Earth
- Earth
Air conditioning could heat the world
Global warming predicted for the coming decades may decrease winter heating bills in some parts of the United States, but producing the extra electricity needed for summertime air conditioning will create increased emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide.
By Sid Perkins - Earth
Rogue alga routed
An invasive-species action team has eradicated one of the world's worst weeds, a marine alga, from a California lagoon, its only known foothold in North America.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Earthquake Hazards
To keep up with the latest rumblings around the globe, the U.S. Geological Service offers a Web site with current earthquake data. The site also includes information about significant earthquakes of the past, megaquakes and Hollywood disaster movies, and a section for kids, which has games, puzzles, science project ideas, and more. Go to: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
By Science News - Earth
Macho Moms: Perchlorate pollutant masculinizes fish
Perchlorate, a compound best known as a component of rocket fuel, can disrupt sexual development in fish.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Obsidian artifacts can record ancient climate
The layer of hydrated material that forms on the surface of ancient obsidian artifacts as they age can be used to estimate the temperatures that the artifacts have experienced.
By Sid Perkins - Earth
As glaciers shrink, the Alps get taller
The melting of massive glaciers in the Alps is removing weight from those peaks and causing them to gain altitude.
By Sid Perkins - Earth
Stung Lung: Volatile chemical may cut respiratory capacity
Para-dichlorobenzene, a chemical in some air fresheners and pest-control products, may slightly impair lung function in millions of people.
By Ben Harder - 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.
By Sid Perkins - 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.
By Sid Perkins - 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.
By Sid Perkins - 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.
By Sid Perkins