Carolyn Gramling
Earth & Climate Writer
Carolyn Gramling is the Earth & Climate writer at Science News. Previously she worked at Science magazine for six years, both as a reporter covering paleontology and polar science and as the editor of the news in brief section. Before that she was a reporter and editor at EARTH magazine. She has bachelor’s degrees in Geology and European History and a Ph.D. in marine geochemistry from MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She’s also a former Science News intern.
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All Stories by Carolyn Gramling
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The powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake that rocked Myanmar and Thailand on March 28 toppled buildings, such as this one in Mandalay. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/040125_cg_earthquake_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/040125_cg_earthquake_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1">
EarthMore details about the Myanmar earthquake are emerging
A phenomenon called liquefaction, which causes the ground to slump like quicksand, led to significant damage after the Myanmar earthquake. The risk of aftershock remains high.
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Cement production (shown) accounts for a fourth of the world’s carbon emissions. But a new technique using seawater splitting might make its production carbon-negative. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/032025_cg_carbon-sink-concrete_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/032025_cg_carbon-sink-concrete_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1">
ClimateSplitting seawater offers a path to sustainable cement production
Cement manufacture is a huge carbon emitter. A by-product of splitting seawater might make the process more environmentally friendly.
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A magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck March 28 in neighboring Myanmar turned this building in Bangkok, Thailand, into a mountain of collapsed concrete and twisted rubble, and a gargantuan task for rescue workers. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/032825_cg_myanmar-quake_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/032825_cg_myanmar-quake_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1">
Earth3 things to know about the deadly Myanmar earthquake
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake was powerful, shallow and in a heavily populated region with vulnerable buildings.
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Large-scale fog water harvesting has the potential to relieve water stress at Alto Hospicio, a fast-growing city in Chile’s Atacama Desert, researchers say. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/021925_cg_fog-water_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/021925_cg_fog-water_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1">
ClimateEven desert cities could pull drinking water from the air
Water harvesting from foggy air provided up to 5 liters of water a day in a yearlong Chilean desert experiment.
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Vegavis iaai dives for fish in the shallow ocean waters off the coast of the Antarctic peninsula, in this artist’s rendition. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/020425_cg_oldest-known-waterfowl_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/020425_cg_oldest-known-waterfowl_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1">
PaleontologyEarth’s first waterfowl may have lived in Antarctica 69 million years ago
A few fossilized body parts hinted at an enigmatic bird's close ties to waterfowl like ducks and geese. A newfound skull may bolster that idea.
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Prolonged droughts have become longer, more intense and more frequent in the last 30 years. A megadrought in southwestern North America, which affected California’s Nicasio Reservoir, (shown in 2021) topped the list of the 10 most severe events in that period. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/011625_cg_megadroughts_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/011625_cg_megadroughts_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1">
Megadroughts are on the rise worldwide
One of the most extreme megadroughts has helped fuel wildfires in Los Angeles County and elsewhere in California.
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Almost everywhere around the globe, it was hotter than the average from 1991 to 2020. In some places, such as the Canadian Arctic, temperatures were as much as 5 degrees Celsius (the darkest red) higher. Blue colors mark the few regions where temperatures were cooler than the average. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/011025_cg_hottest-year_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/011025_cg_hottest-year_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1">
Climate2024 was Earth’s hottest year on record, passing a dangerous warming threshold
Global temperatures were the hottest on record in 2024; it was the first year where the average temperature topped 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times.
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Simothenurus occidentalis (illustrated) was one of dozens of kangaroo species that went extinct by 40,000 years ago. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/010925_cg_ancient-kangaroo_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/010925_cg_ancient-kangaroo_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1">
PaleontologyHumans, not climate change, may have wiped out Australia’s giant kangaroos
About 40,000 years ago, giant kangaroos vanished Down Under. Dental analyses suggest a varied diet, meaning climate change was not the main cause.
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A whisky drinker savors the spirit’s scent at Glenkinchie distillery in Edinburgh. New machine learning algorithms may be as adept at identifying the liquor’s flavor profile as human experts, researchers say. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/121824_cg_ai-whiskey_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/121824_cg_ai-whiskey_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1">
Artificial IntelligenceAI sniffs out whiskey flavor notes as well as the pros
A machine learning algorithm identified the top five flavor notes in 16 types of whiskey. Each matched the aggregate of what a panel of human pros said.
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As the moon obscured the sun over Martin, Ohio, on April 8, the eclipse revealed the sun’s surface activity and wispy corona. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/121124_cg_solar-eclipse-data_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/121124_cg_solar-eclipse-data_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1">
SpaceThe 2024 eclipse gave a rare view of the sun. Here’s a peek at early data
Teams are starting to analyze data from the total solar eclipse to learn more about the sun’s corona, gravity waves and changes in Earth’s ionosphere.
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A wall of water slams into a beach on Penang Island, Malaysia, on December 26, 2004. Giant waves generated by a 9.2 magnitude earthquake devastated countries around the Indian Ocean. Hardest hit was the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, which was nearest to the earthquake’s epicenter. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/120924_cg_2004-tsunami_feat.jpg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/120924_cg_2004-tsunami_feat.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1">
EarthThe 2004 tsunami killed hundreds of thousands. Are we better prepared now?
Twenty years after the deadliest wave in recorded history, most oceans have warning systems and communities have learned how best to escape the danger.
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A boy in Delhi pours water on himself to cool off during a heat wave in May. The territory set a record-high temperature of nearly 122° Fahrenheit. " data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/121424_YE-hotcities_feat.jpeg?fit=680%2C383&ssl=1" data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/121424_YE-hotcities_feat.jpeg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1">
ClimateClimate change made 2024 the hottest year on record. The heat was deadly
Heat waves fueled by climate change killed scores of people and upended daily life. Here are some of those stories.