Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Troubled Japanese Venus Probe Set for 2015 Comeback
The Akatsuki spacecraft may be able to bounce back from a 2010 orbit-insertion failure.
Microbes ride dust plumes across ocean
Thousands of species of microbes make the giant leap across the Pacific Ocean from Asia to North America by hitching rides on dust plumes high up in the atmosphere, a...
Consequences of abandoning alpine meadows: Scrubs now encroaching on land that had been cultivated for centuries
Agriculture is increasingly vanishing from the Alps. Land that was cultivated for centuries is now being abandoned and scrubs are encroaching on it. This affects not only the landscape, but...
Reconstructing the site of Richard III’s last 'resting place' before Bosworth
A team of researchers in the UK has reconstructed models of the Blue Boar Inn -- reputed to have housed King Richard III before the battle of Bosworth -- following...
Bad news for bats: Deadly fungus persists in caves
Researchers have found that the organism that causes deadly white-nose syndrome persists in caves long after it has killed the bats in those caves.
Snowstorm, Blowing Dust for Four Corners
The third storm in a week is expected to dump significant snowfall in the area.
Dorset landslide: woman's death could not have been foreseen, coroner rules
Inquest hears about last moments of Charlotte Blackman, who was strolling on a Dorset beach when the cliff collapsed on herA family walk along a beach on one of the warmest days...
Measuring thermal comfort in low-energy buildings
Indoor environments that are too hot, too cold or draughty create discomfort and lower human productivity. MSc (Tech) Riikka Holopainen [...]
Fish Tornado Is A Courtship Column | Video
Researcher Octavio Aburto captured this swirling column of courting jacks off the coast of Mexico.
Texas Instruments to cut 517 jobs in France
Chipmaker Texas Instruments says will lay off more than 500 people at a research and development plant near Nice, France, in the coming months.
Himalayas, Pacific Northwest could face major quakes
Stanford geophysicists are well represented at the meeting of the American Geophysical Union this week in San Francisco. Included among [...]
Harvard Forest's response to CO2 reveals past and future for the New England landscape
You might never know it, but the seemingly quiet Harvard Forest in Massachusetts is actually hard at work. Like other forests, it's busy doing some serious global housekeeping, which is...
Mussel power: Ocean shells can help predict rise in sea levels
Ocean mussels could be key to helping scientists predict more accurately the rise in sea levels caused by the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Tropical trees are largest emitter of methane in their ecosystem
Researchers have found that trees in Bornean rainforests emit more methane than any other element of the ecosystem, which provides a new understanding about sources of this powerful greenhouse gas...
Nanoscale impulse radar measures depth of snow and ice
Snow is the be-all and end-all for alpine ski resorts. Now a tiny sensor has been developed to determine how much cold gold there is on the slopes and how...
Soil-water profile key to wheat root system, drought survivability
Without soil moisture, roots don't develop and grow. Without a strong root system, a crop cannot survive in a drought year, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Research crop stress...
Green Blog: On Our Radar: Navigating a Parched Mississippi
Barge operators plan to blast treacherous rock formations so that traffic can proceed along the drought-plagued river.
Green Blog: An Odometer Moment on a Warming Planet
It's 333 and counting: that's how many consecutive months global temperatures have topped the 20th-century average.
Scientist at Work Blog: For the Social Wrasse, News, Good and Bad
Luiz Rocha went to Belize to assess the potential threats to a small, but important, member of the reef ecosystem. And by Day 2, he had found two major ones.
Q & A: Why Are Roots so Shallow on Trees Felled by Storms?
A vast majority of temperate forest trees don’t have taproots or even very deep roots, experts say. The roots usually expand horizontally, forming a flat mass.
In Island’s Shifted Sands, Signs of a Hurricane’s Power
Scientists aim to take advantage of Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath to learn more about how Fire Island, and all barrier islands, respond to and recover from major natural events.
Green Blog: What's Your Meme? Changing the Climate Change Conversation
What's the counterpoint to "Drill, baby, drill"? In the emerging field of meme science, researchers try to figure out what language and ideas resonate when it comes to the warming...
Map shows threats, stress on Great Lakes
ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A map of environmental threats to the Great Lakes shows humans' impact on an ecosystem containing 20 percent of the world's fresh...
First satellite detection of volcanogenic carbon monoxide
Measuring and tracking the gases that vent from an erupting volcano is a project wrought with potential dangers and difficulties. On the ground measurements place researchers in harm's way, as...
A need to look again: TRMM satellite observations of Tropical Cyclone Evan
The radar on NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite had observed Tropical Cyclone Evan four times as of Sunday, Dec. 16, and two of those overflights merit a closer...
Density of invasive reed, Phragmites australis, mapped in Great Lakes
Scientists have used satellite technologies to map the location and density of Phragmites australis, an invasive species of reed, in the coastal wetlands of all five Great Lakes.
New online tool estimates carbon and energy impact of trees
A tree is more than just a landscape design feature. Planting trees on your property can lower energy costs and increase carbon storage, reducing your carbon footprint. A new online...
Dust-plumes power intercontinental microbial migrations
Along with pollutants from Asia, transpacific dust plumes deliver vast quantities of microbes to North America, according to a manuscript published online ahead of print in the journal Applied and...