Tiny Aerosols Pose a Big Predicament in a Warming World
Fossil fuels are rapidly heating the planet, but their aerosols also help cool it. Just how much, though, is a major uncertainty in climate science.
Your Phone Can Determine If a Bridge Is Busted
Any smartphone in any car can pick up a span’s unique vibrations. Tracking how that changes over time reveals hidden structural problems.
Scientists Are Uncovering Ominous Waters Under Antarctic Ice
A super-pressurized, 290-mile-long river is running under the ice sheet. That could be bad news for sea-level rise.
Rats Are Invasive Menaces. These Cameras Spy on Them
Keeping rodents off Santa Cruz Island is an exhausting task. But now, conservationists are getting an assist from an AI-powered surveillance system.
The Mediterranean Sea Is So Hot, It’s Forming Carbonate Crystals
In the rapidly warming Eastern Mediterranean, water stratifies into layers, like a cake. That’s allowing carbon-spewing crystals to form.
Lawns Are Dumb. But Ripping Them Out May Come With a Catch
Meticulous turf is environmentally terrible. Yet grass does have one charm: It “sweats,” helping cool the local area.
Lawns Are Dumb. But Ripping Them Out May Come With a Catch
Meticulous turf is environmentally terrible. Yet grass does have one charm: It “sweats,” helping cool the local area.
Rurbanization: It’s Time to Make Cities More Rural
Enough with the urban vs. rural binary. Bringing agriculture into cities can have huge benefits beyond healthy food.
Humanity Is Doing Its Best Impression of a Black Hole
Daniel Holz studies the universe’s ultimate catastrophes. And he knows a thing or two about existential threats on Earth, since he helps set the Doomsday Clock.