El Nino Picking Up Steam

El Nino Picking Up Steam

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 13, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (6) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- The latest image from the U.S./French Jason-2 satellite finds a strong wave of warm water heading toward the Americas, fueling El Nino.


Russia gains new land after quake, lava flows: scientist

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 13, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (6) | comments 0

Russia, the world's largest country, has grown even larger recently thanks to an earthquake and a volcanic eruption in its seismically active far eastern regions, a scientist said on Friday.


Research gives new insights into 4 billion year-old meteorites

Research gives new insights into 4 billion year-old meteorites

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have gained new insight into the makeup of ancient meteorites called Carbonaceous Chondrites, in research published in the October edition of the journal Earth Science and Planetary Le ...


First view of Earth as Rosetta approaches home

First view of Earth as Rosetta approaches home

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (6) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- This spectacular image of our home planet was captured by the OSIRIS instrument on ESA's Rosetta comet chaser earlier today as the spacecraft approached Earth for the third and final swingby. ...


NASA to Begin Attempts to Free Sand-Trapped Mars Rover

NASA to Begin Attempts to Free Sand-Trapped Mars Rover

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA will begin transmitting commands to its Mars exploration rover Spirit on Monday as part of an escape plan to free the venerable robot from its Martian sand trap.


Greenland ice cap melting faster than ever

Greenland ice cap melting faster than ever

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 3.6 / 5 (32) | comments 25

Satellite observations and a state-of-the art regional atmospheric model have independently confirmed that the Greenland ice sheet is loosing mass at an accelerating rate, reports a new study in Science.


Record high temperatures far outpace record lows across US

Record high temperatures far outpace record lows across US (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (28) | comments 7

Spurred by a warming climate, daily record high temperatures occurred twice as often as record lows over the last decade across the continental United States, new research shows. The ratio of record highs ...


A glimpse at the Earth's crust deep below the Atlantic

A glimpse at the Earth's crust deep below the Atlantic

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Long-term variations in volcanism help explain the birth, evolution and death of striking geological features called oceanic core complexes on the ocean floor, says geologist Dr Bram Murton of the National ...


A Tale of Planetary Woe

A Tale of Planetary Woe (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (11) | comments 5

Once upon a time — roughly four billion years ago — Mars was warm and wet, much like Earth. Liquid water flowed on the Martian surface in long rivers that emptied into shallow seas. A thick atmosphere blanketed ...


Researchers Discover Use for Carbon Dioxide in Conversion of Biomass Into Biofuel

Researchers Discover Use for Carbon Dioxide in Conversion of Biomass Into Biofuel

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity 3.6 / 5 (14) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Columbia University have successfully discovered a beneficial use for carbon dioxide in the conversion of organic materials, such as grass and bark, into fuel. Their findings ...


Earth

Early life on Earth may have developed more quickly than thought (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (19) | comments 0

The Earth's climate was far cooler -- perhaps more than 50 degrees -- billions of years ago, which could mean conditions for life all over the planet were more conducive than previously believed, according ...


sky, sun

A lightning strike in Africa helps take the pulse of the sun

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (11) | comments 2

Sunspots, which rotate around the sun's surface, tell us a great deal about our own planet. Scientists rely on them, for instance, to measure the sun's rotation or to prepare long-range forecasts of the Earth's ...


Rapid star formation spotted in 'stellar nurseries' of infant galaxies

Rapid star formation spotted in 'stellar nurseries' of infant galaxies

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 1

The Universe's infant galaxies enjoyed rapid growth spurts forming stars like our sun at a rate of up to 50 stars a year, according to scientists at Durham University.


Earth

Atomic Particles Help Solve Planetary Puzzle

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 10, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (12) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A University of Arkansas professor and his colleagues have shown that the Earth's mantle contains the same isotopic signatures from magnesium as meteorites do, suggesting that the planet formed ...


Noise Evidence Could Expand Hurricane Record

Noise Evidence Could Expand Hurricane Record

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 10, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

As sea-surface temperatures rise across the globe, some scientists believe that hurricane frequency and intensity may increase. A fresh technique offers promise to generate new data from long-dead storms, ...