Earth

Earth

Northern Refuge: White spruce survived last ice age in Alaska

Genetic analyses of white spruce trees at sites across North America suggest that some stands of that species endured the harsh climate of Alaska throughout the last ice age.

Earth

What’s New in the Water? Survey tallies emerging disinfection by-products

By analyzing drinking-water samples from U.S. treatment plants, a multi-institute research team has identified some unexpected by-products of disinfection processes.

Earth

Breaking Crust: Sonar finds new kind of deep-sea volcano

Undersea explorations more than 600 kilometers east of Japan have discovered evidence of a previously unknown type of volcanism.

Earth

Intrepid Explorer

A robotic torpedo called an autonomous underwater vehicle has provided scientists with an unprecedented look at the underside of an Antarctic ice shelf.

Earth

Sandy clues to ancient climate

The orientation of dunes in north-central Nebraska indicates that the climate there a millennium ago was much different than it is today.

Agriculture

Demand for Ethanol May Drive Up Food Prices

The production of ethanol from corn and other crops for fuel could drive up food prices.

Earth

Global warming heats up nursery of hurricanes

Sea-surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean reached record highs last year.

Earth

Alaskan coral beds get new protection

To protect cold-water corals, huge areas of Alaskan waters will be off limits to trawls and other fishing gear that typically scrape the seafloor.

Earth

Radiation Redux: Forest fires remobilize fallout from bomb tests

A sensor installed to monitor fallout from modern nuclear tests has detected small amounts of radioactive cesium produced by bomb tests decades ago and sent skyward by forest fires.

Earth

Asbestos fibers: Barking up a tree

Sixteen years after a mine with asbestos-contaminated ore shut down, trees in the area still hold hazardous concentrations of wind-deposited asbestos.

Earth

Warning: Slow down for whales

To protect a major population of right whales, the U.S. government is proposing periodic go-slow rules for big ships passing through the animals' migration routes.

Agriculture

Farm Fresh Pesticides

For people who live near croplands, traces of agricultural chemicals can find their way into homes by hitchhiking on windblown dust.