Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Not-So-Perma Frost
The world's warming climate, as well as ecological shifts in the timing and frequency of wildfires in boreal forests, pose an increasing threat to Arctic permafrost.
- Earth
Traces of Trouble
Scientists and engineers are investigating how to stem the flow of naturally-occurring and synthetic estrogens that, when released from waste water treatment plants and livestock operations, can harm aquatic life.
- Earth
Equal Opportunity Outcome: Different pollutants show same impact
At concentrations present in the environment, each of three dissimilar toxic agents can seize control of a signaling pathway that regulates developing cells in the central nervous system.
- Earth
Subglacial lakes may influence ice flow
The flow of water into and out of massive, ice-covered lakes in Antarctica may influence the speed at which the overlying glaciers move toward the sea.
- Earth
Ozone Depletion and Recovery
Answers to questions about ozone depletion and the recovery of the ozone hole are now easy to find by researchers, as well as the general public, through a new online index developed by NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory. The site uses simple graphs and charts to track progress in reducing the threat to Earth’s ozone […]
- Earth
Stroke of Good Fortune: A wealth of data from petrified lightning
The lumps of glass created when lightning strikes sandy ground can preserve information about ancient climate.
- Earth
Electronics Recycling
What do you do with your used, broken, or obsolete electronic devices? Where can you take your electronics, and what should you look for to protect both your identity and the environment? You can find the answers at the Electronics Industry Alliance’s recycling Web site, which provides an online guide to electronics recyclers and disposal […]
- Earth
Why So Dry? Ocean temperatures alone don’t explain droughts
Evidence from ancient dunes points to three periods of prolonged drought in the U.S. Great Plains, but finding their causes may be more complex than previously supposed.
- Earth
From Bad to Worse: Earth’s warming to accelerate
Global warming is real and will continue, and there's strong evidence that people are to blame, an international panel of scientists has concluded.
- Earth
Corn, a new sensor of carbon dioxide
Scientists have developed a way to use corn plants to monitor and map human-generated emissions of carbon dioxide.
- Agriculture
Ethanol Juggernaut Diverts Corn from Food to Fuel
Corn feeds the production of meat and dairy goods in the United States, so those products are likely to increase in price as ethanol fuel demands more of the country's corn supply.
- Earth
Disaster’s Consequences: Hurricane’s legacy includes arsenic
Construction debris strewn across the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina contains a disturbing amount of arsenic that could contaminate groundwater if not properly managed.
