Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Hurricanes churn up life-nurturing brews
Images of the North Atlantic taken from orbit suggest that hurricanes churn the ocean's surface enough to bring cool, nutrient-rich waters to the surface, thereby stimulating algal blooms that can last for weeks.
- Earth
Prenatal exposures affect sperm later
Boys exposed in the womb to hormone-mimicking pollutants may mature into men who produce impaired sperm.
- Earth
Toxic color TVs and computer monitors
High concentrations of lead can leach from the X-ray-filtering glass used in picture tubes, suggesting that this glass should be treated as hazardous waste.
- Earth
Chicken Farming, Ammonia, and Coastal Threats
Chicken farming can contribute significant amounts of ammonia to the environment, including coastal waters.
- Earth
Lava Life: Hints of microbes in ancient ocean rocks
Microscopic, carbon-lined tubes in lava that erupted onto the ocean floor about 3.5 billion years ago were etched by microbes, a number of signs suggest.
- Earth
Sea Change: Ocean report urges new policies
To combat environmental degradation and encourage sustainable use of resources off the nation's shores, the U.S. government needs to double its investment in marine research, integrate management of coastal and inland ecosystems, restructure agencies that influence the oceans' health and productivity, and take other far-reaching steps, according to a commission created by Congress.
- Earth
A slump or a slide? Density decides
Using a full-scale simulator, researchers showed that just a small difference in soil density determines whether a landslide becomes a fast-moving killer or merely one that slowly slumps downhill.
- Earth
Weather Wise: Model may predict El Niño up to 2 years in advance
A new version of a climate-prediction model that includes detailed interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere could be used to foresee the onset of the climate-altering phenomenon known as El Niño.
- Earth
Inhaling your food—and its cooking fuel
Cooking emits easily inhaled pollutants that travel throughout a home and can linger for hours.
- Earth
Tales of the Undammed
Although destroying dams is often presumed to restore rivers, the results of such action are actually mixed, according to recent studies.
- Earth
Night space images show development
Scientists may have come up with a way to use satellite images taken at night to estimate the rate of population growth in fire-prone areas and thereby better assess fire risk to specific groups of residents.
- Earth
New U.N. treaty on toxic exports
The United Nations enacted a new treaty to ban exportation of any of a list of toxic chemicals without the prior informed consent of an importing nation.
