Featured
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Where I Work |
I started fossil hunting in my 60s — now I have more than 2,000 pieces
Heather Middleton trawls England’s Jurassic Coast for specimens that might lead to a deeper understanding of palaeontology.
- Rachael Pells
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Correspondence |
Brazil must reverse gear on Amazon road development
- Lucas Ferrante
- & C. Guilherme Becker
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News & Views |
Groundwater decline is global but not universal
Measurements of groundwater levels in 170,000 wells reveal the global extent of groundwater decline. But the data also show that such depletion is not inevitable in a changing climate, providing hope for a resilient water future.
- Donald John MacAllister
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Article
| Open AccessRapid groundwater decline and some cases of recovery in aquifers globally
Analysis of about 170,000 monitoring wells and 1,693 aquifer systems worldwide shows that extensive and often accelerating groundwater declines are widespread in the twenty-first century, but that groundwater levels are recovering in some cases.
- Scott Jasechko
- , Hansjörg Seybold
- & James W. Kirchner
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Comment |
To curb plastic pollution, industry and academia must unite
Collaboration is key to making plastic use greener as soon as possible. Our experience yields tips on how to set up industry–academic partnerships.
- Collin P. Ward
- , Christopher M. Reddy
- & Steven T. Perri
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Research Briefing |
Predator die-off reshapes ecosystems in expected and unexpected ways
Mass-mortality events of predators are becoming more common, but their precise effects on food webs remain unclear. Experimentally induced predator die-offs led both to reduced predation and to fertilization from the bottom up. Together, these effects stabilized food webs.
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Research Briefing |
Greenland’s glaciers are retreating everywhere and all at once
A comprehensive analysis of satellite data finds that the Greenland ice sheet has lost more ice in the past four decades than previously thought. Moreover, the glaciers that are the most sensitive to seasonal temperature swings will probably retreat the most in response to future global warming.
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Correspondence |
Safeguard Amazon’s aquatic fauna against climate change
- Miriam Marmontel
- , Ayan Fleischmann
- & Bruce Forsberg
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Editorial |
Norway’s approval of sea-bed mining undermines efforts to protect the ocean
The decision to permit exploratory deep-sea extraction of valuable minerals breaks a promise to the other nations on the Ocean Panel and to scientists.
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News |
First approval for controversial sea-bed mining worries scientists
Researchers say the Norwegian government ignored warnings of potential ecosystem harm.
- Natasha Gilbert
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Comment |
Impacts for half of the world’s mining areas are undocumented
As the race to extract minerals and metals for clean-energy technologies accelerates, researchers must take more steps to map and study mines globally.
- Victor Maus
- & Tim T. Werner
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News & Views |
Satellite images reveal untracked human activity on the oceans
Machine learning and satellite imagery have been used to map industrial infrastructure at sea — from fishing vessels to wind turbines. The findings provide a more comprehensive picture of maritime activity than ever before.
- Konstantin Klemmer
- & Esther Rolf
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Article
| Open AccessSatellite mapping reveals extensive industrial activity at sea
Satellite imagery, vessel GPS data and deep-learning models are used to map industrial fishing vessel activities missing from public tracking systems and changes in offshore energy infrastructure in the world’s coastal waters during 2017–2021.
- Fernando S. Paolo
- , David Kroodsma
- & Patrick Halpin
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Correspondence |
Panama says no to more mining — a win for environmentalists
- Juan Carlos Villarreal A.
- , Nelva B. Villarreal
- & Luis F. De León
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Where I Work |
How badly does climate change affect coral? I dive to find out
By putting on my scuba suit and keeping track of corals in French Polynesia, I hope to determine how much stress they’re under.
- Patricia Maia Noronha
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Spotlight |
Politics and the environment collide in Brazil: Lula’s first year back in office
Brazil’s left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva grapples with deforestation, fossil-fuel pledges and commitments to Indigenous communities — all while having to work with a conservative Congress.
- Meghie Rodrigues
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News & Views |
Plastic pollution, viral evolution and drowned coasts: wrapping up a year of remarkable science
Highlights from News & Views published in late 2023.
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News & Views |
Wetlands, neutrinos and warning coloration: kicking off a year of remarkable science
Highlights from News & Views published in early 2023.
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Outlook |
Webcast: How water researchers are rethinking the global flood crisis
A panel of specialists discuss the latest insights on protecting people, habitats and infrastructure from the risks of flooding.
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Outlook |
How to take ‘forever’ out of forever chemicals
Stubborn compounds called PFAS in drinking water put health at risk. Technologies based on plasmas, pressure, sound or fungus could finally degrade these chemicals.
- Neil Savage
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Outlook |
Water: a source of life and strife
Water is an essential resource, but it can also cause conflict, expose people to pollution and put communities at risk in the form of flooding.
- Herb Brody
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Outlook |
Sizing up hydrogen’s hydrological footprint
The use of hydrogen as an energy carrier is essential to decarbonizing economies. Industrial policies and technology developments could trim the water consumption involved in producing the gas, minimizing its cost and environmental impact.
- Peter Fairley
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Outlook |
Fresh water from thin air
Strategies for collecting water from the atmosphere using minimal energy could fill a crucial gap in sustaining communities that have limited access to water.
- Michael Eisenstein
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Outlook |
The most important issue about water is not supply, but how it is used
The world faces a series of deep and worsening crises that demand radical changes in how we understand, manage and use fresh water.
- Peter Gleick
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Outlook |
The human factor in water disasters
Decisions about land use and infrastructure have left little space for water, amplifying the effects of natural disasters and climate change.
- Erica Gies
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Spotlight |
Renewable energy for the subcontinent
India has invested heavily in wind, solar and storage technology to hit net zero by 2070, but some don’t think it’s doing enough.
- Bianca Nogrady
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Spotlight |
We need to talk about water
Water needs to be central to India’s efforts to tackle floods, pollution and urbanization.
- Gautam I. Menon
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News Feature |
Amazon protector: the Brazilian politician who turned the tide on deforestation
As Brazil’s environment minister, Marina Silva helped to rein in rampant deforestation and rebuild institutions that were weakened by the previous government.
- Meghie Rodrigues
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Article |
A unified explanation for the morphology of raised peatlands
Physical analysis of processes universal to raised peatlands produces an equation that explains their morphology and carbon storage across biomes, from Alaska to New Zealand.
- Alexander R. Cobb
- , René Dommain
- & Charles F. Harvey
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Research Highlight |
Holiday side dish: a big helping of indoor air pollution
Particulate-matter levels in US homes peak during mealtime — and especially on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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Editorial |
Combat corporate greenwashing with better science
Companies must be transparent about how they calculate their emissions goals. Researchers must help to clear up doubts about the system.
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Editorial |
Global science is splintering into two — and this is becoming a problem
The United States and China are pursuing parallel scientific tracks. To solve crises on multiple fronts, the two roads need to become one.
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Research Briefing |
Pesticide cocktails harm bumblebees in European fields
Exposure to the complex mix of pesticides used in agriculture in Europe significantly reduces bumblebees’ health. This suggests that current risk-assessment processes, in which pesticides are assessed separately, are not fit for purpose. Continuous monitoring is needed to quantify the real-world effects of pesticides on pollinator health.
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Article
| Open AccessPesticide use negatively affects bumble bees across European landscapes
Results from 316 Bombus terrestris colonies at 106 agricultural sites across eight European countries find pesticides in bumble bee pollen to be associated with reduced colony performance, especially in areas of intensive agriculture.
- Charlie C. Nicholson
- , Jessica Knapp
- & Maj Rundlöf
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Where I Work |
Deep, deep down: a day in the life of a subterranean biologist
Špela Borko tells how caving enhanced her appreciation of the myriad life forms that teem in underground lakes.
- Stav Dimitropoulos
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Editorial |
Swathes of Earth are turning into desert — but the degradation can be stopped
The latest United Nations data paint a grim picture. But countries that are getting land-restoration measures right provide some cause for hope.
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Technology Feature |
Microbial miners take on rare-earth metals
As a tech-hungry world gobbles up rare-earth elements, researchers are adapting bacteria that can isolate and purify the metals in the absence of harsh chemicals.
- Amber Dance
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News |
Progress on plastic pollution treaty too slow, scientists say
As national divisions widen over how to address the global waste crisis, researchers fight for more input into the process.
- Nicola Jones
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Correspondence |
Promise of private finance is blocking peatland restoration
- Lydia Cole
- , Cornelia Helmcke
- & Ewan Jenkins
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News |
The Amazon’s record-setting drought: how bad will it be?
Scientists tell Nature why the rainforest has dried out, and what to expect in the coming months.
- Meghie Rodrigues
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News Explainer |
Why is Delhi’s air pollution so bad right now?
The post-monsoon season creates ideal conditions for air pollution to accumulate in the Indian megacity.
- Dyani Lewis
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Nature Index |
Four science stars on the fast-track to impact
With the world at their feet, these prolific young researchers are making their mark.
- Sandy Ong
- & Chris Woolston
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Where I Work |
‘Ash was falling like rain’: how I became a volcanologist
Richard Robertson monitors seismic activity across the Lesser Antilles islands in the Caribbean.
- Nicola Jones
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Correspondence |
Britain and Ireland’s largest lake is dying in plain sight
- Neil Reid
- & Mark C. Emmerson
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Editorial |
China’s Belt and Road Initiative is boosting science — the West must engage, not withdraw
China is deepening scientific links with low- and middle-income countries. Europe and the United States would be wise to join this effort, which could help to resolve economic, environmental and political crises.
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Article
| Open AccessHigh-resolution maps show that rubber causes substantial deforestation
Satellite data used to generate high-resolution maps across Southeast Asia show that rubber-related deforestation is at least twofold to threefold higher than suggested by estimates used for setting policy.
- Yunxia Wang
- , Peter M. Hollingsworth
- & Antje Ahrends
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News |
Australia’s feral horses need ‘urgent’ control: scientists welcome latest report
Ecologists have praised government recommendations, but some say more concrete action — including a cull — is needed.
- Dyani Lewis