Earth & Environment

Earth’s bulging waistline, plus ancient mangrove swamps and new threats from wildfires in this week’s news

Ice melt boosts planet’s waistline Melting ice has changed the shape of Earth, making it more bulgy at the equator. Scientists understand most of the things that affect the planet’s shape, such as tides and weather, but satellite measurements between 1975 and 2009 show an unexplained change starting in the mid-1990s.