Earth
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Earth
Living routes to toxic routs
Scientists are developing novel techniques for removing perchlorate, a potentially carcinogenic pollutant, from water.
By Janet Raloff -
Agriculture
Detoxifying Desert’s Manna
Farmers need no longer fear the sweet pea's dryland cousin.
By Janet Raloff -
Earth
Newfound gas is greenhouse powerhouse
Scientists have detected in the atmosphere for the first time a gas that traps heat more effectively than any other previously found there.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
More Arctic clouds may lessen warming
Nearly 2 decades of satellite observations suggest that an increase in Arctic cloudiness at certain times of the year may partially counteract the effects of global warming in the region.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Fallen Trees? Scotch pines emit nitrogen oxides into the air
Northern pine forests may exude nitrogen oxides—a contributor to smog and acid rain—in quantities that rival those produced by industry and traffic worldwide.
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Earth
Killer Crater: Shuttle-borne radar detects remnant of dino-killing impact
Radar images gathered during a flight of the space shuttle Endeavour 3 years ago show the subtle topography related to the impact of an asteroid or comet that may have wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Past and Future Earth
Curious about what Earth’s continents and oceans might look like 50 million years from now? Geologist Christopher R. Scotese of the University of Texas at Arlington has created a Web site devoted to plate tectonics and Earth’s geography and climate, from the deep past to the distant future. The site features maps of Earth, animations, […]
By Science News -
Earth
Earth Views
The “Global View of the Earth” Web site offers lesson plans and other material for middle school teachers interested in classroom use of images taken by NASA’s Landsat-7 satellite. Students learn about the spacecraft and try to identify “mystery” images–full-color, visible-light images of objects such as airports and bridges, as seen from Landsat more than […]
By Science News -
Earth
Autosub Under Ice
Follow the Southampton (UK) Oceanography Centre’s “Autosub Under Ice” expedition to Antarctica’s Pine Island Bay. The centre’s Web site features daily news reports, images, and interviews with expedition members aboard the unmanned sub’s parent ship. The expedition runs until April 2. Go to: http://www.soc.soton.ac.uk/SOES/MSC/OC/CEO/aui/live.html
By Science News -
Earth
Slippin’ Slide: Glaciers surge after ice shelf collapses
Five of the six large glaciers that once fed into Antarctica's Larsen A ice shelf have sped up significantly since that floating ice mass collapsed and drifted away in January 1995.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Greenland’s ice is thinner at the margins
The central portion of Greenland's ice sheet is, on the whole, not getting any thinner, but most margins of the ice sheet are thinning substantially and contributing to rising sea levels.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Ancient Taint: Likely source of old dioxins identified
Lab experiments show that the burning of peat from coastal areas of Scotland could be responsible for the enigmatic concentrations of dioxins sometimes found in pre-20th-century soils.
By Sid Perkins