Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Air conditioning could heat the world
Global warming predicted for the coming decades may decrease winter heating bills in some parts of the United States, but producing the extra electricity needed for summertime air conditioning will create increased emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide.
- Earth
Rogue alga routed
An invasive-species action team has eradicated one of the world's worst weeds, a marine alga, from a California lagoon, its only known foothold in North America.
- Earth
Earthquake Hazards
To keep up with the latest rumblings around the globe, the U.S. Geological Service offers a Web site with current earthquake data. The site also includes information about significant earthquakes of the past, megaquakes and Hollywood disaster movies, and a section for kids, which has games, puzzles, science project ideas, and more. Go to: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
- Earth
Macho Moms: Perchlorate pollutant masculinizes fish
Perchlorate, a compound best known as a component of rocket fuel, can disrupt sexual development in fish.
- Earth
Obsidian artifacts can record ancient climate
The layer of hydrated material that forms on the surface of ancient obsidian artifacts as they age can be used to estimate the temperatures that the artifacts have experienced.
- Earth
As glaciers shrink, the Alps get taller
The melting of massive glaciers in the Alps is removing weight from those peaks and causing them to gain altitude.
- Earth
Stung Lung: Volatile chemical may cut respiratory capacity
Para-dichlorobenzene, a chemical in some air fresheners and pest-control products, may slightly impair lung function in millions of people.
- Earth
Northern Refuge: White spruce survived last ice age in Alaska
Genetic analyses of white spruce trees at sites across North America suggest that some stands of that species endured the harsh climate of Alaska throughout the last ice age.
- Earth
What’s New in the Water? Survey tallies emerging disinfection by-products
By analyzing drinking-water samples from U.S. treatment plants, a multi-institute research team has identified some unexpected by-products of disinfection processes.
- Earth
Breaking Crust: Sonar finds new kind of deep-sea volcano
Undersea explorations more than 600 kilometers east of Japan have discovered evidence of a previously unknown type of volcanism.
- Earth
Intrepid Explorer
A robotic torpedo called an autonomous underwater vehicle has provided scientists with an unprecedented look at the underside of an Antarctic ice shelf.
- Earth
Sandy clues to ancient climate
The orientation of dunes in north-central Nebraska indicates that the climate there a millennium ago was much different than it is today.
