Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Less pollution means more drought for Amazon rainforest
Research indicates that falls in Northern Hemisphere aerosol pollution will bring more frequent drought to the Amazonian rainforest.
76-teraflop Supercomputer Installed For Critical Research On Climate Change, Severe Weather
The National Center for Atmospheric Research has taken delivery of a new IBM supercomputer that will advance research into severe weather and the future of Earth's climate. The supercomputer, known...
Nitrates In Vegetables Protect Against Gastric Ulcers, Study Shows
Fruits and vegetables that are rich in nitrates protect the stomach from damage. This takes place through conversion of nitrates into nitrites by the bacteria in the oral cavity and...
Koalas Under Threat From Climate Change
New research shows increased temperatures and carbon dioxide levels are a threat to the Australian national icon, the koala. Biologists have been researching the effects of carbon dioxide increases and...
Burp-free grass may help cows tackle global warming
Grass that may help tackle global warming by cutting the level of methane given off by cows is being developed by scientists reports the latest issue of the Society of...
Everything's coming up corals
Two University of Miami (UM) students have received prestigious Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for their doctoral work on coral reefs. Rachel Silverstein and Nitzan Soffer...
Argentina town turns white as Chile volcano erupts
Ash drifts across the Andes to coat Esquel, and residents complain of irritated eyes and throats. The situation could last for months. ...
Spain demands return of $500 million treasure
Spain is demanding a U.S. deep-sea exploration firm turn over the entire $500 million treasure it salvaged from a shipwreck, saying Thursday it has determined the vessel is definitely Spanish.
Keeping yields, profits and water quality high
One of the key questions facing agriculturalists in the 21st century is how to produce adequate amounts of food and farm income while protecting environmental quality. Diversified, low-external-input (LEI) farming...
University Research Contributes To Global Warming, Professor Discovers
Add university research to the long list of human activities contributing to global warming. A biochemistry professor who is a committed environmentalist found that his own research produces 44 tons...
Climate Models Overheat Antarctica, New Study Finds
Computer analyses of global climate have consistently overstated warming in Antarctica, new research concludes. The study can help scientists improve computer models and determine if Earth's southernmost continent will warm...
Sherbrooke says no to plant biofuels on ethical grounds
The city of Sherbrooke has decided against running its municipal fleet on plant-based biofuels, saying it's unethical to divert agricultural products from the food chain.
Heat energy abundant in Australia
Australia has a belt of heat-producing rocks just below its surface, which could potentially provide unlimited amounts of geothermal power, according to an expert.
DOE dives into carbon sequestration
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced awards of more than $126.6 million to two projects aimed at burying more than one million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) far...
Food waste on 'staggering' scale
People are needlessly throwing away 3.6m tonnes of food each year in England and Wales, research suggests.
100,000 May Have Died in Myanmar Cyclone, U.S. Says
Bodies floated in floodwaters, and survivors tried to reach dry ground using blankets as sails, while a U.S. diplomat said up to a hundred thousand may have died.
PHOTOS: Chile Volcano Threatens Animals, Farms
Thousands of horses, cows, and other livestock face a toxic brew of deep ash and gases. And the region's all-important farms may be devastated for decades.
Sexy orchids do more than embarrass wasps: study
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Orchids that mimic female wasps may not only waste the time of the male wasps they lure into spreading their pollen -- they also seduce them into...
Central America calls for climate change fund
Representatives from Central American countries have discussed last week the need for a joint fund to support climate change research
Quake Shakes Tokyo [News]
Japan was rocked by a series of earthquakes today about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Tokyo that injured two, cut off power to some 2,100 homes, and left the country...
EU still far from agreeing biofuel standards: diplomats
The European Union remains far from agreeing on how to tighten its rules for using biofuels, diplomats said Wednesday amid growing opposition towards such forms of energy.
Three-Story Structure Slammed in Magnitude 8 Earthquake on Shake Table
Engineering researchers are subjecting a three-story structure resembling a parking garage to a sequence of earthquake "shake test" jolts as powerful as magnitude 8.0 as part of a series of...
Global Climate Models Both Agree and Disagree With Antarctic Data
Scientists who compared recorded Antarctic temperatures and snowfall accumulation to predictions by major computer models of global climate change offer both good and bad news.
Biodiversity: It's In The Water
What if hydrology is more important for predicting biodiversity than biology? Research published in the May 8 issue of the journal Nature challenges current thinking about biodiversity, and opens up...
Earth science: Harnessing the hum
A new way to analyse seismic vibrations is bringing order out of noise to help predict volcanic eruptions or create detailed images of Earth's interior. Rachel Courtland reports.
Iron 'Snow' Helps Maintain Mercury's Magnetic Field, Scientists Say
New scientific evidence suggests that deep inside the planet Mercury, iron "snow" forms and falls toward the center of the planet, much like snowflakes form in Earth's atmosphere and fall...
A City Committed to Recycling Is Ready for More
The mayor of San Francisco wants to make the recycling of cans, bottles, paper, yard waste and food scraps mandatory instead of voluntary, on the pain of having garbage pickups...
New Radar Could Reveal Secrets of Earth's Ice Sheets
Space-based radar could gauge Earth's ice sheets, extraterrestrial oceans.