Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Chilean Earthquake Triggers Smaller Than Expected Tsunami
(PhysOrg.com) -- While a huge earthquake off the coast of Chile triggered a tsunami that moved at the speed of a jet aircraft across the Pacific Ocean Feb. 27, the...
Whaling 'worsens carbon release'
A century of whaling may have released more than 100 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, scientists say.
The First T2K Neutrino Event Observed At Super-Kamiokande
(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists from the Japanese-led multinational T2K collaboration announced today that they had made the first detection of a neutrino which had travelled all the way under Japan from...
Tides, Earth's rotation among sources of giant underwater waves
Scientists at the University of Rhode Island are gaining new insight into the mechanisms that generate huge, steep underwater waves that occur between layers of warm and cold water in...
Researchers issue outlook for a significant New England 'red tide' in 2010
Today, scientists from the NOAA-funded Gulf of Maine Toxicity (GOMTOX) project issued an outlook for a significant regional bloom of a toxic alga that can cause 'red tides' in the...
More frequent fires could aid ecosystems
With a changing climate there's a good chance that forest fires in the Pacific Northwest will become larger and more frequent - and according to one expert speaking today at...
More tropical cyclones in past could play role in warmer future
More frequent tropical cyclones in Earth's ancient past contributed to persistent El Nino-like conditions, according to a team of climate scientists led by Yale University. Their findings, which appear in...
UI study measures levels of PCBs flowing from Indiana canal to air and water
A University of Iowa study supports an earlier UI report that found polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediments lining the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal (IHSC) in East Chicago, Ind. The...
Hares more numerous in Irish Coursing Club Preserves than wider countryside
Irish hares are eighteen times more abundant in areas managed by the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) than at similar sites in the wider countryside a recent study by Queen's University...
Catlin Arctic team brave thin ice and polar bears to monitor acid oceans
Scientists to set up ice base in northern Canada to examine impact of ocean acidification on the region's animals and plantsScientists and explorers will brave polar bears, thin ice and frostbite within the...
Feature: Changing Hong Kong's rail system
Hong Kong's congested railway system is about to undergo a transformation, with the help of Australian experts.
World warming unhindered by cold spells: scientists
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The pace of global warming continues unabated, scientists said on Thursday, despite images of Europe crippled by a deep freeze and parts of the United States blasted...
Action call on flood protection
The chairman of the Environment Agency urges industry to work on developing products to protect homes against flood damage.
Time to change the menu
With global population expected to increase by about 2.5 billion by 2050 even while climate change hits farmlands with shifting rainfall and temperatures, it may be time to rethink what...
Disaster Awaits Cities in Developing World’s Quake Zones
In many cities, populations have swelled faster than the capacity to house them safely, so that a quake could surpass Haiti’s devastation.
Mint Oil Production Moves South
A 2-year field study in Mississippi evaluated the effect of nitrogen, growth stage (bud formation and flowering), and harvest time (first in mid-July, second beginning of October) on peppermint yields,...
U.N. has extra round of climate talks
BONN, Germany, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The United Nations will hold an extra round of climate change talks this April in Germany to speed up the stalled climate negotiations.
Earth science: The climate machine
A new generation of sophisticated Earth models is gearing up for its first major test. But added complexity may lead to greater uncertainty about the future climate, finds Olive Heffernan.
Water may not run uphill, but it practically flies off new surface
(PhysOrg.com) -- Engineering researchers have crafted a flat surface that refuses to get wet. Water droplets skitter across it like ball bearings tossed on ice. The inspiration? Not wax. Not...
Oil spill threatens Italy's Po River
An oil spill that fouled a small river in northern Italy reached the Po River on Wednesday, with officials warning of an ecological disaster as they scrambled to contain the...
NASA Satellites Track Vanishing Groundwater
Groundwater--the water stored underground in rocks and soil--accounts for more than 30 percent of Earth's freshwater, but it's hard to measure what you can't see. As groundwater's dwindling supply approaches...
Academic attempts to take the hot air out of climate science debate | Leo Hickman
Judith Curry aims to turn inflammatory debate of 'climategate' into reasoned online discussions to rebuild trust with the publicProfessor Judith Curry, who currently chairs the Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Earth and...
Chevron adds solar power to area mine
SANTA FE, N.M., Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The installation of a solar power facility is part of a five-year goal of emerging as a regional leader in green energy,...
US would lose cyberwar: former intel chief
The United States would lose a cyberwar if it fought one today, a former US intelligence chief has warned.
Arctic survey bid hits snag over Franklin ships
An Alberta archeological firm's proposal to test survey equipment in an Arctic waterway has hit a roadblock over concerns about the long-lost ships of Sir John Franklin.
Ancient rocks suggest crust
Geologists have found traces of the oldest rocks yet - possibly the remnants of a crust that formed over a global magma ocean.
'Rubbish patch' blights Atlantic
Plastic debris tends to accumulate in a well defined region of the western North Atlantic, scientists say.
GM and precision farming encouraged by Environment Agency
Lord Smith tells National Farmers' Union that climate change 'could provide opportunities for novel crops and systems'The government's drive to push controversial genetically modified crops up the national agenda will receive a further...