Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Small family farms in tropics can feed the hungry and preserve biodiversity
Conventional wisdom among many ecologists is that industrial-scale agriculture is the best way to produce lots of food while preserving biodiversity in the world's remaining tropical forests. But some researchers...
Tropical Cyclones Turn Up the Heat
Computer simulations show a link between the storms, ocean warming, and El Niño [Read more]
All southern Antarctic ice shelves melting
RESTON, Va., Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Geological Survey says every ice shelf in the southern section of the Antarctic Peninsula is retreating because of climate change.
U.S. scientists study Haitian earthquake
SEATTLE, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A five-person U.S. team evaluating the magnitude-7 earthquake that struck Haiti Jan. 12 says much of the massive loss of life might have been...
Seamount scientists offer new comprehensive view of deep-sea mountains
Lying beneath the ocean is spectacular terrain ranging from endless chains of mountains and isolated peaks to fiery volcanoes and black smokers exploding with magma and other minerals from below...
Putting data centers on a low-energy diet
A holistic approach to data centers could result in millions of dollars of savings and a far smaller carbon footprint for the ever-expanding universe of information technology.
China to release pollution-fighting fish in lake
Authorities in eastern China have said they will release 20 million algae-eating fish into one of the nation's most scenic lakes that has been ravaged by pollution.
E.P.A. Plans to Phase in Regulation of Emissions
The agency’s administrator, Lisa P. Jackson, wrote that only the biggest sources of greenhouse gases would be subjected to limits before 2013.
Leaving the Trash Behind
Of 7.5 million pounds of trash air travelers generate daily, 75 percent is recyclable, but only 20 percent reaches a recycling center.
Under world's greatest cities, deadly plates
Tokyo, Cairo and Los Angeles are among a large list of urban centers sitting atop shifting tectonic plates. Los Angeles - Tokyo - United States -...
Olympic cross-country skiing: Going for the glide
Friction -- or the lack of it -- in cross-country skiing events at Winter Olympic games in Vancouver is a decisive factor in who wins the gold. Researchers explain the...
Dust in Earth system can affect oceans, carbon cycle, temperatures, and health
Dust is a powerful thing. Not the stuff that we wipe off the coffee table on a regular basis, but the tiny particles floating around in the Earth's atmosphere, which...
Biogas climate benefit greater than previously thought?
Biogas from refuse produces 95 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline, according to a new research report. With a few simple improvements to the biogas plants, the figure...
Dry winters linked to seasonal outbreaks of influenza
The seasonal increase of influenza has long baffled scientists, but a new study has found that seasonal changes of absolute humidity are the apparent underlying cause of these wintertime peaks....
Marine Scientist Finds 'Little Ice Age' Had Dramatic Effect on Gulf
(PhysOrg.com) -- More than 350 years ago, the temperatures in northern Europe dropped dramatically in an event known as the `Little Ice Age.` Now - deep below the waters of...
Aspen's 'dandelion' habits challenge mountain evergreens
(PhysOrg.com) -- The face of high-elevation evergreen forests in Western Canada could be drastically altered as a combination of climate change, human and natural disturbances is making spruce and pine...
Farming high in a Himalayan desert
With artificial glaciers and more, a Himalayan region is regaining food self-sufficiency, writes Surabhi Pudasaini.
The world's next resource conflict
By STEFAN NICOLAUPI Europe CorrespondentBERLIN, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- The next resource conflict could be about minerals and rare earth elements needed to fuel the green economy, as China,...
Scatterometry -- measuring ever-smaller chip production
(PhysOrg.com) -- As computer chips rapidly continue to evolve, new technologies must be developed to closely monitor the fabrication process and guard against faults at a sub-microscopic level.
Archaeologists amend the written history of China's first emperor
The exploits of China's first emperor, Qui Shihauangdi, are richly documented in 2,000-year-old records of his conquests across eastern China. His reign was indeed noteworthy - he is responsible for...
The Most High-tech Olympics Yet
Bored to tears by Curling? Happily, the Olympics are a Bastion of Tech, not just Sport
Ocean geoengineering scheme no easy fix for global warming
Pumping nutrient-rich water up from the deep ocean to boost algal growth in sunlit surface waters and draw carbon dioxide down from the atmosphere has been touted as a way...
Upside-down answer for deep Earth mystery
When Earth was young, it exhaled the atmosphere. During a period of intense volcanic activity, lava carried light elements from the planet's molten interior and released them into the sky....
A second hydrocarbon boom threatens the Peruvian Amazon
A rapid and unprecedented proliferation of oil and gas concessions threatens the megadiverse Peruvian Amazon. The amount of area leased is on track to reach around 70% of the region,...
Virtualising succession and sustainability
How do we as a society imagine our future? With social and natural environments changing, often quickly, it's difficult to imagine how our society might look a generation or more...
Urban 'green' spaces may contribute to global warming, UCI study finds
Dispelling the notion that urban 'green' spaces help counteract greenhouse gas emissions, new research has found - in Southern California at least - that total emissions might be lower if...
Midwest U.S. may face increased flooding
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Feb. 22 (UPI) -- A Purdue University study suggests some Midwestern states might experience increased winter and spring flooding if average temperature rises continue.
Permafrost recedes 80 miles in 50 years
QUEBEC CITY, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Canadian scientists say the southern limit of permafrost in the James Bay area is now 80 miles farther north than it was 50...