Earth Sciences news

Pollution alters isolated thunderstorms

Dec 15, 2009 | 3 / 5 (4) | 10

New climate research reveals how wind shear -- the same atmospheric conditions that cause bumpy airplane rides -- affects how pollution contributes to isolated thunderstorm clouds. Under strong wind shear ...

From greenhouse to icehouse -- reconstructing the environment of the Voring Plateau

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 15, 2009 | 4.1 / 5 (7) | 1

The analysis of microfossils found in ocean sediment cores is illuminating the environmental conditions that prevailed at high latitudes during a critical period of Earth history.

Hypoxia increases as climate warms

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 15, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (6) | 2

A new study of Pacific Ocean sediments off the coast of Chile has found that offshore waters experienced systematic oxygen depletion during the rapid warming of the Antarctic following the last "glacial maximum" period 20,000 ...

Going vertical: Fleeing tsunamis by moving up, not out

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 14, 2009 | 4.7 / 5 (3) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the minutes after a strong earthquake struck offshore of the Indonesian city of Padang on Sept. 30, fears of a tsunami prompted hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate the coastal ...

A NASA satellite image of iceberg B17B (C), floating southwest off the West Australian coast

'Monster' iceberg shedding hundreds of offshoots

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 14, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (9) | 2

An island-sized iceberg is breaking up as it drifts closer to Australia, producing hundreds of smaller slabs spread over a massive area of ocean, experts said Monday.

Laurence still causing warnings and watches in northern west Australia

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 17, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Although the center of Tropical Cyclone Laurence has been over land for two days, it's still holding together and bringing heavy rains and gusty winds to the northern coastal areas of West Australia and will ...

Absence of evidence for a meteorite impact event 13,000 years ago

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 08, 2009 | 4.1 / 5 (17) | 13

An international team of scientists led by researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa have found no evidence supporting an extraterrestrial impact event at the onset of the Younger Dryas ~13000 years ...

Tropical Cyclone Laurence menaces Northern Australia

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 16, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Laurence is still a tropical cyclone even though the storm has made landfall in northern West Australia and is moving over land. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite noticed some powerful ...

New results from a terra-ific decade in orbit

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 15, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

December 18, 2009, marks the tenth year since the launch of Terra, one of NASA's "flagship" Earth observing satellites. But the decade is more than just a mechanical milestone. With each additional day and ...

Lost water of the Napa Valley vineyards

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 16, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (3) | 0

Getting the most out of every drop of water is a high priority for grape growers in the southern Napa Valley, where summers are hot and dry and vines have to be irrigated to make it through the growing season. But Stanford ...

Philippine volcano rumbles with fresh explosions

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 16, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (5) | 0

(AP) -- The Mayon volcano, which has blown its top nearly 40 times in 400 years, menaced nearby residents with small eruptions of ash and lava Wednesday as Philippine authorities moved more than 30,000 people ...

Hawaiian hot spot has deep roots

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 03, 2009 | 4.9 / 5 (11) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Hawaii may be paradise for vacationers, but for geologists it has long been a puzzle. Plate tectonic theory readily explains the existence of volcanoes at boundaries where plates split apart ...

NASA Outlines Recent Breakthroughs in Greenhouse Gas Research (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 15, 2009 | 3.7 / 5 (6) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers studying carbon dioxide, a leading greenhouse gas and a key driver of global climate change, now have a new tool at their disposal: daily global measurements of carbon dioxide ...

New Technology Allows Geophysicist To Test Theory About Formation of Hawaii (w/ Podcast)

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 11, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (4) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- If you've ever been to Hawaii, you probably spent your time enjoying the scenery of the beautiful islands, rather than wondering how they got to be there in the first place. But that's just what scientists ...

Greenland glaciers: What lies beneath

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Dec 15, 2009 | 3.6 / 5 (5) | 1

Scientists who study the melting of Greenland's glaciers are discovering that water flowing beneath the ice plays a much more complex role than they previously imagined.