Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Pictures: The Life-Giving Nile River
For more than 5,000 years, the Nile has directed the development of civilization in northern Africa, but it has also been the source of immeasurable damage and destruction.
More snow could mean less ice for Antarctic
Increased snowfall may lead to more ice being sent into the sea, potentially raising sea levels more than high temperatures would
Breaking Ground in Slime Mold Research
This past summer, Laura Walker became the first scientist to collect slime molds from soils in Panama's Barro Colorado Nature Monument. In doing so, she became one of the first...
Benefits, risks of using geoengineering to counter climate change
If they wanted to, nations around the world could release globe-cooling aerosols into the atmosphere or undertake other approaches to battle climate change, an authority on environmental law said Monday....
Evidence seen of ancient Caribbean tsunami
COLOGNE, Germany, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A tsunami 3,300 years ago caused long-term change on a Caribbean island, entirely altering its coastal ecosystem, German researchers say.
Lake Erie wind farm proposal wins $4 million in federal funding
A regional team including researchers from Case Western Reserve has won $4 million to design a wind farm in Lake Erie – along with the possibility they can compete for...
Warmer, wetter winters seen for Northeast
AMHERST, Mass., Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Climate models suggest the U.S. Northeast will see significantly warmer and wetter winters in the next 30 years with rain more likely than...
Will climate change cause water conflict?
Climate change plays a secondary role in the origin or aggravation of social conflicts linked to water. Political discourses must avoid directly linking climate change with social conflict and human...
Indian villagers help in tiger rescue
NIDUGUMBA, India, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A wildlife conservation group says people in an Indian village deserve praise for their actions in saving an injured tiger that became entangled...
Pope sends flurry of tweets after Twitter launch
After long buildup, joins Twittersphere, hitting button on tablet; Passes one million followers mark
Seven days: 7–13 December 2012
The week in science: Arctic report card tallies climate-change effects; wave-powered robot breaks distance record; and Amgen snaps up deCODE Genetics.Nature 492 158 doi: 10.1038/492158a
NOAA chief says she will leave in February
NEW YORK (AP) -- The head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Wednesday she will leave her post at the end of February....
Our model shows how physics can boost development
A successful model for making more out of physics for development is ready to roll out to others, writes Dipali Bhatt-Chauhan.
'Sense-ational' invention helps underwater vessels navigate with ease
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) scientists have invented a 'sense-ational' device, similar to a string of 'feelers' found on the bodies of the Blind Cave Fish, which enables the fish to...
Polar research: Trouble bares its claws
Crabs invading the Antarctic continental shelf could deal a crushing blow to a rare ecosystem.Nature 492 170 doi: 10.1038/492170a
Nigeria 'must close climate change communication gap'
Communication failure is partly to blame for deaths, damage and displacement from recent flooding, says the chief of the country's meteorology body
Poor Ethiopian farmers receive 'unprecedented' insurance payout
Last week, Oxfam America and the Rockefeller Foundation announced a weather index insurance payout of unprecedented scale directly to poor farmers. Thanks to a groundbreaking new program that relies on...
Study shows polar-orbiting satellite data was key to pinpointing Sandy's track and time of landfall
According to a new study by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the NOAA forecasts of Hurricane Sandy's track could have been hundreds of miles off without information...
Iron fertilisation sunk as an ocean carbon storage solution
(Phys.org)—A University of Sydney engineer has ruled ocean iron fertilisation an uneconomical solution to carbon capture and storage despite its early promise.
Green Blog: On Our Radar: Ex-Japanese Ship Joins Effort to Stop Whaling
An ocean conservation group says its newly acquired vessel was previously owned by Japan, a leading whaling nation.
BP shifting ethanol focus to Brazil
Company to invest $350 million to expand production from sugarcane in Brazil
Holiday subscription offer
Subscribe to Nature this Holiday season and get 50% discount!Nature News doi: 10.1038/nature.2012.12022
Reducing water consumption in commercial office buildings
Discoveries made during PhD studies in Architecture by Victoria University graduand Lee Bint shows that tariff structures affect water use in commercial office buildings in Wellington and Auckland.
Is the new boom in domestic natural gas production an economic bonanza or environmental disaster?
(Phys.org)—For some Americans, it is our energy dreams come true. To others, it is an environmental nightmare. Ever since a new drilling technology, called hydraulic fracturing or fracking, made it...
Video: Controversial dunes prove effective against Sandy
Some of the homes in New Jersey's Long Beach Island were protected from superstorm Sandy by a $16.8 million sand dunes project. Seth Doane reports the dunes, which were first...
The Strangest Thing You'll See Today: Air Pollution Represented By Nostril-Hair Length
Hairy nostrils will have to get waaaaaaay hairier to protect us from pollution! DreamstimeClean Air Asia creates a strange visualization of air pollution in Asian cities represented by the length of nostril hair....
Pictures: World War II-era Fighter Raised From Lake Michigan
Salvagers recover a fighter plane that crashed into Lake Michigan during takeoff 70 years ago.
Green Blog: Water Pollution and the Farm Economy
By exempting farmers from restricting fertilizer-laden runoff from their fields, the United States is making no headway on the water pollution front, a new study suggests.