Scientists have discovered 29 kilos of plastic in the stomach of a sperm whale, which washed up on the southern coast of Spain in February. During an autopsy of the 10-metre-long male whale, experts from the El Valle Wildlife Recovery Center uncovered plastic bags, a jerry can, and several pieces of rope and net.  

There’s a Dark Zone on Greenland’s ice sheet, and new drone surveys are showing that it’s growing ever darker. On top of that, it also seems to be melting faster than it should – and scientists finally have a better idea why.   The Dark Zone is a stripe of fast-melting ice towards the south-west

Antarctica’s ocean-front glaciers are retreating, according to a new satellite survey that raises additional concerns about the massive continent’s potential contribution to rising sea levels.   Antarctica, which contains enough ice to raise the oceans by about 200 feet (60 meters), is a continent of ice that flows outward to the ocean at numerous large

The Sahara, the largest desert in the world, has grown in size by around 10 percent since 1920. Scientists say climate change is one of the most likely reasons why the sands are shifting into new regions.   What’s more, this expansion of dry and arid landscapes might not be restricted to the Sahara either,

Scott Wing had spent more than a decade in the badlands of Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin, most of it thirsty, sunburned, and down on his hands and knees, digging endlessly through the dirt.   But he had never found anything like the fossil he now held in his hand – an exquisitely preserved leaf embossed on

A large crack, stretching several kilometres, made a sudden appearance recently in south-western Kenya. The tear, which continues to grow, caused part of the Nairobi-Narok highway to collapse and was accompanied by seismic activity in the area.   The Earth is an ever-changing planet, even though in some respects change might be almost unnoticeable to

Mass extinctions don’t just come unannounced. In fact, we’re staring down the barrel of the latest one, according to new research. Scientists have determined that, contrary to previous assumptions, there were early warning signs for the biggest mass extinction event in history. We now know what those warning signs are, and there are alarming parallels

We got second place, everyone! But this medal definitely isn’t good – 2018 has just joined 2015, 2016 and 2017 as a year when the Arctic had the lowest sea ice maximum extents on record.   2018 actually comes in behind 2017, with this year’s sea ice peaking at 14.48 million square kilometres (5.59 million

For decades, little has gotten in the way of albatrosses nesting and nurturing their young on Midway Atoll, turning it into the most important and successful breeding ground for black-footed and Laysan albatrosses.   But in recent years, the majestic seabirds have fallen victim to gruesome attacks carried out by an unlikely foe: the common

Modern weather forecasts rely on complex computer simulators. These simulators use all the physics equations that describe the atmosphere, including the movement of air, the sun’s warmth, and the formation of clouds and rain.   Incremental improvements in forecasts over time mean that modern five-day weather forecasts are as skillful as three-day forecasts were 20

The first humans to reclaim Britain at the end of the last Ice Age encountered volatile and abrupt climate change as the great winter faded – but in the face of extreme instability, they showed an amazing resilience, new research reveals.   New investigations of the mysterious prehistoric people who once inhabited the Mesolithic site

Even the most fearsome forces of nature can’t escape the laws of physics: the fiery furnace of Mount Etna is slowly sliding into the Mediterranean Sea at a steady rate, according to the latest measurements.   It’s the first time scientists have been able to observe the movement of a volcano in its entirety, thanks

Seventy-nine thousand tons of plastic debris, in the form of 1.8 trillion pieces, now occupy an area three times the size of France in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii, a scientific team reported on Thursday.   The amount of plastic found in this area, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is “increasing

It began with sinkholes. Two of them, gaping mouths to nowhere opening up as if to swallow the town of Wink, Texas. As they expanded, there were fears they might collide, morphing into one giant void.   They first emerged in 1980, and things haven’t gotten better since. Now, an unprecedented study reveals Wink and

The year’s spring equinox, also called the March or vernal equinox, falls on Tuesday at precisely 12:15 pm EDT. To people who live in Earth’s northern hemisphere, this astronomical event signals the arrival of spring, winter’s end, and the increasingly warm and brighter days that come with the pending arrival of summer.   For those

Our planet’s climate is built on a whole host of interlinked chemical reactions and counter-reactions, and we just learned about another: an underwater heatwave has triggered a worryingly huge release of CO2 from Amphibolis antarctica seagrass off north-western Australia.   Vast tracts of these flowering marine plants were killed by the stress of living in

People sometimes forget that oceans contain a lot more than the water you see just beneath the surface. The depths below the ocean’s surface comprise a staggering 95 percent of the Earth’s living space, and much of it is unexplored by humans.    To put into perspective just how deep the oceans go, Xkcd.com created the illustration below (click the

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No – it’s a cargo of gold bullion falling from the sky. That was the bizarre scenario in Siberia last week after a Russian plane started shedding its load of gold, platinum, and diamonds almost immediately after take-off.   Fortunately, no one was hurt by the cascading

In Game of Thrones, the men of the Night’s Watch defend the Wall: a towering structure designed to safeguard civilisation from unseen forces lurking in the frozen wilderness. In the real world, an equally vast, impenetrable barrier could save us from a fate no less catastrophic, scientists say – not because winter is coming, but

Behold, the rumble of volcanic thunder. No, this is not the sound of Thor in a rage. But its true source is just as epic: It comes from lightning within the ash clouds of a volcanic eruption.   People who have had the frightening experience of witnessing a volcano blow have described hearing a thunder-like

We’re seeing some fantastic strides forward in renewable energy, but the problem is there’s a lot of non-renewable energy to phase out – and the latest calculations suggest we aren’t replacing it anywhere near as fast as we need to be.   The research indicates we need a complete energy overhaul by 2050 to avoid

We know that Greenland’s ice sheets are melting as the world gets warmer, but new research shows this process is speeding up, as a chain reaction of fast-draining lakes compound the problem of diminishing ice cover.   These lakes, located on the surface of the ice, are caused by warmer temperatures. As they drain, they

Six months have passed since a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Mexico City, toppling 40 buildings and killing over 300, but the memory remains fresh. Condemned structures dot many neighborhoods, their facades crumbling. And after an earthquake 225 miles (360 km) away in Oaxaca state shook the capital city again on 16 February 2018, the city

It was the closest thing to an apocalypse in 2 million years. The eruption of the Mount Toba supervolcano some 74,000 years ago, which choked the planet in a volcanic winter for up to a decade – very nearly wiping out humankind in the shadow of its dust.   Or so we thought. New evidence

Over the last decade, the Rhone Glacier in the Swiss Alps has been shrinking at a worrying rate. Around 1,148 feet (350 metres) of its ice thickness has been lost since 1856 – and 131 feet (40 metres) of that total has vanished in the last 10 years alone.   Locals are taking it upon

Last year, Japan’s central government completed a 35 billion yen (approximately $320 million) underground ice wall. Over 38 metres (100 feet) deep and nearly 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) long, the structure is meant to stop groundwater from mixing with the radioactive water leaking from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was severely damaged in 2011

As advanced and efficient as our solar panels are becoming, they’re still pretty much useless when rain clouds arrive overhead. That could soon change thanks to a hybrid cell that can harvest energy from both sunlight and raindrops.   The key part of the system is a triboelectric nanogenerator or TENG, a device which creates

It’s been just over 25 years since 1,700 leading scientists from around the globe put their names to a document warning of a ‘collision course’ between humanity and the rest of the natural world.   Last year, a follow-up report was signed by more than 15,000 researchers from 184 nations. Needless to say, it wasn’t

Above our heads, something is not right. Earth’s magnetic field is in a state of dramatic weakening – and according to mind-boggling new research, this phenomenal disruption is part of a pattern lasting for over 1,000 years.   Earth’s magnetic field doesn’t just give us our north and south poles; it’s also what protects us

Many Europeans have been assessing the damage from the recent wintery weather dramatically nicknamed the “Beast from the East“. But people visiting certain parts of the English coast found a particularly unwelcome surprise.   Thousands of dead starfish and other sea creatures were washed up along the shores in Kent and East Yorkshire, creating surreal

Scientists on Tuesday published new evidence that old or even ancient carbon, pulled out of the atmosphere and stored in the bodies of plants hundreds or thousands of years ago, is being set loose again from soils in the Arctic region.   It’s a potentially worrying indicator that these “permafrost” soils may already be worsening

Since humans started to think about the impacts of their industry on the planet, they tried to repair some of the worst damages they caused, restoring ecosystems or reintroducing species that may otherwise have gone extinct.   Now, a new study suggests that while many ecosystems do make progress toward recovery thanks to human intervention,

A supermarket in Amsterdam opened Wednesday with an aisle that has more than 700 grocery items – and no plastic. The store, Ekoplaza, said it is the first of its kind to have an entire aisle without plastic packaging. Instead, food is displayed in glass, metal and cardboard containers, as well as materials that can

The sun won’t rise at the North Pole until March 20, and it’s normally close to the coldest time of year – but an extraordinary and possibly historic thaw swelled over the tip of the planet this weekend.   Analyses show that the temperature warmed to the melting point as an enormous storm pumped an

The Global Seed Vault – an insurance policy against potential global doomsday scenarios – celebrated its 10th anniversary on Monday by receiving a shipment of more than 76,000 seed samples.   This brings the vault’s library to a total number of 1,059,646 botanical specimens since it opened in 2008. Set inside a mountain on the

A Stanford University professor who has argued that the US can power itself entirely with renewable energy by the middle of the century, said Thursday that he’s withdrawing a multimillion-dollar libel suit he brought against an academic critic.   Mark Jacobson’s announcement came shortly after a hearing in the lawsuit in a DC court this week. Last year, Jacobson

The world’s forests are shrinking. For years, they’ve withstood a multitude of human impact. But according to a new study published in the journal Science Advances, they may be reaching a crisis point.   If deforestation goes beyond 20 percent of its original spread, the Amazon Rainforest will have reached the “point of no return”.

Computer model forecasts are advertising a bout of bitter cold to sweep over Europe over the next several days, very possibly the most extreme of the winter and perhaps in several years.   “The well anticipated most widespread #cold temperatures across northern Eurasia since #winter 2013 is imminent,” tweeted Judah Cohen, a meteorologist at Atmospheric