Latest science news in Earth & Climate
India plans gas pipeline expansions
NEW DELHI, March 22 (UPI) -- India plans to add more than 4,500 miles of natural gas pipeline during the next few years to keep up with increasing demand,...
Cup plant is potential new biomass/carbon storage crop
American researchers are exploring a native perennial called the cup plant as a potential new biomass crop that could also store carbon in its extensive root system and add biodiversity...
Nevada wild-horse roundup death toll rises
(AP) -- Activists in Nevada are questioning the rising death toll from a government roundup of wild horses from the range north of Reno.
Got coconut milk?
Coconut milk used to be something that came in a can and was good to have on hand for making pina coladas or Thai curries. These days, coconut milk can...
Did you feel that quake? Online survey helps USGS seismologists
Answers from web surfers about what they feel during quakes is proving valuable to scientists and emergency responders. ...
Rock Scissors Paper Custard
Rock Scissors Paper Custard Ok, forget the scissors and paper - this article is about rocks and custard. The Sliding Rocks Of Racetrack Playa Racetrack Playa is a dry lake bed in Death...
Earthquake in Chile gives engineers some pointers
Professionals from Los Angeles traveled to South America to study the aftermath, hoping their observations will help them design safer buildings. When structural engineer Anuj Bansal designs systems for hospitals, university libraries and...
Chileans' quake knowledge saved thousands of lives
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chileans' knowledge of earthquakes, combined with the abnormally long time it took for the February 27 quake to reach its crescendo, saved thousands of lives, a leading...
Rapid response oceanographic expedition dispatched to Chile earthquake site
Scientists are undertaking an expedition to explore the rupture site of the 8.8-magnitude Chilean earthquake.
Experts design elastic iron for surgeries, buildings
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Researchers in Japan have designed a super-elastic iron alloy which they hope can be used in sophisticated heart and brain surgeries and even buildings in earthquake...
Cows like leaves their tongues can wrap around easily
Lots of leaves growing in easy reach of a cow's tongue means less time and less land needed to raise beef cattle.
New deep water ocean simulator available at SwRI
A new hyperbaric test chamber for items that require high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) testing is now available for use at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). The deepwater ocean simulator is capable of...
World Policymakers Have Underestimated Climate-Change Impacts, Says Expert
Charles H. Greene, Cornell professor of Earth and atmospheric science, and colleagues have published in the peer-reviewed journal Oceanography (March 2010). The scientists conclude that the United Nation's Intergovernmental...
Is Earth past the tipping point?
Biodiversity loss. Land use. Freshwater use. Nitrogen and phosphorus cycles. Stratospheric ozone. Ocean acidification. Climate change. Chemical Pollution. Aerosol loading in the atmosphere.
Amidst Earthquake in Haiti, Ecologist Puts Down Roots
Doctoral student in ecology survives earthquake in Haiti to continue her work promoting sustainable tree farming
Net produces new generation of China activists
(AP) -- Lin Xiuying believes her daughter bled to death after being gang-raped two years ago by a group of thugs that had ties to the police in their...
Estimating Ethanol Yields from CRP Croplands
The scramble to find sufficient land for biofuel production has experts eyeing marginal croplands that have been placed in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Now a study by Agricultural Research...
Pine beetle won't kill forestry, B.C. says
The pine beetle attack won't wipe out B.C.'s Interior forest industry - despite pessimistic predictions in a recent report - the province's forests minister says.
Spring about to 'explode' in Britain, conservationists say
Experts believe release of pent-up energy after such a long, hard winter could produce the most spectacular spring in yearsUp in the plane and ash trees, all London's wildlife appeared hard at...
Nitrogen cruise ends, mission to explore undersea volcanism begins
Editor's Note: Journalist and crew member Kathryn Eident is traveling on board the RV Atlantis on a monthlong voyage to sample and study nitrogen fixation in the eastern tropical Pacific...
Consortium wins big weather prize
A Franco-German consortium will enter into negotiations for a 1.5bn-euro contract to build Europe's next weather satellites.
Seventeen Indonesia volcanoes on alert
BANDUNG, Indonesia, March 19 (UPI) -- Seventeen of 18 volcanoes in Indonesia are on alert status and emitting toxic gas, a federal monitoring agency said.
Alaska debates in-state gas pipeline
JUNEAU, Alaska, March 19 (UPI) -- Alaskan lawmakers called for state funds to target the development of an in-state natural gas pipeline from energy-rich North Slope fields to the...
Prehistoric response to global warming informs human planning today
Since 2004, University at Buffalo anthropologist Ezra Zubrow has worked intensively with teams of scientists in the Arctic regions of St. James Bay, Quebec, northern Finland and Kamchatka to understand...
Study: Arctic seabed methane stores destabilising, venting
A section of the Arctic Ocean seafloor that holds vast stores of frozen methane is showing signs of instability and widespread venting of the powerful greenhouse gas, according to the...
Natural Himalayan 'freezer' to back up Arctic seed vault
India's Himalayan 'freezer' offers a backup for the country's genetic material stored in the Arctic seed vault in Svalbard, Norway.
Boundaries for a Healthy Planet (preview)
For nearly 10,000 years--since the dawn of civilization and the Holocene era--our world seemed unimaginably large. Vast frontiers of land and ocean offered infinite resources. Humans could pollute...
Researchers solve the sticky problem with carpet tiles
A new adhesive for use in carpet tiles which has been developed at the University of York could help dramatically reduce their impact on the environment.