Science & Technology - Sep 20, 2010 11:07 - 0 Comments

Moon rocks of a different color

STONY BROOK (US)— Using data from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer, scientists have found previously unseen compositional differences in the crustal highlands of the Moon. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Sep 14, 2010 10:22 - 0 Comments

Why some quakes cause killer tsunamis

U. SOUTHAMPTON (UK)—Researchers have uncovered clues as to why some undersea earthquakes generate huge tsunamis. Their findings, published recently in the journal Science, may help explain why the 2004 Sumatra “Boxing Day Tsunami” was so devastating. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Aug 17, 2010 16:49 - 0 Comments

Sponge fossils may be earliest animals

PRINCETON (US)—Scientists may have discovered the oldest fossils of animal bodies, suggesting that primitive sponge-like creatures were living in ocean reefs about 650 million years ago. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jun 24, 2010 7:56 - 0 Comments

Coral protection efforts miss the mark

U. IOWA (US)—Conservation efforts aimed at protecting endangered Caribbean corals may be overlooking regions where corals are best equipped to evolve in response to global warming and other climatic challenges. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jun 21, 2010 17:15 - 2 Comments

Is CO2 the missing link to past climate shifts?

BROWN (US)—By analyzing ocean sediment cores, researchers have concluded that carbon dioxide has played the lead role in dictating global climate patterns, beginning with the Ice Ages and continuing today. (more…)

Science & Technology - Jun 21, 2010 11:44 - 0 Comments

Geoneutrinos detected deep inside Earth

PRINCETON (US)—The discovery of subatomic particles deep within the Earth’s interior could help geologists understand how reactions taking place in the planet’s interior affect events on the surface such as earthquakes and volcanoes. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jun 3, 2010 11:12 - 0 Comments

Mantle flow can move mountains

USC (US)—If tectonic plate collisions cause volcanic eruptions, why do some volcanoes erupt far from a plate boundary? (more…)

Earth & Environment - May 11, 2010 11:52 - 0 Comments

Reading leaves to predict climate change

PENN STATE (US)—Fossil plant remains from millions of years ago may be the best predictor of future climate change caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide, according to a new study. (more…)

Earth & Environment - May 7, 2010 16:33 - 0 Comments

Stream water may signal permafrost thawing

U. MICHIGAN (US)—Chemical tracers in stream water are offering scientists a new way to monitor changes in the Arctic permafrost—soil that normally remains at or below the freezing point for years—as an indicator of global warming. (more…)

Earth & Environment - May 7, 2010 10:44 - 0 Comments

Aseismic creep may lower earthquake hazard

CALTECH (US)—Using data from GPS stations, researchers analyzed plate slippage following the magnitude 8.0 earthquake that struck in Central Peru in August 2007, killing more than 500 people. What the team discovered ran contrary to long-held assumptions about plate movement in the area—and suggests a model for predicting earthquake patterns. (more…)

Earth & Environment - May 4, 2010 7:50 - 3 Comments

Carbon cycle snowballed out of control

PRINCETON (US)—New evidence uncovered by a team of geologists suggests that an episode 720 million years ago called “snowball Earth,” which may have covered the continents and oceans in a thick sheet of ice, produced a dramatic change in the carbon cycle. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Apr 19, 2010 11:33 - 0 Comments

Changes in Earth’s critical zone

U. PENN (US)—Rising high above the pristine northeast coastline of Puerto Rico, the lush Luquillo Mountains are a natural laboratory for environmentalists and climate scientists. A national forest since the 1930s, large sections of the mountains look much the same today as they would have to European settlers 500 years ago. (more…)

Science & Technology - Mar 2, 2010 13:21 - 0 Comments

How nannoplankton hung on by a shoestring

PENN STATE (US)—An asteroid strike may not only account for the demise of ocean and land life 65 million years ago, but the fireball’s path—and resulting dust, darkness, and toxic metal contamination—may explain the geographic unevenness of extinctions and recovery. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Feb 15, 2010 12:18 - 2 Comments

Shifting debate on sea level models

U. IOWA (US)—New findings about the close link between changes in sea level and Earth’s climate challenge theories about the rates of ice accumulation and melting during the Quaternary Period—the time interval ranging from 2.6 million years ago to the present. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Feb 11, 2010 13:40 - 0 Comments

Arctic snow reveals mercury’s ‘fingerprint’

U. MICHIGAN (US)—Mercury deposited onto Arctic snow from the atmosphere takes on a life of its own as it is picked up by microorganisms that then build up in fish and animals that eat them. (more…)

Science & Technology - Feb 4, 2010 16:16 - 0 Comments

Feathered dinosaur in full color

YALE (US)—Scientists have uncovered the vibrant colors that adorned a feathered dinosaur extinct for 150 million years by deciphering microscopic clues hidden within fossils. (more…)

Science & Technology - Feb 3, 2010 13:42 - 2 Comments

Satellite images guide Haiti relief efforts

U. TEXAS (US)—In the days following the Haiti earthquake, satellite and aerial imagery, along with elevation data, helped first responders distribute aid and medical care and conduct search and rescue missions. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Dec 17, 2009 15:13 - 0 Comments

Why strong faults keep slip, slidin’ away

PENN STATE (US)—Some geologic faults that appear strong and stable, slip and slide like weak faults. Researchers at Penn State believe the angle is to blame. (more…)

Posts Tagged ‘geoscience’