Elegantly modeling Earth"s abrupt glacial transitions
Proxy data—indirect records of the Earth's climate found in unlikely places like coral, pollen, trees and sediments—show interesting oscillations approximately every 100,000 years starting about one million years ago. Strong changes in global ice.....»»
Ryugu samples call into question previous ideas about the formation of carbon-rich asteroids
Asteroid Ryugu possibly did not travel as far from its place of origin to its current near-Earth orbit as previously assumed. New research published in the journal Science Advances suggests that Ryugu was formed near Jupiter......»»
Green and digital transitions are putting environmental problems on the back burner, says study
The European Green Deal is a package of political initiatives to ensure that the EU reaches climate neutrality by 2050. Faced with this challenge, the parallel goals of the green and digital transitions are at the center of the European Commission's.....»»
NASA confirms space station cracking a “highest” risk and consequence problem
NASA and Roscosmos have not agreed on the point at which the leak rate is untenable. Enlarge / A high-resolution commercial Earth-imaging satellite owned by Maxar captured this view of the International Space Station on June 7 wi.....»»
Marine dust identifies 1.5 million year Oldest Ice near South America
Earth's climate has experienced major shifts over its billions of years of history, including numerous periods where ice proliferated across the planet. Today, ice cores can be a valuable resource for understanding these periods of Earth's history as.....»»
Study uncovers first evidence of a volcanic spatter cone on Mars
While working under Erika Rader, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences at University of Idaho, a postdoctoral researcher identified a volcanic vent on Mars as a potential spatter cone and compared it to a spatter cone.....»»
Study suggests moon may have been captured from space rather than formed from collision particles
Over six missions to the moon, from 1969 to 1972, Apollo astronauts collected more than 800 pounds of lunar rock and soil. Chemical and isotopic analysis of that material showed that it was similar to the rock and soil on Earth: calcium-rich, basalti.....»»
Future climate change predicted to shift flood-generating mechanisms and intensify extreme flooding events
The Delaware River Basin, a coastal watershed in the Mid-Atlantic region, has a long history of severe flooding with significant socioeconomic impacts. Recent research uses a process-based modeling approach to analyze hydrometeorological (like rainfa.....»»
Climate change will lead to wetter US winters, modeling study finds
Most Americans can expect wetter winters in the future due to global warming, according to a new study led by a University of Illinois Chicago scientist......»»
Existence of an Earth-like planet around a dead sun offers hope for our planet"s ultimate survival
The discovery of an Earth-like planet 4,000 light years away in the Milky Way galaxy provides a preview of one possible fate for our planet billions of years in the future, when the sun has turned into a white dwarf, and a blasted and frozen Earth ha.....»»
Researchers explore novel approach to map forest dieback in satellite images
Forests and woodlands cover one third of Earth's surface and play a critical role in carbon sequestration, water regulation, timber production, soil protection, and biodiversity conservation. Accelerated by climate change, the decline of these and ot.....»»
Climate change is easier to study when it"s presented as a game, says researcher
Climate change is among the more difficult but important topics to teach to young people. It involves complicated science and data, and it can be really depressing, given the bleak picture it paints of Earth's future......»»
How a nearby supernova left its mark on Earth life
When a massive star explodes as a supernova, it does more than release an extraordinary amount of energy. Supernovae explosions are responsible for creating some of the heavy elements, including iron, which is blasted out into space by the explosion......»»
Nuking a huge asteroid could save Earth, lab experiment suggests
Humanity could use a nuclear bomb to deflect a massive, life-threatening asteroid hurtling towards Earth in the future, according to scientists who tested the theory in the laboratory by blasting X-rays at a marble-sized "mock asteroid"......»»
Sound provides new information about the secret lives of sperm whales
Sperm whales are the loudest animals on Earth and rely on sound to find food in the sprawling darkness of the deep sea. MBARI technology allows us to listen in, gaining new insight into the mysterious lives of these animals......»»
Can the "hard steps" in the evolutionary history of human intelligence be recast with geological thresholds?
What took so long for humans to appear on Earth? The Earth is 4.6 billion years old, and life began about 4 billion years ago, yet humans—the only intelligent, technological species we know of in the universe—have existed only for the last 200,0.....»»
Afar mantle plume study offers new insight into deep Earth processes
Sophisticated analysis of tiny bubbles of ancient gas trapped in volcanic rocks, combined with new geophysical modeling, has cast new light on long-held assumptions about the deep Earth......»»
Nanostructures in the deep ocean floor hint at life"s origin
Researchers led by Ryuhei Nakamura at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan and The Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) of Tokyo Institute of Technology have discovered inorganic nanostructures surrounding deep-ocean hydro.....»»
Walking on the Moon in Cologne: Europe"s lunar life simulator
A large, ordinary-looking warehouse in the German city of Cologne is the closest you can get to walking on the moon—without leaving Earth......»»
Astronaut’s stunning photo shows ‘flowing silver snakes’
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station has captured some stunning images of Earth showing 'flowing silver snakes' and 'glowing golden claws.'.....»»
Research abounds at the International Space Station
At the International Space station, researchers are making strides in everything from Earth science to chemical properties. Here's what they're up to and why it matters......»»