Melting of polar ice shifting Earth itself, not just sea levels
The melting of polar ice is not only shifting the levels of our oceans, it is changing the planet Earth itself. Newly minted Ph.D. Sophie Coulson and her colleagues explained in a recent paper in Geophysical Research Letters that, as glacial ice from.....»»
Mantle heat may have boosted Earth"s crust 3 billion years ago
Little is known about the nature and evolution of Earth's continental crust before a few billion years ago because cratons, or stable swaths of the lithosphere more than 2–3 billion years old, are relatively rare......»»
Signs of "spider" phenomenon on Mars
ESA's Mars Express has snapped the telltale traces of "spiders" scattered across the southern polar region of Mars......»»
A NASA rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilized life on Mars
While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, NASA's Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to "search for potential evid.....»»
Australia"s tall, wet forests were not open and park-like when colonists arrived—and we shouldn"t be burning them
Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage's Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia's forests were kept open through frequent burning by First Nations people. Advocates for widespread thinning and burning of.....»»
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......»»
Some cannabis rolling papers may contain unhealthy levels of heavy metals
A team of chemists at Lake Superior State University, working with colleagues from Wayne State University, both in Michigan, and two representatives from JEOL U.S., a lab equipment maker, has found that some cannabis rolling papers contain high level.....»»
China to send three astronauts to Tiangong space station, part of its ambitious program
China's space agency is making final preparations to send the Shenzhou-18 crew into low-Earth orbit on Thursday as part of its ambitious space program that aims to put people on the moon by 2030......»»
Beyond higher temperatures: Preparing for national security risks posed by climate change
When talk turns to climate change, certain images pop to mind—maybe polar bears on ever-shrinking ice floes, coral reefs drained of color, or more powerful hurricanes hitting the coast......»»
How creating less-gassy cows could help fight climate change
A Curtin University study has revealed breeding less-flatulent cows and restoring agricultural land could significantly reduce rising methane emission levels, which play a considerable role in climate change......»»
From the coast to the deep sea, changing oxygen levels affect marine life in different ways
Earth's atmosphere maintains a constant level of oxygen, whether it is a wintry, rainy day or hot summer. Across the ocean, oxygen concentrations vary enormously between different places and over time. Sometimes oxygen levels change within the course.....»»
NASA to overhaul mission returning samples from Mars—here"s why it must and will go ahead
NASA recently announced that it is seeking new ways to complete the return to Earth of rock cores drilled by the Perseverance Rover in the Jezero Crater on Mars. This has led to some anxiety among space scientists, who view the Mars Sample Return (MS.....»»
Observations explore globular cluster system in the galaxy NGC 4262
Using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), Indian astronomers have performed wide and deep field observations of a polar ring galaxy known as NGC 4262. Results of the observational campaign, published April 15 on the pre-print server arXiv, she.....»»
Daily Telescope: The ambiguously galactic duo
Hubble continues to deliver the goods. Enlarge / This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features NGC 3783, a bright barred spiral galaxy about 130 million light-years from Earth. (credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. C. Ben.....»»
GRID discounts disassembled iPhone 4 frame to $99, more [Save 40%]
Our friends at GRID Studio are running an Earth Day sale this week with some impressive discounts on their iconic deconstructed wall art. The Grid 4, for example, showcases a deconstructed iPhone 4 and is available for just $99 (down from $170)......»»
Voyager 1 spacecraft is still alive and sending signals to Earth
NASA has announced that it is back in contact with Voyager 1, around five months after communications with the spacecraft were disrupted......»»
First discovery in decades of blue whales near Seychelles
Blue whales are fascinating animals. At 24–30 meters in length (longer than a basketball court) they are the largest creatures on Earth. They are also among the rarest. Estimates suggest that there are only about 5,000 to 15,000 blue whales left in.....»»
Computer model helps support theory of asteroid Kamo"oalewa as ejecta from the moon
A small international team of planetary scientists has found evidence supporting the theory that the near-Earth asteroid Kamo'oalewa is ejecta from the moon. In their paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the group describes their data-dri.....»»
Feedback loop that is melting ice shelves in West Antarctica revealed
New research has uncovered a feedback loop that may be accelerating the melting of the floating portions of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, pushing up global sea levels......»»
Mangrove blue carbon at higher risk of microplastic pollution
Earth's oceans and coastal ecosystems are a major sink for carbon storage, known as blue carbon. Sequestration of carbon is vitally important in the fight against climate change as it 'locks away' this molecule, alleviating pressure on greenhouse gas.....»»
Secrets of the Octopus takes us inside the world of these “aliens on Earth”
Dr. Alex Schell on the surprising things we're learning about these amazing creatures Enlarge / A Day octopus (Octopus cyanea) named Scarlet parachutes her web over a coral head while Dr. Alex Schnell observes. (credit: National.....»»