Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Columbia River climate change studied
SEATTLE, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. engineers say they've taken a first look at how climate change might be managed at Columbia River Basin dams -- the nation's largest...
Global warming: 'Cooling' forests can heat too
Forests can trap heat as well as carbon. Recent research shows that in one type of semi-arid forest, it may take years for the effects of carbon capture to override...
Congo receives help from space after volcano eruption
Nyamulagira in the Democratic Republic of Congo erupted, spewing lava from its southern flank and raising concerns that the 100 000 people in the town of Sake could be under...
Worldwide nitrogen deficit constrains carbon dioxide uptake by plants
Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plants; limits on available nitrogen constrain how much plants can grow. This in turn affects the amount of carbon dioxide plants can absorb, which...
Arizona Snared Last Jaguar, Inquiry Finds
State game and fish employees acted inappropriately in intentionally snared the last known jaguar in the Southwest last year, a federal report says.
Obama Administration Shares New Data
Federal Departments and Agencies Released Today Collections of "High-Value" Data
Terra satellite captures cyclone Magda's Australian landfall
When Cyclone Magda made landfall from Collier Bay at around 5 a.m. local time on January 22 in northern Australia, NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of the storm. Magda...
Copenhagen 'fails forest people'
A multi-billion dollar deal to reduce deforestation could trigger conflicts in forest-rich nations, a report warns.
Tullow makes oil and gas find in Uganda
LONDON, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- London-listed Tullow Oil announced Friday it encountered its largest net pay of oil and gas in the Butiaba region in the Lake Albert basin...
Porton Down scientists launch juniper project
MoD site associated with chemical and biological warfare research begins mission to save bushes from extinction threatIt is associated with top secret programmes designed to keep Britain at the forefront of chemical and...
Water hits and sticks: Findings challenge a century of assumptions about soil hydrology
Researchers have discovered that some of the most fundamental assumptions about how water moves through soil in a seasonally dry climate such as the Pacific Northwest are incorrect - and...
San Andreas Fault study unearths new quake information
Recent collaborative studies of stream channel offsets along the San Andreas Fault by researchers at Arizona State University and UC Irvine reveal new information about fault behaviour - affecting how...
Dare-devil skydiver seeks record
Dare-devil Felix Baumgartner will try to break the sound barrier during an attempt to make the highest parachute jump.
Global warming increases flood risk in mountain areas
The world's mountainous regions are home to about 800 million people and the source of some of the world's major rivers. In these regions, runoff is strongly affected by temperature....
Coal baron debates Kennedy over mountaintop mining
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Don Blankenship and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the coal baron and the conservationist, are certain they could win over the world if...
Senators Want to Bar E.P.A. Greenhouse Gas Limits
A Republican senator introduced a resolution to prevent the agency from taking any action to regulate carbon dioxide and other climate-altering gases.
AGU journal highlights -- January 21, 2010
The following highlights summarize research papers that have recently been published in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL). In this release:
Warming Expected to Cut Atlantic Hurricane Tally but Boost Threat
A new climate analysis foresees a drop in Atlantic Ocean hurricanes but rising damage because of more potent storms.
Discovery of algae's toxic hunting habits could help curb fish kills
A microbe commonly found in the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways emits a poison not just to protect itself but to stun and immobilize the prey it plans to eat,...
El Nino Picking Up Steam
The latest image from the U.S./European Jason-2 satellite finds a strong wave of warm water heading toward the Americas, fueling El Niño.
Tilt Parameters End First Extrication Drive
The preliminary results from the first extrication drive for Spirit on Sol 2088 (Nov. 17, 2009) indicate the rover stopped less than 1 second after it began, sensing more vehicle...
New Report Provides Update on Recent Climate Changes
JPL researcher Eric Rignot contributed to 'The Copenhagen Diagnosis,' a new report that synthesizes pertinent climate research over the past four years.
Climate Change Rains Down on JPL Undergrads
Two JPL college interns delving into California's rainfall records have uncovered some interesting findings that may be linked to climate change.
Much of the early methane rise can be attributed to the spreading of northern peatlands
The surprising increase in methane concentrations millennia ago, identified in continental glacier studies, has puzzled researchers for a long time. According to a strong theory, this would have resulted from...
Russia makes way for dumping waste, sewage into Lake Baikal
Russia has opted to reopen a notoriously polluting paper mill on Lake Baikal, reversing long-time protections to the UNESCO World Heritage Site...
Q&A: Andreas Schild and the glacial retreat debate
Andreas Schild of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development talks to SciDev.Net about whether glaciers are retreating.
Drill, baby, drill, says Alaska's Parnell
JUNEAU, Alaska, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Exploring the oil and gas resources in the Alaskan outer continental shelf is a state priority, the Alaskan governor said in his state...
$1.3 million penalty for Calif. oil spill
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced California's Pacific Pipeline Systems agreed to a $1.3 million penalty for a 2005 oil spill in Los...