Human encroachment is the leading cause of death among Ontario’s at-risk birds of prey, according to a first-ever University of Guelph study.

During the nighttime, it is hotter in the city than in nearby suburbs or the countryside. But just how much hotter differs between cities. Researchers from the MSE2 (CNRS / MIT) international joint research laboratory and the Centre Interdisciplinaire des Nanosciences de Marseille (CNRS / Aix-Marseille University)1 have shown that the determining factor is how cities are structured: more organized cities, like many in North America with straight and perpendicular streets, trap more heat. Conversely, cities that are less organized, like those founded long ago, shed heat easily. The team's findings, published in Physical Review Letters (March 9, 2018), suggest new directions to explore for optimal urban planning and energy management.

A new experiment by Elizabeth Swanner evaluating the reduction of iron in prehistoric oceans may reinterpret the conditions under which iron-rich sedimentary rock is formed.

When carbon dioxide (CO₂) is absorbed by seawater, chemical reactions occur that reduce seawater pH, carbonate ion concentration, and saturation states of biologically important calcium carbonate minerals. These chemical reactions are termed "ocean acidification" or "OA" for short. Calcium carbonate minerals are the building blocks for the skeletons and shells of many marine organisms. In areas where most life now congregates in the ocean, the seawater is supersaturated with respect to calcium carbonate minerals. This means there are abundant building blocks for calcifying organisms to build their skeletons and shells. However, continued ocean acidification is causing many parts of the ocean to become undersaturated with these minerals, which is likely to affect the ability of some organisms to produce and maintain their shells.

A mix of factors is contributing to an increasing mortality rate of trees in the moist tropics, where trees in some areas are dying at about twice the rate that they were 35 years ago, according to a far-reaching study examining tree health in the tropical zone that spans South America to Africa to Southeast Asia.

A botanist, a retired businesswoman, and a high school student walk into a bar. Or, maybe not a bar, what with the high school student. A museum. They and their team have a common problem—too many plant photos to analyze—and they find a solution: creating an online tool that lets regular, non-scientist people help do that analysis.

Tropical Cyclone Hola was dropping heavy rainfall on Vanuatu and New Caledonia when the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite passed overhead.

A new study by scientists from WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and other groups predicts that the effects of climate change will severely impact the Albertine Rift, one of Africa’s most biodiverse regions and a place not normally associated with global warming.

A day at the beach beset by heavy clouds or the sticky heat of a salty haze can seem like the work of large, unpredictable forces. But behind such atmospheric phenomena are billions of tiny interactions between the air and microscopic drops of saltwater cast upward as bubbles on the ocean’s surface burst.

In a “prediction” that mirrored last year, Punxsutawney Phil, the famous furry forecaster, saw his shadow in early February and as the legend goes, supposedly six more weeks of winter for the U.S. Unfortunately for Phil, his forecast has not been supported by the climate record, so far.