Earth
- Earth
Ice-dammed lakes had cooling effect
New computer simulations suggest that massive lakes in northern Russia—formed when an ice sheet blocked the northward flow of rivers about 90,000 years ago—significantly cooled the region's climate in summer months.
- Earth
Danger on Deck?
The Environmental Protection Agency no longer allows residential installation of pressure-treated lumber and recommends the application of sealant to prevent leaching of carcinogens out of existing lumber structures.
- Earth
Warming climate may slam many species
Expected increases in global temperature could eradicate from a sixth to a half of the plant and animal species across large areas of the globe, a new analysis suggests.
- Earth
Farmed salmon bring PCBs to the table
High concentrations of chlorinated organic contaminants in farm-raised Atlantic salmon may warrant limiting consumption of the otherwise-healthful fish to no more than once per month.
- Earth
Air held oxygen early on
Chemical analyses of South African sediments suggest that oxygen was present in small quantities about 2.32 billion years ago, which is at least 100 million years earlier than previously thought.
- Earth
Scooting on a Wet Bottom: Some undersea landslides ride a nearly frictionless slick of water
New computer simulations suggest that hydroplaning may be responsible for the unexpectedly large distances traversed by some undersea avalanches.
- Earth
Two microbes team up to munch methane
Aggregates of two different microorganisms in methane-bearing ocean sediments collected off the Oregon coast appear to collaborate to consume methane despite a lack of oxygen.
- Earth
Even Nunavut gets plenty of dioxin
Within a few weeks, some of the dioxin generated by industrial activities in the United States and Mexico falls out in the high Arctic.
- Earth
Bogged Down: Ancient peat may be missing methane source
Massive peat bogs in Russia may have been a major source of atmospheric methane just after the end of the last ice age.
- Earth
This pollutant fights lupus
A hormone-mimicking pollutant that leaches out of some plastics appears to fight lupus.
- Earth
When testosterone gets down and dirty
Testosterone excreted by livestock can pass through soils, which may explain new findings of fish-altering hormonal activity in water downstream of cattle feedlots.
- Earth
Infrasonic Symphony
Scientists are eavesdropping on volcanoes, avalanches, earthquakes, and meteorites to discern these phenomena's infrasound signatures and see what new information infrasound might reveal.
