Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Bottled water has contaminants too, study finds
(AP) -- Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants often found in tap water, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy...
Lost manatee rescued in Mass. dies on trip to Fla.
(AP) -- An animal welfare official says a wayward manatee that was rescued from cold Cape Cod waters died on the way home to Florida.
Claim That Simulated Temperature Trends For Tropics Inconsistent With Observations Is Flawed, Experts Argue
Scientists have helped reconcile the differences between simulated and observed temperature trends in the tropics. They have refuted a recent claim that simulated temperature trends in the tropics are fundamentally...
Wireless Soil Sensors Designed To Improve Farming
Researchers are developing wireless soil sensors that could one day help farmers maximize their production while minimizing environmental impacts. The prototype sensors are designed to collect and send data about...
Palm oil clearing swathes of forest in Indonesia's Papua: Greenpeace
Palm oil companies are clearing massive swathes of untouched forest in Indonesia's remote easternmost Papua region, environmental group Greenpeace said Friday.
Researchers Study Coastal Hazards of Increasing Wave Heights, Rising Sea Levels
(PhysOrg.com) -- While hurricanes Gustav and Ike were pummeling the Gulf Coast with rains and record flooding, researchers at Oregon State University were studying why wave heights in the Pacific...
NASA Maps Shed Light on Carbon Dioxide's Global Nature
(PhysOrg.com) -- A NASA/university team has published the first global satellite maps of the key greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in Earth's mid-troposphere, an area about 8 kilometers, or 5 miles,...
Volcanic eruption signals simulated in lab for first time
(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, seismic signals that precede a volcanic eruption have been simulated and visualized in 3-D under controlled pressure conditions in a laboratory. The ability to...
Deep sea pipelines to green gas production
(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Queensland researchers are working to tap into a wealth of natural gas resources located in distant, deep-ocean fields off the coast of Western Australia.
Flexible OLEDs could be part of lighting's future
(AP) -- On a bank of the Mohawk River, a windowless industrial building of corrugated steel hides something that could make floor lamps, bedside lamps, wall sconces and nearly...
Morgentaler receives Order of Canada in Quebec City
Abortion-rights activist Dr. Henry Morgentaler received his Order of Canada award on Friday at a ceremony in Quebec City.
EPA decides against regulating perchlorate in water
Almost all public drinking water holds safe levels of propellant chemical, says agency
Environmentally friendly explosives
Scientists in Germany have made lead-free detonators for reducing the environmental impact of military explosives.
Eliminating Faults During Production Of Metal Sheets
Metal sheets are getting thinner and stronger all the time, and new production processes are called for. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU in...
Simplifying Data Management For Farmers
Hiring temporary workers and machines for the harvest, sending soil samples to the laboratory for analysis, ordering seed: Farming today involves a great deal of administrative work. A new Internet-based...
VIDEO: Alaska Brown Bear Trapped
National Geographic researchers trap an Alaskan brown bear for research, and the bear is not at all happy.
Call to maintain climate targets
Ed Miliband, the new energy and climate secretary, urges Europe's leaders to stick to climate change targets.
Tropical Rainforest And Mountain Species May Be Threatened By Global Warming
Contrary to conventional wisdom, tropical plant and animal species living in some of the warmest places on Earth may be threatened by global warming, according to ecologists.
Green Coffee-growing Practices Buffer Climate-change Impacts
Chalk up another environmental benefit for shade-grown Latin American coffee: University of Michigan researchers say the technique will provide a buffer against the ravages of climate change in the coming...
Satellites collect data on sea temperatures
Satellites are helping scientists expand a virtual network to watch for increases in ocean temperatures that can damage or kill the fragile ecosystems of coral reefs worldwide.
Climate warms, creatures head for the hills
From California to Costa Rica, rising temperatures could be driving species to higher elevations
Ripple Effect: Water Snails Offer New Propulsion Possibilities
A UC San Diego engineer has revealed a new mode of propulsion based on how water snails create ripples of slime to crawl upside down beneath the surface.
One is the loneliest number for mine-dwelling bacterium
Sole member of world's first single-species ecosystem depends on rocks and radioactivity for life.
Alberta, GE team up to improve water use at oilsands
The Alberta government is partnering with multinational conglomerate General Electric to improve water treatment and reuse in the province's oilsands projects, which consume enormous volumes of fresh water to produce...
Warming in Yosemite National Park sends small mammals packing to higher, cooler elevations
Global warming is causing major shifts in the range of small mammals in Yosemite National Park, one of the nation's treasures that was set aside as a public trust 144...
Sea levels could rise one metre by 2100: German institute
Sea levels could rise one metre (3.3 feet) by 2100, a leading German research institute said Thursday, much more than even the most pessimistic projection by the UN climate panel.
Moose killing riles Michigan town
Some residents of the town of Ishpeming, Mich., are furious at police officers and a state biologist who killed a female moose that wandered into town, leaving its twin calves...
Nearly 300 New Marine Species Found Near Australia
Scientists have found 274 new species of corals, starfish, sponges, shrimps, and crabs 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) beneath the surface of Australia's waters.