Earth & Climate News

August 24, 2025

Top Headlines

Most of Earth’s Species Came from Explosive Bursts of Evolution

Aug. 23, 2025 — A new study reveals that the majority of Earth’s species stem from a few evolutionary explosions, where new traits or habitats sparked rapid diversification. From flowers to birds, these bursts explain most of the planet’s ...

Ozone Recovery Could Trigger 40% More Global Warming Than Predicted

Aug. 22, 2025 — As the ozone layer recovers, it’s also intensifying global warming. Researchers predict that by 2050, ozone will rank just behind carbon dioxide as a driver of heating, offsetting many of the benefits from banning ...

The Surprising Reason Timber Plantations Explode Into Megafires

Aug. 21, 2025 — Industrial forests, packed with evenly spaced trees, face nearly 50% higher odds of megafires than public lands. A lidar-powered study of California’s Sierra Nevada reveals how dense plantations feed fire severity, but also shows that proactive ...

This Is Where Tree Planting Has the Biggest Climate Impact

Aug. 21, 2025 — Planting more trees can help cool the planet and reduce fire risk—but where they are planted matters. According to UC Riverside researchers, tropical regions provide the most powerful climate benefits because trees there grow year-round, absorb ...

Protected Seas Help Kelp Forests Bounce Back from Heatwaves

Aug. 20, 2025 — Kelp forests bounce back faster from marine heatwaves when shielded inside Marine Protected Areas. UCLA researchers found that fishing restrictions and predator protection strengthen ecosystem resilience, though results vary by ...

Scientists Reveal How Just Two Human Decisions Rewired the Great Salt Lake Forever

Aug. 19, 2025 — Scientists found that Great Salt Lake’s chemistry and water balance were stable for thousands of years, until human settlement. Irrigation and farming in the 1800s and a railroad causeway in 1959 ...

Greenland’s Glacial Runoff Is Powering Explosions of Ocean Life

Aug. 18, 2025 — NASA-backed simulations reveal that meltwater from Greenland’s Jakobshavn Glacier lifts deep-ocean nutrients to the surface, sparking large summer blooms of phytoplankton that feed the Arctic food ...

A Record-breaking Antenna Just Deployed in Space. Here’s What It Will See

Aug. 18, 2025 — NASA and ISRO s NISAR satellite has just reached a major milestone: the successful deployment of its enormous 39-foot antenna reflector in orbit. Folded up like an umbrella during launch, the reflector is now fully extended and ready to support ...

NASA’s PREFIRE Satellites Reveal a Secret Glow Escaping from Our Planet

Aug. 18, 2025 — With its two tiny CubeSats, NASA’s PREFIRE mission is capturing invisible heat escaping from Earth, offering clues to how ice, clouds, and storms influence the climate system. The insights could lead to better weather forecasts and a deeper ...

Scientists Just Found a Hidden Factor Behind Earth’s Methane Surge

Aug. 17, 2025 — Roughly two-thirds of all atmospheric methane, a potent greenhouse gas, comes from methanogens. Tracking down which methanogens in which environment produce methane with a specific isotope signature is difficult, however. UC Berkeley researchers ...

The Surprising Way Rising CO2 Could Supercharge Space Storms

Aug. 17, 2025 — Rising CO₂ levels will make the upper atmosphere colder and thinner, altering how geomagnetic storms impact satellites. Future storms could cause sharper density spikes despite lower overall density, increasing drag-related ...

NASA’s SWOT Satellite Captures Kamchatka Megaquake Tsunami in Striking Detail

Aug. 17, 2025 — When a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, NASA and CNES’s SWOT satellite captured a rare and detailed picture of the tsunami that followed. Recorded just ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:29pm EDT

Myanmar’s Massive Quake Hints at Bigger Earthquakes to Come

Aug. 18, 2025 — The massive 2025 Myanmar earthquake revealed that strike slip faults can behave in surprising ways. Using satellite data, Caltech researchers found the Sagaing Fault ruptured more dramatically than ...

The Ocean’s Fragile Fortresses Are Crumbling Under Climate Pressure

Aug. 16, 2025 — Mediterranean bryozoans, including the “false coral,” are showing alarming changes in structure and microbiomes under acidification and warming. Field studies at volcanic CO₂ vents reveal that ...

Could This New Earthquake System Give Alaska 50 Seconds to Prepare?

Aug. 16, 2025 — A new study reveals that an earthquake early warning system, similar to the USGS ShakeAlert used in California, Oregon, and Washington, could give Alaskan communities precious seconds to prepare ...

Mexican Cave Stalagmites Reveal the Deadly Droughts Behind the Maya Collapse

Aug. 16, 2025 — Chemical evidence from a stalagmite in Mexico has revealed that the Classic Maya civilization’s decline coincided with repeated severe wet-season ...

Strange Spotted Rock on Mars Could Reveal Signs of Ancient Life

Aug. 15, 2025 — A curious red Martian rock nicknamed Sapphire Canyon has scientists excited, as its spotted appearance hints at possible organic origins. On Earth, researchers tested a powerful laser technique, ...

Predator Fly Unleashes Chaotic Ant Wars That Could Save Coffee

Aug. 15, 2025 — In a Puerto Rican coffee farm, researchers uncovered a web of chaotic interactions between three ant species and a predator fly, revealing how shifting dominance patterns make pest management ...

Scientists Stunned by Colossal Formations Hidden Under the North Sea

Aug. 14, 2025 — Beneath the North Sea, scientists have uncovered colossal sand formations, dubbed “sinkites,” that have mysteriously sunk into lighter sediments, flipping the usual geological order. Formed ...

Unprecedented Climate Shocks Are Changing the Great Lakes Forever

Aug. 14, 2025 — Extreme heat waves and cold spells on the Great Lakes have more than doubled since the late 1990s, coinciding with a major El Niño event. Using advanced ocean-style modeling adapted for the lakes, ...

Ancient Predators and Giant Amphibians Found in African Fossil Treasure Trove

Aug. 14, 2025 — Over 15 years of fossil excavations in Tanzania and Zambia have revealed a vivid portrait of life before Earth s most devastating mass extinction 252 ...

Scientists Warn Ocean Could Soon Reach Rapa Nui’s Sacred Moai

Aug. 13, 2025 — Advanced computer modeling suggests that by 2080, waves driven by sea level rise could flood Ahu Tongariki and up to 51 cultural treasures on Rapa Nui. The findings emphasize the urgent need for ...

Scientists Turn Grapevine Waste Into Clear, Strong Films That Vanish in Days

Aug. 13, 2025 — Amid growing concerns over plastic waste and microplastics, researchers are turning agricultural leftovers into biodegradable packaging. Using cellulose extracted from unlikely sources, including ...

Scientists Just Measured How Fast Glaciers Carve the Earth

Aug. 9, 2025 — Scientists used machine learning to reveal how glaciers erode the land at varying speeds, shaped by climate, geology, and heat. The findings help guide global planning from environmental management ...

Scientists Reveal Alaska Could Get Up to Two Minutes’ Warning Before the Next Big Quake

Aug. 8, 2025 — A new study suggests Alaska could get 10–120 seconds of warning before major quakes, with more seismic stations adding up to 15 extra seconds. Researchers emphasize challenges like harsh winters, ...

This Prehistoric Predator Survived Global Warming by Eating Bones

Aug. 6, 2025 — A prehistoric predator changed its diet and body size during a major warming event 56 million years ago, revealing how climate change can reshape animal behavior, food chains, and survival ...

The Hidden Climate Battle Between Forests and the Ocean

Aug. 2, 2025 — Between 2003 and 2021, Earth saw a net boost in photosynthesis, mainly thanks to land plants thriving in warming, wetter conditions—especially in temperate and high-latitude regions. Meanwhile, ...

The Race to Save Our Oceans Could Sink Us Without Rules

Aug. 2, 2025 — From acid-taming ocean tech to coral breeding and seaweed farming, ocean-based climate interventions are ramping up fast. But a new international study warns we’re moving too quickly—and without ...

515-Mile Lightning Flash Caught from Space

Aug. 1, 2025 — A jaw-dropping 515-mile lightning bolt lit up the skies from Texas to Kansas City, smashing previous records and reshaping our understanding of extreme weather. Thanks to advanced satellite tech, ...

Ancient Bird Droppings Reveal a Hidden Extinction Crisis

Aug. 4, 2025 — An intriguing new study reveals that over 80% of parasites found in the ancient poo of New Zealand’s endangered kākāpō have vanished, even though the bird itself is still hanging on. Researchers ...

Scientists Unveil Bioplastic That Degrades at Room Temperature, and Outperforms Petroplastics

Aug. 3, 2025 — Plastic pollution is a mounting global issue, but scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have taken a bold step forward by creating a new bioplastic inspired by the structure of leaves. ...

Scientists Finally Solve the Mystery of What Triggers Lightning

Aug. 1, 2025 — A Penn State-led research team has unraveled the long-standing mystery of how lightning begins inside thunderclouds. Their findings offer the first quantitative, physics-based explanation for ...

Digital Twins Are Reinventing Clean Energy — but There’s a Catch

July 29, 2025 — Researchers are exploring AI-powered digital twins as a game-changing tool to accelerate the clean energy transition. These digital models simulate and optimize real-world energy systems like wind, ...

The Real-Life Kryptonite Found in Serbia—and Why It Could Power the Future

July 27, 2025 — Deep in Serbia's Jadar Valley, scientists discovered a mineral with an uncanny resemblance to Superman's Kryptonite both in composition and name. Dubbed jadarite, this dull white crystal ...

Deep-Sea Fish Just Changed What We Know About Earth’s Carbon Cycle

July 27, 2025 — Mesopelagic fish, long overlooked in ocean chemistry, are now proven to excrete carbonate minerals much like their shallow-water counterparts—despite living in dark, high-pressure depths. Using the ...

Satellites Just Revealed a Hidden Global Water Crisis—and It’s Worse Than Melting Ice

July 27, 2025 — For over two decades, satellites have quietly documented a major crisis unfolding beneath our feet: Earth's continents are drying out at unprecedented rates. Fueled by climate change, ...

Is the Air You Breathe Silently Fueling Dementia? A 29-Million-Person Study Says Yes

July 27, 2025 — Air pollution isn't just bad for your lungs—it may be eroding your brain. In a sweeping review covering nearly 30 million people, researchers found that common pollutants like PM2.5, nitrogen ...

The Oceans Are Overheating—and Scientists Say a Climate Tipping Point May Be Here

July 26, 2025 — In 2023, the world’s oceans experienced the most intense and widespread marine heatwaves ever recorded, with some events persisting for over 500 days and covering nearly the entire globe. These ...

DNA from the Deep Reveals a Hidden Ocean “superhighway”

Aug. 7, 2025 — Deep beneath the ocean's surface, a groundbreaking DNA study reveals that the deep sea is far more globally connected than once thought. By analyzing thousands of brittle stars preserved in ...

Scientists Modeled Nuclear Winter—the Global Food Collapse Was Worse Than Expected

July 24, 2025 — What would happen if a nuclear war triggered a climate-altering catastrophe? Researchers have modeled how such a scenario could devastate global corn crops cutting production by as much as 87% due to ...

The Fungus That Makes Bread Better for You

July 23, 2025 — Scientists have discovered that pairing bread wheat with a special soil fungus can significantly enhance its nutritional value. This partnership leads to bigger grains rich in zinc and ...

This Plastic Disappears in the Deep Sea—and Microbes Make It Happen

July 24, 2025 — A new eco-friendly plastic called LAHB has shown it can biodegrade even in the extreme environment of the deep ocean, unlike conventional plastics that persist for decades. In real-world underwater ...