They may look like long-lost objects from a distant high-tech civilisation, but these large black objects buried in the Canadian Arctic are huge chunks of ice â the oldest ice ever found in North America. Researchers say the discovery could help predict the fate of the deep Arctic permafrost.
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Ocean sounds travel further now than they did a century ago, thanks to carbon emissions that have made the oceans more acidic. In future, whales may be able to communicate over greater distances â but itâs not all good news
Even Jules Verne didnât foresee it. Down at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean is the hottest water on the planet, in a âsupercriticalâ state never seen before in nature. The discovery brings geologists a step closer to understanding how gold particles are sucked out of the Earthâs core and brought up to the surface.
Honey, weâre shrinking the species
Bigger is so 20th century. Ecologists say global warming will shrink species, as bigger creatures will have more problems losing heat. And conservationists say we need to plan now if we are going to save large species from extinction.
The oceansâ âevilâ stripes
By imaging ocean currents in a new way, oceanographers revealed a stunning pattern of striped currents covering the entire planet. The new currents are not strong, but they accelerate particles eastwards, then westwards, like an alternating series of moving sidewalks.
This story became known as âoceans of evilâ around the 51¶ŻÂț office, because it reminded us of the apparent pattern of radiation printed in the universe, the so-called âaxis of evilâ.
What is left 50 years after a tropical reef is hit by a hydrogen bomb? If the example of the Bikini atoll is anything to go by: a thriving marine system. Marine biologists returned to the site of a 1954 test to find it had an unexpected, and welcome, side-effect: humans have steered clear.
The second humming (of the Earth)
Listen closely, and youâll hear the Earth humming â in not just one note, but two. For 10 years or so we have known about Earthâs quiet âverticalâ hum which is probably caused by the steady thumping of deep waves on the ocean floor. A team in Germany has now discovered a second âhorizontalâ note, and nobody knows whatâs causing it.
We may know a lot more about our home, but some big mysteries remain. How come Earth got all the good stuff? What happened during Earthâs âdark agesâ? What is at the centre of the planet? Explore what we do know in our special feature and visit our interactive map.
