During a severe heat wave in 2023, scientists scuba diving off the coast of Papua New Guinea captured clownfish to measure their bodies. 

As coral reefs struggle to adapt to warming waters, high levels of pollution and sea-level rise, ballooning sea-urchin populations are threatening to push some reefs in Hawaii past the point of recovery.

Fragrances and lotions don't just change the way people smell, they actively alter the indoor air chemistry around the wearer, disrupting a critical natural process the body uses to protect itself from pollution, according to an international research team that includes scientists from Penn State.

The 120-mile Tijuana River flows from Baja California into the United States and discharges millions of gallons of wastewater — including sewage, industrial waste and runoff — into the Pacific Ocean every day, making it the dominant source of coastal pollution in the region.

A UC Riverside-led study has found that a smartphone app that tracks household water use and alerts users to leaks or excessive consumption offers a promising tool for helping California water agencies meet state-mandated conservation goals.

Volcán Poás (Poás volcano), one of the most active in Costa Rica, looms over the country’s capital and largest city, San José.

The vast agricultural landscape of the U.S. Midwest known as the Corn Belt acts as a barrier for migrating landbirds, causing them to adjust their flight behaviors similar to when crossing natural barriers like the Gulf of Mexico, according to a study from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

In 2021, Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) in Ithaca received a grant to procure seven all-electric buses and began a pilot program that didn’t go as they’d hoped.

In a collaborative study led by researchers at the University of Helsinki, analysis of 900 species over a 20-year period showed that biodiversity enhances ecosystem stability and helps safeguard natural communities in a changing environment.

In early May 2025, residents of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, were acclimating to the arrival of an exceptionally long stretch of daylight.