A new experiment by Elizabeth Swanner evaluating the reduction of iron in prehistoric oceans may reinterpret the conditions under which iron-rich sedimentary rock is formed.

When carbon dioxide (CO₂) is absorbed by seawater, chemical reactions occur that reduce seawater pH, carbonate ion concentration, and saturation states of biologically important calcium carbonate minerals. These chemical reactions are termed "ocean acidification" or "OA" for short. Calcium carbonate minerals are the building blocks for the skeletons and shells of many marine organisms. In areas where most life now congregates in the ocean, the seawater is supersaturated with respect to calcium carbonate minerals. This means there are abundant building blocks for calcifying organisms to build their skeletons and shells. However, continued ocean acidification is causing many parts of the ocean to become undersaturated with these minerals, which is likely to affect the ability of some organisms to produce and maintain their shells.

A mix of factors is contributing to an increasing mortality rate of trees in the moist tropics, where trees in some areas are dying at about twice the rate that they were 35 years ago, according to a far-reaching study examining tree health in the tropical zone that spans South America to Africa to Southeast Asia.

A botanist, a retired businesswoman, and a high school student walk into a bar. Or, maybe not a bar, what with the high school student. A museum. They and their team have a common problem—too many plant photos to analyze—and they find a solution: creating an online tool that lets regular, non-scientist people help do that analysis.

Tropical Cyclone Hola was dropping heavy rainfall on Vanuatu and New Caledonia when the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite passed overhead.

A new study by scientists from WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and other groups predicts that the effects of climate change will severely impact the Albertine Rift, one of Africa’s most biodiverse regions and a place not normally associated with global warming.

A day at the beach beset by heavy clouds or the sticky heat of a salty haze can seem like the work of large, unpredictable forces. But behind such atmospheric phenomena are billions of tiny interactions between the air and microscopic drops of saltwater cast upward as bubbles on the ocean’s surface burst.

In a “prediction” that mirrored last year, Punxsutawney Phil, the famous furry forecaster, saw his shadow in early February and as the legend goes, supposedly six more weeks of winter for the U.S. Unfortunately for Phil, his forecast has not been supported by the climate record, so far.  

A new study shows that, during the Ice Age, both the East Asian summer monsoon and desertification in Eurasia were driven by fluctuating Northern Hemisphere ice volume and global sea level. 

Unless the clearing of tropical forests is halted, the mean global temperature could rise an extra 0.8 °C, even with cuts in emissions from fossil fuels, scientists warn in an article in Nature Communications