeds in one location and excrete them in another where they can germinate, but now this process is confirmed to occur in eelgrass beds
The Sciences
Historic Caribbean Earthquake Was Felt in NYC
New estimates of the February 8, 1843, Lesser Antilles earthquake revise its magnitude to 8.5 (from 7.8), and maps reveal that parts of Antigua subsided up to three meters
Sustainability
Arctic Wildfire Soot Darkening Greenland Ice Sheet
Black carbon particles from smoke plumes in the Arctic have covered glaciers, a circumstance that increases heat absorption and contributes to melting
The Sciences
66 Coral Species Nominated for Endangered List
Federal protection could slow the destruction of coral reefs, which are devastated by increasing water temperatures and the rise of ocean acidification
The Sciences
Electrifying News: Lightning Deaths Decline
Experts predict 54 people will die by lightning strikes this year, down from 300 deaths in the early 1900s
Tech
"Chum Cam" Helps Catalogue Endangered Sharks
Scientists are increasingly relying on cameras to count elusive and endangered species
Sustainability
Behind-the-Scenes at the National Hurricane Center
The federally funded agency predicts where tropical cyclones will go and how strong they will be when they arrive. It never closes
The Sciences
Disaster's Aftermath: Assessing Hurricane Irene's Damage
Scientists from some of the areas hardest hit have now had time to evaluate the storm's dramatic geologic effects on their home states
Sustainability
Test Pits Earthquake Forecasts against Each Other
A method known as "pattern informatics" scored as most reliable. This approach looks for anomalous increases and decreases in seismic activity
The Sciences
"Superdeep" Diamonds Hint at Depth of Carbon Cycle
Diamonds from deep underground now reveal that the activities of life can have effects far beneath Earth's surface
