Earth
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
