Correspondence |
Featured
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Correspondence |
Europe: hold industry accountable for forever chemicals
- Muhammad Usman
- & Khalil Hanna
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News Explainer |
Ukraine dam collapse: what scientists are watching
Extensive flooding could have severe consequences for farming, health and the environment.
- Miryam Naddaf
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News Feature |
Finding the Amazon’s tallest trees — an epic quest to reach hidden giants
When researchers spotted clues that trees were growing to record heights in the rainforest, they tried, failed and tried again to reach the remote site.
- Richard Monastersky
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World View |
The US Supreme Court has gutted federal protection for wetlands — now what?
Most US wetlands just lost federal protection, but there’s still time for state and local governments to act. Scientists and the public can help.
- Royal C. Gardner
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Editorial |
Why ideas of ‘planetary boundaries’ must uphold environmental justice
Earth-system boundaries define a safe operating space for humanity. Accounting for the planet’s most vulnerable people provides a stark warning of the work still to be done.'
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News & Views |
How to define unjust planetary change
Biophysical and sociopolitical factors have been integrated into a set of measures of planetary change that aim to pinpoint safe and just thresholds for all living things. The exercise is immensely ambitious and inevitably challenging.
- Stephen Humphreys
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Article
| Open Access
Safe and just Earth system boundaries
We find that justice considerations constrain the integrated Earth system boundaries more than safety considerations for climate and atmospheric aerosol loading, and our assessment provides a foundation for safeguarding the global commons for all people.
- Johan Rockström
- , Joyeeta Gupta
- & Xin Zhang
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News |
Major ocean database that will guide deep-sea mining has flaws, scientists warn
As sea-bed mining looms, researchers say better records of sea-floor biodiversity are needed to assess its environmental impact.
- Natasha Gilbert
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Perspective |
Lead immobilization for environmentally sustainable perovskite solar cells
An analysis of chemical processes to immobilize lead from perovskite solar cells is presented, highlighting the need for a standard lead-leakage test and mathematical model to reliably evaluate the potential environmental risk of perovskite optoelectronics.
- Hui Zhang
- , Jin-Wook Lee
- & Nam-Gyu Park
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Matters Arising |
Quantifying the carbon benefits of ending bottom trawling
- Jan Geert Hiddink
- , Sebastiaan J. van de Velde
- & Marija Sciberras
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Matters Arising |
Reply to: Quantifying the carbon benefits of ending bottom trawling
- Trisha B. Atwood
- , Enric Sala
- & Jane Lubchenco
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News |
Mexico is seeding clouds to make rain — scientists aren’t sure it works
Researchers question the government’s investment, given uncertainties about the technology.
- Myriam Vidal Valero
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News Feature |
Rewilding the planet: how seven artificial islands could help a dying Dutch lake
An archipelago constructed of sand and mud is bringing new life to a dead lake but can this bold experiment have a lasting impact?
- Aisling Irwin
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Article |
Increased heat risk in wet climate induced by urban humid heat
An analysis of data from urban and rural areas shows that in wet climates the net effect of temperature and humidity in urban areas is an increase in heat stress.
- Keer Zhang
- , Chang Cao
- & Xuhui Lee
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Article |
Dynamic crosslinking compatibilizes immiscible mixed plastics
A new compatibilization strategy installs dynamic crosslinkers into several classes of binary, ternary and postconsumer immiscible polymer mixtures in situ, with the resulting compatibilized dynamic thermosets exhibiting intrinsic reprocessability and enhanced tensile strength and creep resistance.
- Ryan W. Clarke
- , Tobias Sandmeier
- & Eugene Y.-X. Chen
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Editorial |
Is Africa’s Great Green Wall project withering?
The plan to re-green a 7,000-kilometre swathe south of the Sahara is at risk of losing its pan-African vision and ambition.
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News Explainer |
US aims for electric-car revolution — will it work?
The Environmental Protection Agency has released draft regulations that set the stage for a huge transition to electric vehicles.
- Jeff Tollefson
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News |
Plastic waste found chemically bonded to rocks in China
Researchers discover ‘plastic rocks’, probably formed from bags and other litter, in a freshwater creek.
- Katherine Bourzac
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News Feature |
Three ways to solve the plastics pollution crisis
Researchers are studying how more-sophisticated policies, smarter recycling and new materials could stem the tide of waste.
- Diana Kwon
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Research Briefing |
How rapidly can ice sheets retreat?
Landforms across the mid-Norwegian sea floor reveal that a former ice sheet retreated at up to 600 metres per day at the end of the last ice age. Pulses of similarly rapid retreat could soon be observed across flat-bedded areas of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
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News |
How air pollution causes lung cancer — without harming DNA
Studies in mice suggest that tumour growth is triggered by inflammation caused by tiny particles, rather than genetic mutations.
- Heidi Ledford
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News & Views |
Southern Ocean heat sink hindered by melting ice
Simulations show that the melting of Antarctic ice reduces the production of deep water that stores heat at the bottom of the Southern Ocean. Comprehensive models could reveal whether the trend will persist.
- Joellen L. Russell
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Research Highlight |
DNA-based sentinels could warn of radioactive leaks
Complexes of DNA and dye send a light signal in the presence of strontium ions created by nuclear power plants.
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Comment |
As the UN meets, make water central to climate action
Managing water and climate in tandem would protect water resources, reduce disaster risks, lower greenhouse-gas emissions and assure equitable access.
- M. Feisal Rahman
- , Aditi Mukherji
- & Emmanuel Olet
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Article |
Continent-wide declines in shallow reef life over a decade of ocean warming
A systematic census at 1,636 sites around Australia from 2008 to 2021 finds that more than 30% of shallow invertebrate species in cool latitudes exhibit a high extinction risk due to declining populations and oceanic barriers, but tropical coral species remain relatively stable.
- Graham J. Edgar
- , Rick D. Stuart-Smith
- & Amanda E. Bates
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News |
Ohio train derailment: scientists scan for lingering toxics
East Palestine residents look to independent researchers to fill gaps left by authorities.
- Mariana Lenharo
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Editorial |
UN high seas treaty is a landmark – but science needs to fill the gaps
The agreement is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for researchers and funders to use every idea and instrument available to preserve the health of the seas.
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News & Views |
Regrowing tropical forests absorb megatonnes of carbon
An analysis confirms that humid tropical forests recovering from degradation and deforestation absorb substantial amounts of carbon dioxide — but much less than is emitted by the destruction of the original forests.
- Pieter A. Zuidema
- & Catarina C. Jakovac
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Article |
The carbon sink of secondary and degraded humid tropical forests
Analysis of satellite-based data on recovering degraded and secondary forests in three tropical moist forest regions quantifies the amount of aboveground carbon accumulated, which counterbalanced one quarter of carbon emissions from old-growth forest loss between 1984 and 2018.
- Viola H. A. Heinrich
- , Christelle Vancutsem
- & Luiz E. O. C. Aragão
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News |
Powerful AI models, and more — this week’s best science graphics
Three charts from the world of research, selected by Nature editors.
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News & Views |
How wildfires deplete ozone in the stratosphere
Unexpected smoke-particle chemistry is shown to be the link between intense wildfires and stratospheric ozone loss. As the climate changes, more-frequent and more-intense fires might delay the recovery of the stratospheric ozone layer.
- V. Faye McNeill
- & Joel A. Thornton
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Article |
Chlorine activation and enhanced ozone depletion induced by wildfire aerosol
Comparison of model simulations with atmospheric observations from the Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes following the 2020 Australian wildfires shows that the wildfire aerosol composition promotes stratospheric chlorine and ozone depletion chemistry.
- Susan Solomon
- , Kane Stone
- & Peidong Wang
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Comment |
Flash floods: why are more of them devastating the world’s driest regions?
Shifting weather, changing settlement patterns and a lack of preparedness mean that dryland areas are most at risk from flooding. Researchers need to focus on data collection, early-warning systems, flood protection and more.
- Jie Yin
- , Yao Gao
- & Mingfu Guan
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News & Views |
Carbon stocks of billions of individual African dryland trees estimated
An inventory of nearly 10 billion individual trees has been compiled for the African drylands, estimating biomass and carbon stocks. The data will aid dryland restoration projects and assessments of the land carbon budget.
- Jules Bayala
- & Meine van Noordwijk
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Research Briefing |
Coastal algal blooms have intensified over the past 20 years
Global spatial and temporal patterns of coastal phytoplankton blooms were characterized using daily satellite imaging between 2003 and 2020. These blooms were identified on the coast of 126 of the 153 ocean-bordering countries examined. The extent and frequency of blooms have increased globally over the past two decades.
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Article |
Valley formation aridifies East Africa and elevates Congo Basin rainfall
Numerical model experiments show that deep valleys cutting across the East African Rift System dry out East Africa by channelling water vapour towards Central Africa, leading to elevated rainfall in the Congo Basin rainforest.
- Callum Munday
- , Nicholas Savage
- & Richard Washington
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Article
| Open Access
Coastal phytoplankton blooms expand and intensify in the 21st century
Satellite observations reveal global increases in the extent and frequency of phytoplankton blooms between 2003 and 2020 and provide insights into the relationship between blooms, ocean circulation and sea surface temperature.
- Yanhui Dai
- , Shangbo Yang
- & Lian Feng
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Article |
Optimal nitrogen rate strategy for sustainable rice production in China
A proposed optimal nitrogen rate strategy together with analysis of an extensive on-farm dataset shows that meeting national rice production targets in 2030 in China is possible while concurrently reducing nationwide nitrogen consumption.
- Siyuan Cai
- , Xu Zhao
- & Xiaoyuan Yan
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Book Review |
Hauling icebergs to Africa: could a bizarre plan to get drinking water actually work?
Transporting water trapped in icebergs to drought-plagued regions is pooh-poohed by scientists — but some see it as a huge opportunity.
- Josie Glausiusz
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Research Highlight |
Cities worldwide claw vast amounts of land from the sea
China, the United Arab Emirates and other countries are adding area by converting wetlands and shallow waters into solid land.
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Nature Video |
This device corkscrews itself into the ground like a seed
Inspired by nature, this little wooden ‘robot’ has been designed to bury itself.
- Shamini Bundell
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Article
| Open Access
Less extreme and earlier outbursts of ice-dammed lakes since 1900
An assessment of ice-dam failures in six mountain regions shows that extreme peak flows and volumes have declined sharply since 1900, and that ice-dam floods today originate at higher elevations and earlier in the year.
- Georg Veh
- , Natalie Lützow
- & Oliver Korup
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Matters Arising |
Concerns about data linking delta land gain to human action
- Florin Zăinescu
- , Edward Anthony
- & Florin Tătui
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News & Views |
The extent and drivers of global wetland loss
An impressive combination of modelling and data analysis has enabled a new estimate of the extent of wetland losses over the past few centuries — and reveals that an area about the size of India has been lost since 1700.
- Nicholas J. Murray
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Article |
Extensive global wetland loss over the past three centuries
We reconstruct the spatial distribution and timing of wetland loss through conversion to seven human land uses between 1700 and 2020, elucidating the magnitude and land-use drivers of global wetland losses to improve assessments of wetland loss impacts.
- Etienne Fluet-Chouinard
- , Benjamin D. Stocker
- & Peter B. McIntyre
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Correspondence |
Scientists — counter lobbyists to shape environment policy
- Ralf Buckley
- & Aila Keto
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Correspondence |
Integrate strategies to save biodiversity and groundwater
- Johannes A. C. Barth
- , Jürgen Geist
- & John Cherry
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Nature Video |
Drowning in seaweed: How to stop invasive Sargassum
Around the world countries are battling the unassuming brown seaweed taking over their beaches.
- Zan Barberton
