Earth Sciences news

Astronomers find coldest, driest, calmest place on Earth

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Aug 31, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (42) | comments 19

The search for the best observatory site in the world has lead to the discovery of what is thought to be the coldest, driest, calmest place on Earth. No human is thought to have ever been there but it is expected to yield ...


Last time carbon dioxide levels were this high: 15 million years ago, scientists report

Last time carbon dioxide levels were this high: 15 million years ago, scientists report

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Oct 08, 2009 | popularity 3.6 / 5 (63) | comments 137

You would have to go back at least 15 million years to find carbon dioxide levels on Earth as high as they are today, a UCLA scientist and colleagues report Oct. 8 in the online edition of the journal Science.


Antarctic glacier

West Antarctic ice sheet may not be losing ice as fast as once thought

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Oct 19, 2009 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (10) | comments 4

New ground measurements made by the West Antarctic GPS Network (WAGN) project, composed of researchers from The University of Texas at Austin, The Ohio State University, and The University of Memphis, suggest ...


Camels carry salt in the Ethiopia's Afar Region

Volcanic eruptions may split Africa: scientists

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 03, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (8) | comments 1

Volcanic activity may split the African continent in two owing to a recent geological crack in northeastern Ethiopia, researchers said on Tuesday.


Ships warned about icebergs headed for New Zealand (AP)

Ships warned about icebergs headed for New Zealand

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- Ships are on alert and maritime authorities are monitoring the movements of hundreds of menacing icebergs drifting toward New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean, officials said.


Scientists find 'great Pacific Ocean garbage patch'

Scientists find 'great Pacific Ocean garbage patch'

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Aug 27, 2009 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (33) | comments 30

Scientists have just completed an unprecedented journey into the vast and little-explored "Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch."


Galeras volcano

Colombia volcano rumbles back to life

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 01, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (9) | comments 0

Officials in southern Colombia have issued a code orange alert for the newly-active Galeras volcano which they said could erupt in a matter of days or weeks, according to the state-run Geological and Mining ...


Banded rocks reveal early Earth conditions, changes

Banded rocks reveal early Earth conditions, changes

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Oct 11, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (16) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- The strikingly banded rocks scattered across the upper Midwest and elsewhere throughout the world are actually ambassadors from the past, offering clues to the environment of the early Earth ...


This undated file picture shows part of the Pastoruri snowcapped mountain in the central Peruvian Andes

'Whitewash' could slow global warming: Peruvian scientist

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity 1.8 / 5 (10) | comments 11

A Peruvian scientist has called on his country to help slow the melting of Andean glaciers by daubing white paint on the rock and earth left behind by receding ice so they will absorb less heat.


El Nino Could Play A Role In Colorado's Winter Weather, Scientist Says

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity 2 / 5 (1) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- El Nino, a warming event of the tropical Pacific Ocean that affects weather patterns in the United States and elsewhere, has strengthened in recent months and already appears to have influenced Colorado's ...


Lightning's mirror image... only much bigger

Lightning’s Mirror Image, Only Much Bigger (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Aug 23, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (17) | comments 9

(PhysOrg.com) -- With a very lucky shot, scientists have captured a one-second image and the electrical fingerprint of huge lightning that flowed 40 miles upward from the top of a storm.


Hydrocarbons in the deep Earth?

Hydrocarbons in the deep Earth?

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Jul 26, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (42) | comments 27

The oil and gas that fuels our homes and cars started out as living organisms that died, were compressed, and heated under heavy layers of sediments in the Earth's crust. Scientists have debated for years ...


Airborne nitrogen shifts aquatic nutrient limitation in pristine lakes

Airborne nitrogen shifts aquatic nutrient limitation in pristine lakes

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 05, 2009 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (4) | comments 3

The impact of airborne nitrogen released from the burning of fossil fuels and wide-spread use of fertilizers in agriculture is much greater that previously recognized and even extends to remote alpine lakes, ...


'Rosetta Stone' of supervolcanoes discovered in Italian Alps

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Sep 21, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (29) | comments 6

Scientists have found the "Rosetta Stone" of supervolcanoes, those giant pockmarks in the Earth's surface produced by rare and massive explosive eruptions that rank among nature's most violent events. The eruptions produce ...


Scientists discover surprise in Earth's upper atmosphere

Scientists discover surprise in Earth's upper atmosphere

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Sep 10, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (23) | comments 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- UCLA atmospheric scientists have discovered a previously unknown basic mode of energy transfer from the solar wind to the Earth's magnetosphere. The research, federally funded by the National ...