Sahara desert dust coats swathes of Spain
A mass of hot air from the Sahara desert dumped dust on large parts of Spain including Madrid on Tuesday, colouring the sky orange and coating cars and streets......»»
Climate is one culprit in growth and spread of dust in Middle East
Climate change is transforming dust storms—a natural phenomenon in the Middle East—into a more frequent and widespread threat to health and economies throughout the region, a new study shows......»»
Scientists show that ancient village adapted to drought, rising seas
Around 6,200 BCE, the climate changed. Global temperatures dropped, sea levels rose and the southern Levant, including modern-day Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, southern Syria and the Sinai desert, entered a period of drought......»»
The best Fallout New Vegas mods
Fallout New Vegas is a fan favorite, but is showing its age. To add some new life to this desert wasteland, check out the best mods the community has to offer......»»
New rock art discoveries in Eastern Sudan tell a tale of ancient cattle, the "green Sahara" and climate catastrophe
The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new research has found rock art over 4,000 years old that depicts cattle......»»
Philippine settlement submerged by dam reappears due to drought
A centuries-old settlement submerged by the construction of a dam in the northern Philippines in the 1970s has reappeared as water levels drop due to a drought affecting swathes of the country......»»
Arizona"s 1864 abortion law was made in a women"s rights desert—here"s what life was like then
Dora Juhl, a 15-year-old teenager, walked into Dr. Rosa Goodrich Boido's obstetrical practice in Phoenix in January 1918. Juhl wanted to end her pregnancy......»»
Warming Arctic reduces dust levels in parts of the planet, study finds
Climate change is a global phenomenon, but its impacts are felt at a very local level. Take, for example, dust. Dust can have a huge impact on local air quality, food security, energy supply and public health. Yet, little is known about how global cl.....»»
Hidden biosphere discovered beneath world"s driest hot desert
In a finding with implications for the search for extraterrestrial life, researchers have discovered microbial life 13 feet below Earth's most inhospitable desert. The research is published in the journal PNAS Nexus......»»
Mojave desert tortoise officially joins California"s endangered list
The California Fish and Game Commission has formally recognized the Mojave desert tortoise as endangered......»»
Wild and domestic ungulates are key to Mediterranean ecosystem sustainability, finds study
Researchers from Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) have conducted a vegetation analysis over the last 30 years using satellite images from two environments in the Sierra de Cazorla Natural Park (southeast Spain)—one with wild ungulates su.....»»
Are Titan"s dunes made of comet dust?
A new theory suggests that Titan's majestic dune fields may have come from outer space. Researchers had always assumed that the sand making up Titan's dunes was locally made, through erosion or condensed from atmospheric hydrocarbons. But researchers.....»»
Slow recovery as Dubai airport, roads still plagued by floods
Dubai's airport, one of the world's busiest, witnessed major disruption for the third day in a row on Thursday after the heaviest rains on record drenched the desert United Arab Emirates......»»
The Aral Sea has made Central Asia significantly dustier, according to study
The drying up of the Aral Sea has made Central Asia 7% dustier in the last 30 years. Between 1984 and 2015, dust emissions from the growing desert almost doubled from 14 to 27 million tons. This is the result of a study by the Leibniz Institute for T.....»»
Peptides on interstellar ice: Study finds presence of water molecules not a major obstacle for formation
A research team led by Dr. Serge Krasnokutski from the Astrophysics Laboratory at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy at the University of Jena had already demonstrated that simple peptides can form on cosmic dust particles. However, it was previo.....»»
Scientists discover how soil microbes survive in harsh desert environments
Prolonged droughts followed by sudden bursts of rainfall—how do desert soil bacteria manage to survive such harsh conditions? This long-debated question has now been answered by an ERC project led by microbiologist Dagmar Woebken from the Centre fo.....»»
Dubai airport diverts flights as "exceptional weather" hits Gulf
Dubai's major international airport diverted scores of incoming flights on Tuesday as heavy rains lashed the United Arab Emirates, causing widespread flooding around the desert country......»»
How do Australia"s desert animals avoid inbreeding during dry spells?
Some Australian desert mammals use distinct strategies to promote evolutionary fitness in response to changing environmental conditions over short timescales, according to a new study......»»
The seabed needs to become a top priority, and the UN agrees
"The science we need for the ocean we want"—this is the tagline for the UN Ocean Decade (2021-2030), which has just held its first conference in Barcelona, Spain. Marine scientists from around the world, including me, gathered alongside global lead.....»»
Hubble spots a bright galaxy peering out from behind a dark nebula
A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a galaxy partly hidden by a huge cloud of dust known as a dark nebula......»»
Scientists at Spain meeting sound alarm over ocean warming
Scientists at a United Nations conference in Spain called Friday for more research into the sharp rise in ocean temperatures which they warn could have devastating consequences......»»