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If terrestrial biosphere models don’t include nitrogen, they will overestimate carbon sequestration.

A ferret named Elizabeth Ann could become the first cloned mammal to help save an endangered species

Excess phosphorus may reach U.S. rivers, lakes, and groundwater through water main leaks and outdoor water use.

Climate change is increasing the frequency of moisture-dumping atmospheric rivers in the Arctic. The storms are pushing back sea ice at a time of year when it should be expanding.

Using artificial intelligence, researchers can now identify zircons derived from valuable copper deposits.

To find the first direct evidence of heightened UV radiation during the end-Permian mass extinction, researchers turned to chemical evidence preserved in pollen grains.

Scientists developed a new model to help water utility companies minimize weather-based disruptions to clean water access.

A new climate-based model indicates that scientists may be underestimating groundwater’s importance in sustaining streams and plant life.

Seismic signals detected by the InSight lander show that the planet’s lower mantle may be less homogenous than previous models have suggested.

Radar data reveal where, when, and how fast the base of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf has been losing mass in recent years.

New research provides a 200-year reconstruction of interannual rainfall in the Amazon basin using oxygen isotopes preserved in tree rings in Ecuador and Bolivia.

Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean sea surface temperatures could surpass coral bleaching thresholds in the region as soon as 2050, motivating the need for prompt mitigation, researchers say.

Climate models could be vastly underestimating methane emissions from the world’s tropical wetlands, according to observational surveys of wetlands in Zambia.

PFAS pose a public health risk, but there are major gaps in our knowledge of how these chemicals move through the ground.

Analysis of data from 11 western U.S. states found higher cancer rates in people living in areas with elevated gas-based pest control.

Researchers compared trace element concentrations in patients with and without osteoporosis, finding possible differences in bone geochemistry between the groups.

Eliminating energy-related air pollution in the United States could prevent roughly 50,000 premature deaths and save billions of dollars per year.

Cutting-edge models predict that El Ni�o frequency will increase within 2 decades because of climate change, regardless of emissions mitigation efforts.

A method called flash Joule heating could offer a more sustainable way to source essential components of electronics from coal fly ash.

Scientists identify barriers to and opportunities for applying integrated, connected, open, and networked research strategies to natural hazards studies.

An illness caused by rotavirus could recede as temperatures warm, whereas wetter conditions might favor some bacterial competitors.

As temperatures rise, tropical forests will become more stressed and photosynthesize less.

Rapa Nui and Hawai‘i offer a tale of two island settlements: Hawai‘i was close enough to Asia for continental dust to help replenish soil nutrients depleted by agriculture. Rapa Nui wasn’t.

Warfare exacerbates the impacts of drought to produce food insecurity crises that last long after the drought has passed, new research documents.

We spoke with science writer Kate Greene about her experiences on a 4-month-long Mars analog mission.

New research suggests ocean acidification could make lighting more intense.

Around 200 years ago, when conversion of land for agriculture became more widespread, the amount of sediment accumulating in riverbeds across the continent jumped tenfold.

New research uses Hurricane Harvey as a case study to demonstrate the devastating power of aerosols to supercharge tropical storms.

Using a technique similar to taking a CT scan of Earth, researchers found the possible remnants of a long-debated “missing” tectonic plate.

New research uses 5,000 years of geological data to understand how and when sea level rise will affect the livability of low-lying reef islands.

Jellyfish and sea salps aren’t getting the credit they deserve for their role in ocean carbon cycling, according to a new study.

New research reveals that tiny single-celled organisms in the Arctic Ocean are growing more numerous as climate change thins the ice.

New research considers the effect of Jupiter’s Galilean moons on each other’s oceans for the first time.

The movement of large sand ripples, documented for the first time, suggests Mars is windier than we thought.

New research provides a more accurate model that coastal managers and engineers can use to account for sand transport over time.

Analysis of a disrupted SOS signal during an early polar expedition showcases the importance of taking space weather into account when exploring new frontiers.

Committee members who put together the new report Earth in Time describe this as an “all hands on deck” moment for the field.

The Seismology at School in Nepal program aims to prepare rural communities for the next big earthquake.

A first-of-its-kind study combining paleoecology and archeology indicates that the New England landscape was not actively managed with fire prior to European arrival.

In the early 1960s, a physicist enlisted the help of the public to study a rare atmospheric phenomenon.

Researchers used remote sensing technologies to map Koh Ker’s buried reservoir and calculate its capacity to hold water during the rainy season.

To prepare for a drier future on Peru’s western coast, researchers are turning to techniques of the past.

The hyper-arid western Namib Sand Sea (mean annual rainfall 0-17 mm) is a detritus-based ecosystem in which primary production is driven by large, but infrequent rainfall events. A diverse Namib detritivore community is sustained by minimal moisture inputs from rain and fog. The decomposition of plant material in the Namib Sand Sea (NSS) has long been assumed to be the province of these detritivores, with beetles and termites alone accounting for the majority of litter losses. We have found that a mesophilic Ascomycete community, which responds within minutes to moisture availability, is present on litter of the perennial Namib dune grass Stipagrostis sabulicola. Important fungal traits that allow survival and decomposition in this hyper-arid environment with intense desiccation, temperature and UV radiation stress are darkly-pigmented hyphae, a thermal range that includes the relatively low temperature experienced during fog and dew, and an ability to survive daily thermal and desiccation stress at temperatures as high as 50°C for five hours. While rainfall is very limited in this area, fog and high humidity provide regular periods (≥ 1 hour) of sufficient moisture that can wet substrates and hence allow fungal growth on average every 3 days. Furthermore, these fungi reduce the C/N ratio of the litter by a factor of two and thus detritivores, like the termite Psammotermes allocerus, favor fungal-infected litter parts. Our studies show that despite the hyper-aridity of the NSS, fungi are a key component of energy flow and biogeochemical cycling that should be accounted for in models addressing how the NSS ecosystem will respond to projected climate changes which may alter precipitation, dew and fog regimes.