Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Phoenix Scrapes Up Water Ice Samples
Phoenix uses rasp to scrape ice samples, will deliver to onboard instruments.
China aftershocks set for weeks, months even years
SYDNEY (Reuters) - China's devastated Sichuan region can expect to be rocked by aftershocks for weeks and months, possibly years, but the power of the aftershocks, one destroyed some 420,000...
Cellphone spectrum auction tops $700 million on day two
The government's auction of cellphone airwaves edged closer to raking in a billion dollars Wednesday on only its second day, with potential newcomer Quebecor so far the biggest spender.
Great Lake's future forests are assessed
PELLSTON, Mich., May 27 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists are killing about 7,000 aspen and birch trees in a large-scale, long-term experiment to glimpse the Great Lakes region's future...
Observatory: Glaciers in Antarctica May Be Releasing DDT Through Meltwater
New research indicates it’s likely that Antarctic glaciers are delivering the pesticide into the food chain through meltwater.
Remote controlled planes to explore hurricanes
MIAMI (Reuters) - U.S. researchers are ramping up their use of unmanned, remote-controlled airplanes this year to penetrate the heart of Atlantic hurricanes in the hope of learning more about...
WWF urges Brazil biofuel projects
Protected areas are needed to prevent damage from the expansion of Brazilian sugar cane, the WWF says.
Ocean Acidification And Its Impact On Ecosystems
Emissions of carbon dioxide through human activities have a well known impact on the Earth's climate. What is not so well known is that the absorption of this carbon dioxide...
New algorithm increases accuracy of air-pollution predictions
When air-quality monitors and environmental regulators inspect the pollution levels of certain cities, the difference of one or two parts per million in the concentration of pollutants like ozone and...
Monster Quakes Set Off Global Tremors
Swarms of distant tremors occur when vibrations from a big quake pass over faults—a common phenomenon that may have occurred during the recent China quake, experts say.
Parts of UK could be too hot for wine-making by 2080
Increasing summer temperatures could mean some parts of southern England are too hot to grow vines for making wine by 2080. read more
Opinion: A mind is a terrible thing to waste
With a population of only 21 million, can we afford to waste a single, talented person, questions Peter Doherty?
How Green Is the College? Time the Showers
As part of a growing campus sustainability movement, students are reducing carbon emissions in their own lives.
G8 ministers endorse greenhouse gas cuts by 2050
(AP) -- Environment chiefs from the world's top industrial countries pledged "strong political will" Monday toward cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050, declaring that developed nations should...
Merlot from Yorkshire, Hampshire too hot to make wine: expert's prediction for 2080
Viticulture may shift up north, with southern UK better suited to raisins, if temperature continues to rise
Can big earthquakes trigger a domino effect?
The giant earthquake that unleashed the Indian Ocean tsunamis in 2004 — killing more than 225,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in history — might also have...
Warm winds comfort climate change models: study
Climate change models predicting a dangerous warming of the world's atmosphere got a confirming boost Sunday from a study showing parallel trends at altitudes nearly twice as high as Mount...
To predict quakes, listen to the animals, China survivors say
Well before this city was destroyed by an earthquake 32 years ago, the coming disaster was loudly preceded by strange animal behaviour and other bizarre signals that survivors wish they...
Big Earthquakes Spark Jolts Worldwide
Until 1992, when California's magnitude-7.3 Landers earthquake set off small jolts as far away as Yellowstone National Park, scientists did not believe large earthquakes sparked smaller tremors at distant locations....
Pollution eyed in dip in U.S. male births
CHICAGO, May 25 (UPI) -- Experts say they suspect industrial pollutants are one possible cause of a statistical downturn in the number of boys being born in the...
Scientists See Supernova in Action
A paper being published in Nature recounts the rare observation of a star’s eruption into cataclysmic explosion known as a supernova.
Everglades Park Counts the Good and the Bad After a Blaze
The largest fire to burn in the Everglades in 19 years threatened residential areas and destroyed growth, but also benefited the ecosystem.
Don't want to release your CO2? Bury it
With planet Earth engaged in a heated race against global warming, "carbon capture and storage" has brought a ray of hope, and a Norwegian gas platform is leading the way.
Wet springs threaten Scottish bees
EDINBURGH, Scotland, May 24 (UPI) -- Wet spring weather in Scotland has reduced the sex drive of queen bees and threatens the future of the country's hives.
The man who will free-fall to Earth
From over 130,000ft, the ultimate parachute jumper, Michel Fournier, will break the sound barrier while on his way down
Southern Utah tortoise continues decline
(AP) -- It's been a tough few years for the shelled sentinels scratching out a living in Utah's southwestern desert. The population of desert tortoises in the scrubby 62,000...
Fishing destroys reefs in disputed Spratlys: biologists
Coral reefs in the disputed Spratlys island chain in the South China Sea are either dead or dying due to destructive fishing, a study by Philippine biologists has said.
Rwanda to use lake methane to power plant
KIGALI, Rwanda, May 23 (UPI) -- Removing deadly methane from Lake Kivu in Rwanda can solve twin problems -- draining the deadly lake and providing energy -- a...