HS-ESS3-3
Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.
- Life
In blazing heat, some plants open leaf pores — and risk death
When heat waves and droughts collide, water is precious. Some thirsty plants try to cool off by opening tiny pores — only to lose water even faster.
- Animals
Rewilding returns lost species to strengthen ecosystems
Restoring the missing species can help undo human-caused problems by aiding forests, slowing climate change and reducing wildfires.
- Animals
As the tropics warm, some birds are shrinking
Migratory birds are getting smaller as temperatures climb, studies had showed. New evidence shows dozens of tropical, nonmigratory species are, too.
- Climate
Can scientists develop an icy sanctuary for Arctic life?
The final refuge for summer sea ice may also protect the creatures that depend on it. Saving it is an ambitious goal with many hurdles.
- Life
From icebergs to smoke, forecasting where dangers will drift
Smoke drifts. Fish eggs float downstream. Where such drifting things end up may seem a mystery. But research can predict where they’ll end up.
- Environment
A new way to make plastics could keep them from littering the seas
Borrowing from genetics, scientists are creating plastics that will degrade. They can even choose how quickly these materials break down.
- Microbes
Genes point to how some bacteria can gobble up electricity
A new study shows how some microbes absorb and release electrons — a trait that may point to new fuels or ways to store energy.
- Environment
Wildfire smoke seeds the air with potentially dangerous microbes
Studies now show that most wildfires don’t kill microbes. That’s fueling worries about what risks these smoke hitchhikers might pose to people.
- Environment
Warming cities may see more rain — and frequent flooding
Scientists are seeking to understand why and how to mop up excess precipitation.
- Earth
Stores and malls buy into ponds and rain gardens for flood control
An extra bonus: These rainy-day ponds clean up that dirty water running off parking lots.
- Environment
‘Zombie’ wildfires can reemerge after wintering underground
Climate change may make these not-quite-dead blazes more common. Scientists are learning to predict where a zombie might emerge.
- Earth
‘Tree farts’ make up about a fifth of greenhouse gases from ghost forests
Heat-trapping gases from dead trees play an important role in the environmental impact of “ghost” forests.
