Earth

Earth

Humming Along: Ocean waves may cause global seismic noise

The slow and nearly constant vibrations of Earth's crust stem from severe winter weather over some of the world's oceans.

Earth

Deep Squeeze: Experiments point to methane in Earth’s mantle

Although today's fossil fuel reserves reside in Earth's crust, a new study suggests that hydrocarbon fuel might also nestle deep in the mantle, at depths of 100 kilometers or more.

Earth

Cool Harvest: Frost on sea ice may boost atmosphere’s bromine

Frost flowers, the delicate crystals that sometimes grow atop fresh sea ice, can be a substantial source of ozone-destroying bromine in lower atmosphere near the poles.

Earth

No Deep Breathing: Air pollution impedes lung development

Spending one's childhood in a community with polluted air stalls lung development roughly as much as does having a mother who smokes.

Earth

Compost reduces landfill gas

Field tests suggest that covering solid waste with compost instead of conventional soil could reduce methane-gas emissions from landfills.

Agriculture

The Ultimate Crop Insurance

A new treaty renews hope that the waning diversity in agricultural crops can be slowed, and important genes preserved, both in the field and in gene banks.

Earth

Paved Paradise?

The precipitation-fed runoff that spills from impervious surfaces such as buildings, roads, and parking lots in developed areas increases erosion in streams, wreaks ecological havoc there, and contributes to urban heat islands.

Earth

There’s a Catch: Recreation takes toll on marine fish

Recreational fishing isn't just a tiny, harmless nibble on saltwater-fish populations.

Earth

North and South: Equal melting from each hemisphere raised ice age sea levels

The gargantuan volumes of meltwater that boosted sea levels during the most recent round of ice ages derived equally from ice sheets in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Earth

Rounding Up Resistance: Weed sacrifices seeds to put up with a herbicide

Use of herbicides containing glyphosate can drive evolution in the tall morning glory, even though the weed must simultaneously sacrifice a measure of its fertility.

Earth

Early Shift: North Sea plankton and fish move out of sync

As ocean temperatures in the North Sea have warmed in recent decades, the life cycles of some species low in the food chain have accelerated significantly, sometimes wreaking ecological havoc.

Agriculture

Bees increase coffee profits

Scientists studying a Costa Rican coffee farm have estimated the monetary value of conserving nearby wooded habitat for the bees that pollinate coffee plants.