Planet Earth stories
NERC then and now
The past may be a foreign country, but when it comes to the ancient history of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) it's one that feels oddly like home. As part of the events to mark NERC's 50th anniversary, Tom Marshall spent a stint in the archives. He describes what it revealed about the organisation's early years.
5 Oct 2015
A model approach
The Met Office also celebrates a 50th anniversary this year - their first numerical weather prediction was in 1965. Their chief scientist Dame Julia Slingo shares her perspective on developments in weather, climate and environmental-change research since then.
18 Sep 2015
The failure of genomics
Biology is in the grip of a genomics revolution - but Mark Viney thinks this may have taken a wrong turn. He says that just DNA sequencing genes isn't enough - we need to get back to finding out what each one does.
4 Sep 2015
Tags: Biodiversity, Biology, Genetics
Plain wonderful
Covering an area the size of the Isle of Wight, Salisbury Plain contains the largest military training area in the UK and the largest single expanse of chalk grassland in Western Europe. John Redhead explains how this sometimes turbulent landscape provides both a conservation challenge and some unique habitats for wildlife.
21 Aug 2015
Tags: Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, UK
Much ado about moths
What's up with British moths? Like much of our wildlife, they're being hit hard by habitat loss and responding to warmer weather. Richard Fox and Tom Oliver explain.
30 Jul 2015
Tags: Biodiversity, Conservation, Environmental change, Insects, Pollinators, UK
The pull of charisma
It's not unusual to see polar bears and tigers fronting conservation campaigns and adverts, but worms and crustaceans? Not so common. Lydia Bach explains why some lesser-known species deserve more of the limelight.
20 Jul 2015
Tags: Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Marine life
Ocean acidification - How will marine life cope?
CO2 emissions are making the oceans more acidic. We're still not sure what this will do to marine life, but in many places the result's unlikely to be good. Jason Hall-Spencer describes his efforts to understand the impact by investigating places where the gas bubbles naturally from the seabed.
10 Jul 2015
Piling it on
Renewable energy is an important part of the UK's energy mix and we need to know more about its effects on marine animals. Steve Simpson and Rick Bruintjes explain how they're using a home-made pile-driver to investigate.
29 Jun 2015
Tags: Fish, Marine life, Oceans, Pollution
A new history of Antarctic ice
There's still a huge amount we don't know about the history of the southern polar ice sheet. Bethan Davies was part of an international team that brought together the latest findings to reveal a complex and dynamic Antarctica.
19 Jun 2015
Tags: Antarctic, Climate, Environmental change, Ice
A tale of two cities
How can we provide safe water for poor people living in African cities? Dan Lapworth, Jim Wright and Steve Pedley are working to find out.
12 Jun 2015
Tags: Health, Natural resources, Pollution, Water