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Environment

Rivers are leaking ancient carbon back into the atmosphere

Carbon stored in landscapes for thousands of years is leaching back into the atmosphere via rivers, and human activity may be to blame

News

H7X53M Los Cedros River, Cotacachi-Cayapas Reserve, Ecuador

Life

Robert Macfarlane is wrong to cast rivers as life forms in new book

Culture

How mudlarks are uncovering thousands of years of London's history

Video

How mudlarks are uncovering thousands of years of London's history

Video

Mt. Everest

Earth

How 'river piracy' made Mount Everest grow even taller

News

Taylor Roades: Rust River Earth Photo 2024 Shortlisted Entry 2023 was the hottest year on global record and the Arctic is disproportionately affected by these elevated temperatures. The remote Western Brooks Range of North West Alaska has recorded a 2.4 degree increase in temperature since 2006. Permafrost, the layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year is thawing at an unprecedented rate, exposing the bedrock and all metals that have been frozen within it, to the elements. Tukpahlearick Creek and its tributaries are now flowing bright orange with oxidized iron and sulphuric acid. The change to water quality, and risks associated with metals in the water pose dire threats to ecosystems downstream that rely on these waters, and are symbolic of the far reaching consequences of climate change.

Earth

Photos of a rusting Alaskan river win New Scientist Editors Award

Regulars

Ben Rogers surfs a tidal bore on the River Severn

Video

Surfing the Severn bore: A battle against Britain's polluted rivers

Video

Environment

Engineers are diverting Mississippi river to restore Louisiana’s coast

News

PTG8E9 Snowplow removes snow off icy road in winter

Environment

Grit salt on our roads is killing freshwater wildlife. What can we do?

Features

2ENH3G9 The latest born West African manatee, left, meets visitors for the first time at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai city, south China's Guangdong province, 19 August 2019. The latest-born West African manatee at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, who is the first born female manatee in China, meet visitors for the first time two months after her birth in Zhuhai city, south China's Guangdong province, 19 August 2019. During the meeting, the manatee chooses her name as Feifei, and interact with present visitors. (Photo by Chen Jimin - Imaginechina/Sipa USA)

Life

Are there really freshwater manatees thriving deep within West Africa?

Features

A blue gloved hand dips a glass container on a string into flowing water

Video

Pollution testing on the river Windrush pits science against sewage

A volunteer for Windrush Against Sewage Pollution tests treated wastewater being discharged back into the Windrush river from a nearby sewage treatment plant

Video

Video

Diver documents the 'biblical' demise of UK rivers

Video

Video

Seagrass restoration in Thames estuary could restore shark habitat

Video

Environment

How 2023 saw the UK going backwards on climate issues

Comment

Earth

Forget the Amazon – are these the most remarkable rivers in the world?

Features