How a ring of mountains forms inside a crater
Science News, November 2016Building mountains in minutes requires deep rocks and a big bang. Adapted for Science News for Students.
There’s something cool about Arctic bird poop
Science News, November 2016Seabird poop helps the Arctic keep its cool, new research suggests.
If you thought 2015 was hot, just wait
Science News, November 2016The sweltering heat that smashed temperature records in 2015 will soon be par for the course.
Adapted for Science News for Students.
CO₂-loving plants can counter human emissions
Science News, November 2016Plants temporarily halted the acceleration of rising carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, new research suggests.
Human CO2 emissions put Arctic on track to be ice-free by 2050
Science News, November 2016The average American’s carbon dioxide emissions are responsible for shrinking Arctic sea ice by nearly 50 square meters each year.
Adapted for Science News for Students.
The southern San Andreas has a smaller, neighboring fault to its west
Science News, November 2016Meet the San Andreas Fault’s newfound neighbor. Mapping deformations deep underground along the shoreline of a Southern California lake called the Salton Sea, seismologists discovered a fault that runs parallel to San Andreas’ southern end.
Wanted: New ways to chill air conditioners, fridges
Science News, October 2016The hunt is on for chemicals to keep both you and the planet cool.
Water softeners get friendlier to health, environment
Science News, October 2016Clever chemistry could take the salt out of water softening.
There’s a new way to stop an earthquake: put a volcano in its path
Science News, October 2016A titanic volcano stopped a mega-sized earthquake in its tracks.
Extreme lightning events set records
Science News, October 2016Two electrifying light shows were much more than flashes in the pan. A 2007 thunderstorm over Oklahoma produced a lightning flash that stretched more than 321 kilometers horizontally — roughly the distance from Washington, D.C., to New York City. In southern France in 2012, a single lightning flash lit up the sky nonstop for 7.74 seconds, enough time for light to make about three round trips from Earth to the moon.