Earth

Ancient ice and sediment samples show that extensive sea ice in the past helped halt the rise of carbon dioxide

Biological oceanography expert Miriam Goldstein talks about issues facing the oceans. Reporter Adam Levy discusses air pollution info available because of the pandemic. And astrophysicist Andrew Fabian chats about black holes.

Narwhals, recognizable by their large single tusk, make distinct sounds that are now being analyzed in depth by researchers.

Fine dust from the burning rain forest could exacerbate coronavirus infections amid signs that the blazes might be particularly severe in 2020

How this thin layer of aerosol particles might impact global climate remains to be seen

We say so long to the Scientific American blogs network. But this isn’t goodbye!

An Arctic heat wave ushered in the start of the melt season two weeks earlier than average

Destroying habitats makes viruses and other pathogens more likely to infect humans

Less water loss from plants causes the surrounding air to warm, and currents can transport that heat poleward

Higher temperatures and wetter weather may spur soil microbes to release more carbon into the atmosphere

An unusually strong polar vortex kept the hole open for nearly a month—now, it’s finally shut again

Pooling meltwater destabilized the glacier, sending an avalanche of ice down a mountainside