Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Kevin Costner Pitches $895M Oil Spill Plan
Actor Proposes Response Plan Centered on Building Vessels Dedicated to Extract Oil from Water within Hours of Disaster
Human-powered plane takes to skies
A Canadian student inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's centuries-old sketches of an ornithopter he was the first to make a sustained flight in a human-powered, wing-flapping aircraft.
Report: Everglades restoration 'slow'
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Decades-long restoration efforts in Florida's Everglades remain slow and may bring "trade-offs" between water quality and water quantity, a federal report says. ...
Global groundwater levels dwindling: study
A survey of global groundwater indicates underground supplies are being depleted increasingly quickly.
Around 1970, Northern Oceans Chilled
The oceans in the Northern Hemisphere cooled dramatically beginning in the late 1970s, while the Southern Hemisphere continued its gradual warming, a new study indicates.
Apache to send gas to Western Australia
HOUSTON, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- The commercialization of natural gas from offshore facilities in Australia will diversify a resource-based economy, officials at Apache Corp. announced. ...
High pressure experiments reproduce mineral structures 1,800 miles deep
University of California, Berkeley, and Yale University scientists have recreated the tremendous pressures and high temperatures deep in the Earth to resolve a long-standing puzzle: why some seismic waves travel...
New world map of air pollution created
GREENBELT, Md., Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Canadian scientists say a new satellite-based map offers a global view of air pollution particles suspected in millions of deaths annually. ...
'Super Wi-Fi' airwaves approved in U.S.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is opening up unused airwaves between television stations for wireless broadband networks that will be more powerful and can travel farther than today's Wi-Fi hotspots.
On Our Radar: Shrinking Caribou Herds
As development impinges on their range, rapidly rising Arctic temperatures throw caribou out of sync with the environment in which they evolved.
Relics from Scott's doomed Antarctic trip fetch 500,000 dlrs
Photographs, skis and other relics belonging to a scientist on Captain Scott's ill-fated Antarctic trip sold for 370,000 pounds (579,000 dollars, 434,000 euros), Christie's auctioneers said Thursday.
Help from sonar determines whether historic shipwreck poses oil pollution threat
Experts hope to use sonar images of a sunken ship off California`s coast to determine whether the vessel is at risk of leaking oil. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute...
How To Escape From A Pyroclastic Flow
Simple answer: Just don't be there in the first place. I am currently on fieldwork on Santorini, which does involve a fair bit of walking from outcrop to outcrop. Walking past...
Oceans divide over 1970s warming
The oceans went through a short period of rapid temperature change 40 years ago, scientists find, with no cause identified.
FSU Scientist Joins Global Study of Decomposing Permafrost
Florida State University oceanographer Jeff Chanton is part of an international team embarking on a new study of permafrost decomposition in arctic Sweden. What he and his fellow researchers discover...
UN climate chief resignation call
Several environmentalists, UK MPs and scientists has called for the resignation of Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN's climate science body.
Grouse Mountain wind turbine hooked up
The massive wind turbine atop Grouse Mountain on Vancouver's North Shore has finally been approved by BC Hydro, allowing it to push electricity into the ski resort's power system.
Water supply won't dry up: Canadian scientist
A prominent water expert says Canadians shouldn't worry about wasting so-called "blue gold," because the country is literally flooded with it and won't run out.
Criminal science was not always CSI-style teamwork | Deborah Blum
In the 1920s, forensic science was in its infancy, and investigators often found themselves pitted against the policeDeborah Blum blogs at Speakeasy ScienceA winter mist settled in that first week of December 1962....
New species of sea slug discovered by UCSB marine scientist
Sometimes, treasures can be found in your own backyard - especially if you know what to look for. This is what happened to Jeff Goddard, project scientist with the Marine...
Video simulations of real earthquakes made available to worldwide network
A Princeton University-led research team has developed the capability to produce realistic movies of earthquakes based on complex computer simulations that can be made available worldwide within hours of a...
Siphoning Nonsense
The other day I was watching Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC when on came their geek spot segment. The story this time? “The dictionary definition of the word ‘siphon’ has...
Get Used to 'Soft' Climate Diplomacy
America's top climate negotiator makes it clear nobody should wait around for a legally binding climate treaty.
Sandia using pathogen detection technology for understanding algal pond collapse
(PhysOrg.com) -- Armed with a pathogen detection technology honed through internal investments, as well as a recent $800K grant secured through the Department of Energy's Biomass Program, researchers at Sandia...
2010 California Native American Day CelebrationExtended with Ten Events this Fall
UC San Diego's fifth annual California Native American Day has been extended to ten diverse activities as part of the university's ongoing commitment to educate the campus and community...
Cruise ships continue to foul the Baltic Sea
Waste water released from cruise ships and other vessels discharge hundreds of tons of nitrogen and phosphorus into the Baltic each year, contributing to large-scale toxic algae blooms and a...
Brazil's threatened Cerrado gets a protection plan
The Brazilian government last week announced a new plan to protect the Cerrado, a massive expanse of biologically diverse savannah that is under huge pressure from encroaching development...
Malagasy Spiders Spin the World's Toughest Biological Material
Arachnid architects build brawny webs that stretch across rivers and streams