The Amazon rainforest is the lung of the Earth’s respiratory system. The region holds roughly half of the tropics undisturbed forests. Its plants absorb 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to 4% of emissions from fossil fuels.
All around the Arctic circle, the tree line is moving north as the climate warms. In Norway, birch and pine are moving poleward. In Alaska, spruce are taking over from lichen and moss. Globally, current research indicates forests are expanding along two-thirds of Earth’s 12,000 kilometer long northern tree line.
Antarctica has a huge amount of water beneath its surface. Researchers have long suspected that there might be groundwater beneath the ice, but until now there was no conclusive evidence to confirm this.
Massive earthquakes don’t just shake the earth – they make speed of light adjustments to the Earth’s gravitational field. Researchers have now trained computers to identify these tiny gravitational signals and to mark the location and size of a strong quake almost instantly.
Human activities such as marsh draining for agriculture and logging are increasingly consuming saltwater and freshwater wetlands. These important areas cover only 1% of Earth’s surface but store more than 20% of all the climate warming carbon dioxide absorbed by ecosystems worldwide.
Deforestation in the Amazon rose to record levels for the month of April, nearly doubling the area of forest removed in that month last year.
