Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Flow West, Young River: Ancient Amazon ran opposite today’s route
The forerunner of the mighty Amazon ran from east to west, a new analysis of rocks laid down by that ancient river suggests.
- Earth
Encyclopedia of Earth
The Encyclopedia of Earth is an online source of environmental information that features objective, authoritative articles written and reviewed by an international community of experts. Topics range from absorption of toxicants and biodiversity to wind farms and zero-point energy. Entries often include images and references. Go to: http://www.eoearth.org/
- Earth
A Whale’s Tale: Puzzling marine compounds are natural
Antique whale oil shows that some mysterious compounds that resemble DDT and PCBs are naturally produced.
- Earth
Waters near croplands impair frogs’ immunity
Pesticide-containing waters leave frogs more susceptible to fungal infections than pristine environments do.
- Earth
Nearly Naked: Large swath of Pacific lacks seafloor sediment
Little or no sediment has accumulated on a broad patch of ocean bottom in the remote South Pacific, the result of a combination of factors that probably can't be found anywhere else on Earth.
- Earth
Ancient hot spell is linked to copious carbon dioxide
A mineral that formed in some lakes during a lengthy and particularly warm period in Earth's past suggests that atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide were at that time at least triple those found in today's air.
- Earth
Hot, Hotter, Hot: Climate seesawed during dinosaur age
The climate during the time of the dinosaurs varied far more than scientists had previously thought.
- Earth
Reading the tale of an ancient river
Ocean-floor sediment near England holds material deposited during the last ice age by what was then Europe's largest river system.
- Earth
Space Weather News
Updated daily, this Web site provides news of activity in the sun-Earth environment, including solar wind, sunspot, and solar flare data, along with information on near-Earth asteroids, geomagnetic storms, and more. Go to: http://www.spaceweather.com/
- Earth
Gassy Bugs: Microbes may produce propane under the sea
Microbes deep under the ocean's floor could be the source of some ethane and propane found in sediments.
- Earth
Mystery of the Missing Heat: Upper ocean has cooled slightly in recent years, despite warming climate
Between 2003 and 2005, the top layers of the world's oceans cooled slightly, but scientists aren't sure where the heat went.
- Earth
Tox Town
This Web site from the U.S. National Library of Medicine offers an interactive introduction to toxic chemicals and environmental health risks that people might encounter in everyday life and in everyday places. The site includes many links to additional information and a section for teachers. Go to: http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/
