Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Climate fix could deplete polar ozone
Scientists seeking to cool Earth’s climate by injecting sulfuric acid droplets high in the atmosphere might trim rising temperatures but could also destroy much of the ozone in polar regions, a new study suggests.
- Ecosystems
Eight-legged bags of poison
Birds eating arachnids get high dose of toxic metal as mercury climbs up the food chain.
- Ecosystems
Beetle attack overturns forest carbon regime
Ravaged Canadian region switches from carbon sink to net carbon source.
- Agriculture
Study decodes papaya genome
Scientists have added another plant to the genome-sequencing roster: the tropical fruit tree papaya.
- Earth
Melt pond falls through ice in Greenland
A lake of meltwater atop Greenland's ice sheet wedged open a crack in the underlying ice that drained the lake dry.
- Environment
Down with Carbon
Scientists are exploring strategies for capturing carbon dioxide and storing it safely away in order to limit the levels of that greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
- Earth
BOOK LIST | A Grain of Sand: Nature’s Secret Wonder
Beautiful photos of sand grains up close reveal surprising diversity. Text describes a sand grain’s journey from mountain to beach. A GRAIN OF SAND Voyageur Press, 2008, 112 p. $20.
- Climate
Researchers rethink fate of celebrity plankton
A poster-species for the hazards of greenhouse gas accumulation thrives in carbon dioxide-rich waters.
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- Earth
Here’s a Title We’ll Gladly Relinquish
China appears to be the world leader in carbon-dioxide emissions, but we may be partly to blame.
- Earth
Britain’s biggest meteorite strike
An unusual layer of rock found along Britain's northwestern coast formed from the debris thrown out of a crater when a meteorite struck nearby more than 1 billion years ago.
- Earth
Refuge for the resilient
Some conservationists recommend creating marine parks in areas most likely to survive climate change.
