Earth Notes
Every Wednesday
Earth Notes, KNAU’s weekly environmental series, explores the Colorado Plateau by telling stories of the intricate relationships between environmental issues and our daily lives. Rooted in science and wrapped in human interest, the two-minute-long segments encourage listeners to think of themselves as part of the solution to environmental problems.
Latest Episodes
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Every spring, three species of nectar-feeding bats travel several hundred miles from Mexico into Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to reach maternity roosts where they rear their young. -
In the summer of 2023, what seemed like tiny aliens turned up at the Wupatki National Monument. A visitor told park staff that tadpoles were wriggling about in a pool of standing water that had flooded the Ancestral Puebloan ballcourt. -
Marine reptiles called Ichthyosaurs existed millions of years ago within a vast ocean that surrounded the supercontinent known as Pangea. They had streamlined bodies adapted for swift movement in aquatic environments. -
The Species from Feces Lab at Northern Arizona University examines DNA in animal feces. The lab’s motto is "to be number one at number two.” -
Fewer than 2% of North America’s bark beetle species attack trees, but those that do have killed billions of conifers across the West over the last 30 years. -
All kinds of animals use conspicuous colors. Research from biologists at the University of Arizona found it's a quirk of evolution that started around 150 million years ago. -
The Mojave Trail was initially used by Indigenous tribes for trade and travel but later became a critical route for Spanish missionaries, American settlers and military expeditions. -
Though distinct disciplines, both paleontology and archaeology use similar technologies and methods in their work and show fascinating intersections. -
Spring mounds are found in arid regions worldwide where geological formations force groundwater to the surface. In the U.S., the feature is especially common in the mineral-rich soils of the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts. -
Arizona is home to over 1,000 volcanoes and has three active volcanic fields, the largest of which is the San Francisco Volcanic Field near Flagstaff.
