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Global Warming

These are ten of the biggest strides made by scientists in the last ten years.

The Top Ten Scientific Discoveries of the Decade

Breakthroughs include measuring the true nature of the universe, finding new species of human ancestors, and unlocking new ways to fight disease

Loss of oxygen allows algae to thrive, which in turn has cascading effects on marine ecosystems.

The World’s Oceans Are Being Starved of Oxygen

An alarming report found that there are 700 marine sites impacted by low oxygen levels—up from 45 in the 1960s

An image of the Camp Fire in Northern California on November 8, 2018, from the Landsat 8 satellite.

Scientists Around the World Declare ‘Climate Emergency’

More than 11,000 signatories to a new research paper argue that we need new ways to measure the impacts of a changing climate on human society

By collecting images and GPS data from citizen divers, scientists can get a better sense of the health of the entire Great Barrier Reef.

Massive Citizen Science Effort Seeks to Survey the Entire Great Barrier Reef

Only about 1,000 of 3,000 individual reefs have been documented, but the Great Reef Census hopes to fill in the gaps

Three green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, on a coral reef, Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

Coral Reefs Face the Dual Threats of Ocean Acidification and Erosion

As coral tissues die off, the exposed calcified skeleton becomes vulnerable to organisms that eat away at the dying reefs

One of the Dinizia excelsa or angelim vermelho trees, which can grow over 80 meters. The tallest, as measured by satellite, towered 88.5 meters above the forest floor.

Researchers Discover the Tallest Known Tree in the Amazon

Satellite images and a trek into the rainforest reveal a group of trees over 80 meters, or about 260 feet, and one as tall as 88.5 meters

The site of Brattahlid, the eastern settlement Viking colony in southwestern Greenland founded by Erik the Red near the end of the 10th century A.D.

A Warming Climate Threatens Archaeological Sites in Greenland

As temperatures rise and ice melts, Norse and Inuit artifacts and human remains decompose more rapidly

Ginkgo has survived three mass extinctions, including the one that killed the dinosaurs.

Smithsonian Scientists Are Using Ginkgo Leaves to Study Climate Change—They Need Your Help

Citizen scientists can submit leaf samples from their hometowns through the end of August

Climate change-induced heatwaves trigger Arctic wildfires, which then release carbon dioxide and pollutants into the atmosphere

The Arctic Is Experiencing Its Worst Wildfire Season on Record

Arctic infernos released 50 megatons of carbon dioxide—the equivalent of Sweden’s total annual emissions—into the atmosphere in June alone

Mount Bromo erupting in Indonesia. Prior to 20th century industrialization, volcanoes were a primary driver of regional temperature changes over timescales of two or three decades, one of the studies found.

Modern Climate Change Is the Only Worldwide Warming Event of the Past 2,000 Years

New research finds that previous periods of warming and cooling driven by natural causes were regional shifts in temperature rather than global events

Former U.S. ambassador to Canada David Jacobson visits Alert on a much cooler day in 2010.

Trending Today

The World’s Northernmost Permanent Settlement Set a Record High Temperature

The military installation of Alert on Ellesmere Island, 600 miles from the North Pole, hit 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit last week

Olafur Eliasson, "The Cubic Structural Evolution Project," 2004

Art Meets Science

Consider the Nature of Perception at Olafur Eliasson’s New Show

Tate Modern retrospective features some 40 works pulled from the artist’s decades-long career

This spring, temperatures in Alaska and northern Canada have been significantly higher than usual. Red indicates areas warmer than average while blue indicates colder than average. The darker the red, or blue, the greater the deviation from average.

Record-Breaking Heat in Alaska Wreaks Havoc on Communities and Ecosystems

Abnormally high temperatures have led to unsafe travel conditions, uncertain ecological futures and even multiple deaths

Scientists have been tracking Mauna Loa's carbon dioxide levels since 1958

Carbon Dioxide Levels Reach Highest Point in Human History

Last Friday, carbon concentrations at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory topped 415 ppm

Future of Space Exploration

The Space Station Just Got a New Cutting-Edge Carbon Mapper

The OCO-3 instrument will watch Earth’s carbon levels change throughout the day

A starfish floating on the coral reef, Dominican Republic.

One Million Species at Risk of Extinction, Threatening Human Communities Around the World, U.N. Report Warns

A global assessment compiled by hundreds of scientists found that humans are inflicting staggering damage on the world’s biodiversity

Ocean-Dwelling Species Are Disappearing Twice as Quickly as Land Animals

Researchers point toward marine creatures’ inability to adapt to changing water temperatures, lack of adequate shelter

Some three to five million years ago, the icy environs of Antarctica were replaced by verdant swaths of green

CO2 Levels Are as High as They Were Three Million Years Ago

The last time Earth had this much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, trees were growing at the South Pole

New Research

A Network of Lakes Lies Under East Antarctica’s Biggest Glacier

The water underneath the Totten Glacier may force researchers to recalculate how quickly climate change may melt the massive ice sheet

Honey gathered from urban beehives offers a surprisingly accurate measure of surrounding communities’ air quality

How Urban Beehives Can Help Researchers Detect Air Pollution

Trace elements found in honey may be able to lead researchers straight to the source of environmental contamination

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