Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Indonesian mud eruption will soon die out, scientists predict
Spewing muck since 2006, volcano will calm to a sputter by 2017.
- Oceans
Life found deep below Antarctic ice
Lake buried under 800 meters of ice hosts cells, researchers find.
- Earth
Warmer is not always wetter
Compared to global warming caused by solar radiation, global warming caused by greenhouse gases results in less rainfall, simulations suggest.
- Life
Caribbean’s coral reefs approach tipping point
A survey of 19 colonies suggests many may soon begin to shrink.
- Humans
U.S. team breaks through subglacial lake
Testing should continue for a day or more, probing for life in the Antarctic depths.
- Earth
Human-made waste heat warms climate
Energy dissipated as heat in cities can cause regional temperature changes, simulations suggest.
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- Earth
Watering fields in California boosts rainfall in Southwest
Irrigation has downstream effects on climate and runoff to Colorado River.
- Earth
Chemical tied to intergenerational obesity
Mice ingesting the compound tributyltin pass effects to grandchildren.
- Humans
Cold spells were dark times in Eastern Europe
Cooler periods coincided with conflicts and disease outbreaks, a tree-ring study spanning the last millennium finds.
- Earth
Glaciers carve path for future buildup
Previously sculpted landscapes accumulate ice more quickly than steep valleys.
- Earth
Quakes may bring nearby rocks closer to rupture
Lab studies could explain how a seemingly stable geologic fault can fail.
