An ice core record stretching back more than 2 millennia hints at the mining and metallurgy that waxed and waned with events such as wars and epidemics.
South America
How Llama Poop Is Helping an Andean Community Adapt to Melting Glaciers
Reintroducing these animals can enrich barren soils and potentially reduce water contamination, a study shows.
El Peñón de Guatapé: a dangerous collapse at a tourist site in Colombia
On 2 November 2023 a dramatic fall of soil and organic debris injured 17 people.
South American Rainforests Are on the Brink of Becoming Carbon Sources
Plants’ ability to stock carbon ceased during the 2015–2016 El Niño, as temperatures skyrocketed and trees died.
An interesting erosive event in the Socavón Cochoa area of Viña del Mar, Chile
Dramatic erosion of a sand dune in Viña del Mar, Chile appears to be related to maintenance of a drainage pipe.
Biogeochemical Insights from a Major Amazonian River
Underrepresented in global carbon budgets, tropical rivers like Brazil’s Tocantins are in need of study to establish their baseline characteristics in the face of increasing global change.
Farming Is Intensifying Floods in the South American Plains
The replacement of native vegetation by crops has raised groundwater levels in the Pampas, a new study suggests.
Danger in the Dust! The Hazards of Windblown Dust
Airborne dust not only causes disease, it also menaces transportation on land, sea, and air; disrupts renewable energy systems; transports pathogens and toxic substances; and poses many other hazards.
Short-Lived Solutions for Tall Trees in Chile’s Megadrought
Some southern beeches in the Andes have plumbed deeper for moisture as the surface has dried up. But doing so may deplete resources and undermine the trees’ future health.
Harpy Eagles Concentrate Precious Nutrients in the Amazon
Amazon soils are usually low in the nutrients that plants covet, but harpy eagles can create local hot spots with their poop and prey.