Annual Reviews: Keyword search for query

The quest to understand tornadoes

Carolyn Wilke — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 00:00:18 GMT

Scientists are still grappling with how and why violent twisters form. Will new technology and computing power help?

Leaning into Indigenous knowledge on climate change

Chris Baraniuk — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 00:00:11 GMT

Native peoples attuned to the natural world have long collected detailed environmental information. Now scientists are cataloging these observations and learning how they’re affecting Indigenous communities globally.

Does it work to pay people not to cut the forest?

Tim Vernimmen — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 00:00:10 GMT

Evidence that the approach helps to save trees, preserve ecosystems and reduce carbon emissions is often hard to come by. But it can succeed if it’s done right, says an economist.

How climate change could make fungal diseases worse

Shreya Dasgupta — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 00:00:26 GMT

Disease-causing fungi are likely to thrive in a warmer, stormier world — and more of them might be poised to make the leap to infecting people

Dead trees around the world are shocking scientists

Katarina Zimmer — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 00:00:17 GMT

Forests once deemed resilient are suffering surprising die-offs. To predict the fate of the world’s woods in the face of climate change, researchers need to understand how trees die.

Abandon the idea of ‘great green walls’

Matthew Turner, Diana Davis, Emily Yeh and Pierre Hiernaux — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 00:00:07 GMT

OPINION: The notion of planting miles of trees to hold back encroaching deserts is misguided and damaging; we should promote programs that secure livelihoods and respect dryland ecologies instead

Conservation paleobiology: Eyeing the past to restore today’s ecosystems

Bob Holmes — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 00:00:03 GMT

Researchers use historic remnants like antlers, shells, teeth and pollen to learn how natural communities once worked. The clues serve as guides for restoration.

Can probiotics protect corals from problems like bleaching?

Lesley Evans Ogden — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 00:00:12 GMT

Lab experiments suggest that a dose of carefully selected microbes may boost the health of these reef-building creatures and their symbiotic algae

Why one deforestation solution has yet to stop massive tree loss

Eric Lambin and Paul Furumo — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 00:00:11 GMT

OPINION: Zero-deforestation supply-chain commitments aren’t protecting tropical forests as much as hoped. But they might, if the same standards were applied to domestic and export markets.

Is this ‘age of the delta’ coming to an end?

Boyce Upholt — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 00:00:05 GMT

The wet landmasses, though inherently impermanent, have been essential to both people and wildlife for thousands of years. But recent shifts have brought on some rapid losses that worry scientists.

Our oceans’ future: Hot and troubled

Nicola Jones — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:01 GMT

OPINION: Ocean warming, acidification and deoxygenation due to climate change — as well as pollution and development — threaten our global waters, but disaster is far from inevitable

Scientists warned about climate change in 1965. Nothing was done.

Adam Levy — Tue, 30 May 2023 00:00:30 GMT

PODCAST: A report to the US president sounded an alarm — humankind was ‘conducting a vast geophysical experiment’ by burning fossil fuels and filling the atmosphere with an ‘invisible pollutant.’ But a slick campaign by Big Oil led to confusion, politicization and dire consequences for the planet. (Season 3, Episode 1)

The challenges and promises of climate lawsuits

Katarina Zimmer — Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:11 GMT

Lawsuits against emissions-spewing governments and fossil fuel companies have established themselves as a key tool in the battle against climate change, but they aren’t always successful

A warmer planet, less nutritious plants and … fewer grasshoppers?

Amber Dance — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:00:19 GMT

Higher levels of carbon dioxide are changing micronutrients in grasses, trees and even kelp. What does that mean for animals higher up the food chain?

As glaciers retreat, new streams for salmon

Lesley Evans Ogden — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:28 GMT

Ecologist Sandy Milner has traveled to Alaska for decades to study the development of streams flowing from melting glaciers. He’s seen insects move in, alders and willows spring up, and spawning fish arrive in thousands.

Not enough fish in the sea

Nicola Jones — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 00:00:22 GMT

The scientist who found a way to tally up global catches is an ocean advocate and a vocal critic of industrial fisheries. Now we have a treaty for the high seas — but does it go far enough?

Controlled burns won’t save all of California from wildfire

Nicola Jones — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:01 GMT

There are two types of wildfire in the state, and they’re on the rise for different reasons. Each needs a distinct management approach, a researcher says.

The rise of green hydrogen in Latin America

Pablo Fonseca Q. — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 00:00:09 GMT

In anticipation of future demand, several projects are underway in the region to produce this clean energy source

AI for better crops

Saugat Bolakhe — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 00:00:17 GMT

The technology could transform how growers protect their harvests, by detecting plant diseases very early on. But the challenge is to develop tools that are as affordable as they are effective.

How heat pumps of the 1800s are becoming the technology of the future

Chris Baraniuk — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 00:00:11 GMT

Innovative thinking has done away with problems that long dogged the electric devices — and both scientists and environmentalists are excited about the possibilities