Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Agriculture
Rethinking Refuges? Drifting pollen may bring earlier pest resistance to bioengineered crops
Pollen wafting from bioengineered corn to traditional varieties may be undermining the fight to keep pests from evolving resistance to pesticides.
- Earth
Underwater Pavement: Asphalt deposits cover parts of Gulf of Mexico
Explorations of the seafloor in the southern Gulf of Mexico have revealed lavalike flows of asphalt that are home to a thriving ecosystem of microbes, mussels, tubeworms, and crabs.
- Earth
Marsh Farming for Profit and the Common Good
A move is now afoot to get farmers to embrace wetlands as part of their business.
- Earth
Boats puff up outdoor carbon monoxide risk
Large congregations of motorboats can produce enough carbon monoxide gas in open air to be hazardous to people.
- Earth
Tracks of dust devils spotted from space
Scientists scanning satellite images of the southern Sahara have detected trails left on the landscape by the whirlwinds commonly known as dust devils.
- Earth
It’s a Gas: Trees emit unknown volatile substances
The chemical reactions taking place just above a northern Michigan forest hint that trees there and elsewhere may be emitting highly reactive gaseous substances that scientists haven't yet identified or directly detected.
- Earth
Harm from Plastic Additive Challenged: Early exposure shows no ill effects
Presumed exposure shortly after birth to a chemical ingredient in plastics shows no evidence of disrupting development in people, according to a small study of teens who, as newborns, received intensive medical care involving plastic hospital equipment.
- 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
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
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.
