Here at Science Friday, we’ve been listening to scientists discuss scientific ideas for more than 20 years. In that time, we’ve witnessed many new ideas gain traction in the scientific community. Climate change is one of them. A growing body of evidence suggests that higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide—generated from industrialization and pollution from […]
Marine biologist Colin Foord calls the fused staghorn coral seen above “a real survivor.” Foord first came upon a colony of the Acropora prolifera—a hybrid of staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) and elkhorn (Acropora palmata) corals—while diving around Miami’s Fisher Island in 2009. The discovery surprised him—he had seen staghorns and elkhorns before, and this coral looked […]
These American avocets are using their elegant, upturned bills to sweep the surface of Utah’s Great Salt Lake for insects. Here, about 250,000 American avocets—more than half the population—have been counted along the lunar landscape-like shore. “The birds were feeding, and it was just this quiet, still day,” says photographer Rosalie Winard, who began capturing […]
Not surprisingly, greenhouse gas and sea levels rose in 2013, and warm temperature trends continued, according to the State of the Climate report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “These findings reinforce what scientists for decades have observed: that our planet is becoming a warmer place,” NOAA administrator Dr. Kathryn Sullivan said in […]