Articles for category: Animal Behavior, Ecology

Why The Pacific Ocean Is Rising Faster Than Predicted

Why The Pacific Ocean Is Rising Faster Than Predicted

Jan Otte

You might think the ocean rises at a predictable rate. Think again. According to a NASA-led analysis, last year’s rate of rise was 0.23 inches (0.59 centimeters) per year, compared to the expected rate of 0.17 inches (0.43 centimeters) per year. This isn’t just a minor statistical blip. Scientists are witnessing ocean dynamics playing out ...

The Earth's Oldest Living Organisms - and What They Teach Us

The Earth’s Oldest Living Organisms – and What They Teach Us

Andrew Alpin

You’ve probably gazed at an ancient tree and wondered what stories it could tell, yet you might not realize that some of the organisms around you have been quietly thriving for thousands of years. Methuselah, a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) in the White Mountains of California, has been measured by ring count to ...

How Sea Ice Melts Create Massive Hidden Ecosystems

How Sea Ice Melts Create Massive Hidden Ecosystems

Andrew Alpin

Picture this: Arctic ice that seems barren on the surface holds secret worlds teeming with life. Recent scientific breakthroughs reveal how melting polar ice isn’t just destroying ecosystems, it’s also birthing entirely new ones. Think of it as nature’s biggest plot twist happening right before our eyes. Melting Arctic ice is revealing a hidden world ...

The Deepest Places on Earth Scientists Have Ever Explored

The Deepest Places on Earth Scientists Have Ever Explored

Andrew Alpin

Picture yourself standing at the edge of an abyss so deep that if you dropped Mount Everest inside, it would vanish without a trace, swallowed by crushing darkness. The deepest places on our planet lie not in any mountain range or desert crater, but beneath the waves of our oceans. These underwater trenches represent the ...

Purple Sea Urchin, strongylocentrotus purpuratus, California

Why Is Purple So Rare in Nature—and Why Did Royalty Love It?

Trizzy Orozco

Imagine walking through a field of wildflowers on a bright spring day. Reds, yellows, and blues jump out at you, painting the landscape in bursts of color. But where is the purple? You might spot a violet here or a lavender there, but compared to the riot of other hues, purple seems almost like a ...