Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Dust makes light work of vehicle emissions
Researchers have identified a silver lining in the cloud of red dust that enveloped much of eastern Australia two years ago.
Scientist at Work Blog: Leaving Sewa Bay by Sailboat
Scientists studying birds in Papua New Guinea travel from island to island by sailboat for safety, sustainability and adventure.
Grazing zebras help fatten cattle
Contrary to conventional wisdom and practices, letting wildlife graze together with cattle may be beneficial to livestock, finds a study.
Nitrate pollution in Pacific Ocean studied
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Rising nitrate levels in the northwest Pacific Ocean could alter the makeup of marine plants and influence marine ecology, U.S. and Korean...
Model provides successful seasonal forecast for the fate of Arctic sea ice
Relatively accurate predictions for the extent of Arctic sea ice in a given summer can be made by assessing conditions the previous autumn, but forecasting conditions more than five years...
VIDEO: Apple growers benefit from cold weather
Apple growers are reaping the benefits of this year's cold winter and damp summer and are expecting their best crop for a decade.
El Niño and the tropical Eastern Pacific annual cycle run to the same beat
The interaction between El Niño events and the seasonal cycle of sea surface temperature in the eastern equatorial Pacific can be described through a nonlinear phase synchronization mechanism, according to...
Developing fast, but sustainably
Harvard experts on sustainability science convened at the Faculty Club Monday with others from around the world to consider ways to help the world’s rapidly industrializing nations grow in environmentally friendly ways. The...
Escalation threatens strike resolution, say researchers
New research has added more gloom to the threat of strikes by showing how the emotional strain of protracted negotiations can lock rivals on a path to mutual destruction.
Study: Fukushima radiation reached Calif.
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Radioactive fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant damaged in Japan's March earthquake and tsunami reached the San Francisco area, researchers said.
Two million sick from Pakistan floods
Two million Pakistanis have fallen ill from diseases since monsoon rains left the southern region under several feet of water, the country's disaster authority said Thursday.
Saving the Forest, One Box at a Time
A cardboard box might be thrown away after only one use, or it might be recycled. Marty Metro saw all the waste and stepped in to create UsedCardboardBoxes.com. Now he's...
Fruits and vegetables submerged by flood water are not safe to eat
Now that communities across the state have dried out and are repairing damages from Tropical Storm Lee, a gardening expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences reminds backyard gardeners...
Olympic Arctic art project Nowhereisland deserves to sink | Leo Hickman
Spending £500,000 _ and considerable energy – on Nowhereisland to drag six tonnes of Arctic rock to the UK for the Olympics is wrongIt's not that often that you will find me...
Kenya moves elephants to ease trouble with humans
Kenyan rangers Thursday began relocating 50 rampaging elephants back to the renowned Maasai Mara game reserve to stem rising human deaths and property destruction in outlying villages.
Oxfam warns against 'land rush'
An ever-increasing number of land deals are displacing farmers and leaving communities without livelihoods, campaigning charity Oxfam warns.
VIDEO: West Africa meets for climate talks
Officials from across West Africa have been meeting in Nigeria to discuss the impact of the continent's changing climate.
Removal of 4 Klamath dams would lift salmon count, studies find
The studies will be used by the Interior Department to decide whether to decommission the dams and open upper reaches of the river to chinook that have been blocked from...
Springs of life in the Dead Sea: Dense and diverse microbial communities in and around fresh water springs
The deepest point on the surface of Earth is the Dead Sea in Israel. Now a joint Israeli-German team of scientists found several systems of freshwater springs on the Dead...
ONR pursuing affordable common radar for surface ships
To upgrade the Navy's fleet of aging combat ship radar systems, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is developing technologies that will combat the obsolescence of surveillance systems at a...
Ice heating up cold clouds
In the Arctic, competition within clouds is hot. The small amount of heat released when water vapor condenses on ice crystals in Arctic clouds, which contain both water and ice,...
How green are green roofs?
Covered with a growing medium and plants, green roofs can benefit a building's insulation, control storm-water drainage and remove pollution from the air, as well as provide wildlife habitats.
What investors have learned from the major earthquake
The Great East Japan Earthquake has dramatically altered the way the Japanese economy is seen. For example, the way that housing and real estate values are seen in Japan has changed since...
A sea change, deep under Antarctic waters
The frigid seabottom off Antarctica holds a surprising riot of life: colorful carpets of sponges, starfish, sea cucumbers and many other soft, bottom-dwelling animals,shown on images from robotic submarines. Now, it appears that many...
Climate scientist studies ancient shorelines
The seas are rising, as they have during past periods of warming in earths history. Estimates of how high they will go in the next few thousand years range from...
Environment Canada defends ozone monitoring cuts
Environment Canada is admitting that a large chunk of its ozone-monitoring program is being cut, but insists that its capacity to measure the earth's protective layer of gas won't be...
Two satellites see Tropical Storm Ophelia born in the Atlantic
Tropical Storm Ophelia was born today in the Atlantic Ocean and captured in an infrared image from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite and NASA's Aqua satellite.
Can the United States postal service survive?
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from swift completion of their appointed rounds, declares the (unofficial) mail carriers creed.