Earth
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AgricultureHealthy soils are life-giving black gold
Scientists explain why everyone needs to value the soils beneath our feet — and why we should not view them as dirt.
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AgricultureSoil (and its inhabitants) by the numbers
Teeming with life, soils have more going on than most of us realize.
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EnvironmentWhat you can do to improve soils
Soils are the life-sustaining structures under our feet. Here are some tips for keeping soils healthy. First rule of thumb: Give more than you take.
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ChemistryExtreme pressure? Diamonds can take it
Diamond retains its structure even at extreme pressures, which could reveal how carbon behaves in the cores of some exoplanets.
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ClimateCan wildfires cool the climate?
Severe wildfires are becoming more common. Science is showing that the tiny particles they release into the air can alter Earth’s temperature — sometimes cooling it.
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EarthExplainer: What are aerosols?
We may not see them, but tiny particles and droplets cloud the air, affecting its properties. Some may be pollutants, others all-natural products.
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Climate2020 was warmest year on record for Earth’s oceans
2020 continued the trend of record-breaking heat for the world’s oceans. The three previous warmest years on record were 2019, 2017 and 2018.
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EarthLet’s learn about snow
Snow is more than just frozen water vapor. Scientists are studying everything from its shape to other planets where snowflakes fall.
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AnimalsChoked by bacteria, some starfish are turning to goo
For years, researchers thought gooey, dying starfish were infected. Instead, these sea stars are suffocating. And bacteria may be behind it all.
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ClimateAnalyze This: 2020 ties with 2016 for hottest year on record
Last year capped the warmest decade on record. It coincided with a growing increase of warming greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere.
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EarthSpace station sensors saw how weird ‘blue jet’ lightning forms
A mysterious type of lightning in the upper atmosphere has been traced to a brief, bright flash of light at the top of a storm cloud.
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EnvironmentUnmasking the pandemic’s pollution problem
Discarding all the materials people use to protect themselves from COVID-19 has created a growing environmental problem.