Reference Terms
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Ozone layer
The ozone layer is the part of the Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O3). "Relatively high" means a few parts per million - much higher than the concentrations in the lower atmosphere but still small compared to the main components of the atmosphere. Although the concentration of ozone in the ozone layer is very small, it is vitally important to life because it absorbs biologically harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the Sun. The "thickness" of the ozone layer - that is, the total amount of ozone in a column overhead - varies by a large factor worldwide, being in general smaller near the equator and larger as one moves towards the poles. It also varies with season, being in general thicker during the spring and thinner during the autumn.
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Earth & Climate News
August 8, 2026
Aug. 6, 2026 Glyphosate was long thought to be safe for honeybees because they lack the enzyme the chemical targets in weeds. However, researchers found that exposed bees foraged 13 percent less after only three days and showed changes in brain chemicals linked ...
Aug. 6, 2026 Ancient seafloor sediments have revealed a surprising twist in how the Atlantic’s massive circulation system works. During a cold period about 3.4 million years ago, the flow of warm, salty water ...
Aug. 5, 2026 Historic wildfires scorched huge areas of Spain and France, with one Spanish blaze burning an area about the size of New York City and a French fire generating a rare, towering fire cloud. A dangerous combination of lush winter growth, severe heat, ...
Aug. 4, 2026 Animal bones preserved in South Australia’s underwater caves reveal distinctive clues shaped by darkness, algae, bacteria, and other environmental conditions. The findings give scientists a powerful new way to reconstruct how ancient megafauna ...
Aug. 3, 2026 Thawing Arctic permafrost is releasing ancient carbon into the ocean, raising fears that microbes could turn it into greenhouse gases and accelerate climate change. But sediment cores collected near ...
Aug. 2, 2026 An AI analysis of 1.2 million satellite images shows that floating algae blooms are spreading across the global ocean. The rapid growth of massive seaweed mats could reshape marine habitats while bringing foul-smelling decay, ecological damage, and ...
Aug. 2, 2026 Coastal communities are facing a hidden threat that is making rising seas far more dangerous: the land beneath them is sinking. New research shows that people in densely populated coastal regions experience an average relative sea-level rise of ...
Aug. 1, 2026 Global warming appears to have shifted into a faster gear. After removing the effects of El Niño, volcanic eruptions, and solar cycles, researchers found that the planet has warmed at roughly 0.35°C per decade over the past ten years, compared ...
Aug. 1, 2026 Scientists discovered unusually high water-vapor supersaturation inside deep tropical clouds, creating conditions in which tiny aerosol particles could intensify storm updrafts. The finding suggests earlier studies may have missed the effect because ...
July 31, 2026 A new chemical process can transform three of the most common plastics into high-purity hydrogen without sorting them first. The technique operates at much lower temperatures than traditional ...
July 29, 2026 Songbirds appear to have evolved through rare explosions of change separated by long periods of slower development. Many of those bursts lined up with major climate shifts, suggesting that environmental upheaval can reshape life in powerful ...
July 29, 2026 Bumblebees naturally have short lives, but extreme heat and human activity are making survival harder. Pesticides can poison bees or destroy the flowers they depend on, while habitat loss leaves them with fewer safe places to live and feed. ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
Aug. 8, 2026 A rare meteorite that crashed through a New Jersey roof contains evidence of ancient salty fluids, organic compounds, and amino acids from a ...
Aug. 7, 2026 Earth’s molten iron core unexpectedly reversed direction beneath the Pacific, revealing a dramatic change in the hidden engine that creates our ...
Aug. 1, 2026 Scientists studying magma from the 2021 Tajogaite eruption on La Palma have discovered that extreme heat can dramatically change how an eruption unfolds. When magma becomes superheated, it can ...
July 29, 2026 Deep beneath submarine volcanoes, Earth may be running a natural “gold kitchen.” By analyzing volcanic glass from the Kermadec island arc north of New Zealand, researchers found that water-rich ...
July 28, 2026 Deep beneath Japan’s mostly submerged Kikai caldera, scientists have discovered a vast magma reservoir that appears to be filling again. The ...
July 28, 2026 A weakening Atlantic current could supercharge California’s atmospheric rivers while leaving Greenland with fewer snow-producing storms. The changes could raise flood risks, strain infrastructure, ...
July 26, 2026 Giant sequoias are built to withstand ordinary fires, but recent extreme wildfires killed thousands of trees that had survived for centuries or even millennia. A new analysis of about 26,400 sequoias ...
July 26, 2026 A notorious snake invasion that devastated Guam’s native birds may have succeeded because the reptiles carried hidden genetic advantages. Using advanced long-read DNA sequencing, researchers ...
July 25, 2026 Recycling, greener diets, and other personal climate choices do not seem to distract people from supporting major environmental reforms. A four-year study of nearly 2,800 Australians found that these ...
July 24, 2026 Sweden could become an important source of rare earth elements needed for magnets and green technologies. Instead of extracting one target metal, researchers are cataloging everything contained in ...