Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Antarctic Climate: Short-term Spikes, Long-term Warming Linked To Tropical Pacific
Dramatic year-to-year temperature swings and a century-long warming trend across West Antarctica are linked to conditions in the tropical Pacific, according to an analysis of ice cores. The findings show...
Burmese Pythons Will Find Little Suitable Habitat Outside South Florida, Study Suggests
Burmese Pythons may have chosen Florida as a vacation destination, but are unlikely to expand further, according to a new study. Although the United States Geological Survey earlier this year...
New BlackBerry expected within month in N. America
(AP) -- The new BlackBerry model should be coming to North America within a month now that Research In Motion Ltd. has started selling it in Germany and Chile.
Avian botulism killing Canadian ducks
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Provincial environment officials in Manitoba, Canada, say avian botulism is behind a spate of duck deaths in rivers in Winnipeg.
Oil And Gas Projects In Western Amazon Threaten Biodiversity And Indigenous Peoples
According to a new study, over 180 oil and gas "blocks" -- areas zoned for exploration and development -- now cover the megadiverse western Amazon, which includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador,...
Oceans on the Precipice: Scripps Scientist Warns of Mass Extinctions and 'Rise of Slime'
Threats to marine ecosystems from overfishing, pollution and climate change must be addressed to halt downward trends .
Climate change may alter plant ranges
LEIPZIG, Germany, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- A new study suggests one in five of Germany's plant species could lose parts of its current range due to global warming.
Julian Little: GM crops can boost productivity. Prince Charles was wrong to dismiss them
Julian Little: GM crops can boost productivity in lean times. Prince Charles was wrong to dismiss them out of hand
Lionfish Prowls Fragile Caribbean Waters
A maroon-striped marauder with venomous spikes is rapidly multiplying in the Caribbean's warm waters, swallowing native species, stinging divers and generally wreaking havoc on an ecologically delicate region.
Climate Change May Boost Middle East Rainfall
The prospect of climate change sparking food and water shortages in the Middle East is less likely than previously thought, with new research by an Australian climate scientist suggesting that...
Green Roofs Differ In Building Cooling, Water Handling Capabilities
The first study to compare the performance of different types of green roofs suggests that buyers shouldn't assume these roofs are created equal.
Opinion: Regional areas must seize control of greener future
The Government’s new green paper shields regional areas from the initial financial blows of reducing carbon emissions, allowing them time to prepare for the future – an opportunity that should...
Submersible robot used in seafloor project
SEATTLE, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The newest in a class of unmanned submersible robots has helped locate optimal locations for seafloor observation sites off the northwestern United States.
Earthwatch Institute Launches "Beat the Heat" Climate Change Campaign in Boston
Earthwatch Institute is kicking off a two-month regional campaign to support global climate change research at Boston's Museum of Science this Thursday evening. The Climate Change Campaign--a "first" for...
MIT upgrades Sputnik-era antenna
(PhysOrg.com) -- A mammoth MIT antenna installed in 1957 as the first radar system to conduct space surveillance (it observed the Sputnik satellite) is poised for many more years of...
Invasion Of Comb Jellyfish
In the waters surrounding Woods Hole, Massachusetts, the warty comb jelly, Mnemiopsis ledyi, lives out its days, bumping against eel grass and collecting small crustaceans with its sticky tentacles. The...
Robot Vehicle Surveys Deep Sea Off Pacific Northwest
The first scientific mission with Sentry, a newly developed robot capable of diving as deep as 5,000 meters (3.1 miles) into the ocean, has been successfully completed.
Global warming: Fewer but stronger storms
MIAMI, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists, using a new method to evaluate hurricane formation, say they've discovered global warming might produce fewer, but stronger, hurricanes.
New York City Ponders Possibly Catastrophic Climate Changes
Panel examines risks to NYC subways, bridges from effects of climate change.
City of Ottawa monitoring effect of chemicals in sewage discharge
The City of Ottawa is monitoring how animals and plants in the Ottawa River are affected by chemicals that remain in sewage after it is treated and discharged into the...
Can NY infrastructure handle floods, intense heat?
(AP) -- Flooded subways. Bridges deteriorating in the hot sun. Rising seas nipping at the edges of Manhattan. Those scenarios are up for review by a panel of scientists,...
"Perfect Storm" Killing Earth's Frogs
Amphibians are some of the toughest survivors on Earth. But now scientists say numbers of some species are declining at a rate that sends a deafening warning about human impact...
It's The Water: Beijing Olympic Swimmer Provided State-of-Art ProMinent Ozone Technology
(PhysOrg.com) -- As Olympic records are being broken left and right by Michael Phelps and others questions have been raised do we have a performance enhancing water issue. Some...
GREENSPACE: Olympic Games offer air pollution experiment
By Geoffrey Mohan A brief pollution hiatus in Beijing has opened a window of opportunity to study the effects of curtailing emissions on global warming.
X-rays use diamonds as a window to the center of the Earth
Diamonds from Brazil have provided the answers to a question that Earth scientists have been trying to understand for many years: how is oceanic crust that has been subducted deep...
NASA awards aviation challenge prizes
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said it has awarded $97,000 in prizes in the 2008 U.S. General Aviation Technology Challenge.
Camera captures at record rate
Researchers unveil system with “unprecedented” image quality, frame rate and frame count
ENVIRONMENT PHOTOS WEEKLY: Flood, Fires, More
A tropical storm floods a Vietnamese village; a blaze scorches a Spanish forest, and more in our new weekly roundup of nature news photos.