http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/earth_science/ Earth science research and news. Read science articles on air quality, geology, meteorology, oceanography, paleontology and science and the environment. en-us Tue, 13 May 2008 07:05:01 EDT Tue, 13 May 2008 07:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/earth_science/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512135102.htm A new study of possible links between climate and geophysics finds that a much hotter climate could shut down the Earth's plate tectonics. While human-induced climate change couldn't generate the needed heat, volcanic activity or changes in the sun's luminosity could. The research, in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, may help explain why Venus swelters beneath a thick blanket of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. Tue, 13 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512135102.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512120523.htm The sun has powered almost everything on Earth since life began, including its climate. The sun also delivers an annual and seasonal impact, changing the character of each hemisphere as Earth's orientation shifts through the year. Since the Industrial Revolution, however, new forces have begun to exert significant influence on Earth's climate. Mon, 12 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512120523.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509101607.htm An international group of scientists has swapped their comfortable offices for one of the most inhospitable environments on the planet to carry out a challenging field campaign that is seen as the key to ensuring the data delivered by ESA's ice mission CryoSat will be as accurate as possible. Mon, 12 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509101607.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512153631.htm Over a decade of work and contributions by more than 200 leading conservation scientists have produced a first-ever comprehensive map and database of the diversity of life in the world's freshwater ecosystems. Freshwater Ecoregions of the World divides the world's freshwater systems into 426 distinct conservation units, many of which are rich in species but under increasing pressure from human population growth, rising water use, and habitat alteration. Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512153631.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507132855.htm Computer analyses of global climate have consistently overstated warming in Antarctica, new research concludes. The study can help scientists improve computer models and determine if Earth's southernmost continent will warm significantly this century, a major research question because of Antarctica's potential impact on global sea-level rise. Thu, 08 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507132855.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507133259.htm The Amazon rainforest, so crucial to the Earth's climate system, is coming under threat from cleaner air say prominent climate scientists. The new study identifies a link between reducing sulphur dioxide emissions from burning coal and increasing sea surface temperatures in the tropical north Atlantic, resulting in a heightened risk of drought in the Amazon rainforest. Thu, 08 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507133259.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105619.htm Envisat captured Cyclone Nargis making its way across the Bay of Bengal just south of Myanmar on May 1, 2008. The cyclone hit the coastal region and ripped through the heart of Myanmar on Saturday, devastating the country. Thu, 08 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105619.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507133330.htm What if hydrology is more important for predicting biodiversity than biology? New research challenges current thinking about biodiversity, and opens up new avenues for predicting how climate change or human activity may affect biodiversity patterns. Thu, 08 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507133330.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505094125.htm The Earth's oceans play a vital role in the carbon cycle, making it imperative that we understand marine biological activity enough to predict how our planet will react to the extra 25,000 million tons of carbon dioxide humans are pumping into the atmosphere annually. Wed, 07 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505094125.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105654.htm The Chaiten volcano now erupting in southern Chile is one of 200 to 300 volcanoes in the "Andean Arc" region of Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Columbia considered active by volcanologists, some of which lie in much more densely populated areas, said a geologist who has studied Chaiten. Wed, 07 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105654.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506103036.htm Scientists have helped to identify that the presence of large amounts of seaweed in coastal areas can influence the climate. A new international study has found that large brown seaweeds, when under stress, release large quantities of inorganic iodine into the coastal atmosphere, where it may contribute to cloud formation. Wed, 07 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506103036.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505211835.htm The Arctic has become a poster child for the negative effects of climate change, but new research that species living in the tropics likely face the greatest peril in a warmer world. Tue, 06 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505211835.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505120702.htm The asteroid presumed to have wiped out the dinosaurs struck the Earth with such force that carbon deep in the Earth's crust liquefied, rocketed skyward, and formed tiny airborne beads that blanketed the planet, say scientists from the US, UK, Italy, and New Zealand in this month's Geology. Mon, 05 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505120702.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134246.htm Scientists probing volcanic rocks from deep under the frozen surface of the Arctic Ocean have discovered a special geochemical signature until now found only in the southern hemisphere. The rocks were dredged from the remote Gakkel Ridge, which lies under 3,000 to 5,000 meters of water; it is Earth's most northerly undersea spreading ridge. Mon, 05 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134246.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501154212.htm A new model of inner Earth pulls past information and hypotheses into a coherent story to clarify mantle motion. Scientists paint a story for a chemically complex inner earth, a model that sharply contrasts the heavily relied upon paradigm of the past few decades that the mantle is all one thing and well mixed. The original model was composed of simple concentric spheres representing the core, mantle and crust -- but the inner Earth isn't that simple. Sun, 04 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501154212.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501093513.htm Geologists call into question three decades of conventional wisdom regarding some of the physical processes that helped shape the Earth as we know it today. New research provides a direct challenge to the popular "late veneer hypothesis," a theory which suggests that all of our water, as well as several so-called "iron-loving" elements, were added to the Earth late in its formation by impacts with icy comets, meteorites and other passing objects. Sat, 03 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501093513.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502092145.htm A new study suggests the solar system passes through the plane of the galaxy every 35 to 40 million years. The period coincides with evidence of crater impact and mass extinctions on Earth. The paper suggests gravitational forces from gas and dust clouds in the galactic plane send comets into the inner solar system and into the path of the Earth. The periods of comet bombardment also coincide with mass extinctions, such as that of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Our present position in the galaxy suggests we are now very close to another such period. Fri, 02 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502092145.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430141200.htm Scientists have discovered a new climate pattern, the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation. This pattern explains, for the first time, changes in the water important in helping commercial fishermen understand fluctuations in the fish stock. They're also finding that as the Earth is warming, large fluctuations in these factors could help climatologists predict how oceans will respond in a warmer world. Fri, 02 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430141200.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501143406.htm Scientists confirm computer model predictions that oxygen-depleted zones in tropical oceans are expanding, possibly because of climate change. Oceanographers have discovered that oxygen-poor regions of tropical oceans are expanding as the oceans warm, limiting the areas in which predatory fishes and other marine organisms can live or enter in search of food. Fri, 02 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501143406.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430124607.htm New calculations indicate the record low minimum extent of sea ice across the Arctic last September has a three-in-five chance of being shattered again in 2008 because of continued warming temperatures and a preponderance of younger, thinner ice. Warming temperatures, preponderance of young, thin ice drives prediction. Fri, 02 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430124607.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430112530.htm A new model of Europe's Earth's crust has been made. The Earth's crust is, on global average around 40 kilometers deep. In relation to the total diameter of the Earth with approx. 12800 kilometers this appears to be rather shallow, but precisely these upper kilometers of the crust, the human habitat, is of special interest for us. Europe's crust shows an astonishing diversity: for example the crust under Finland is as deep as one only expects for crust under a mountain range such as the Alps. Thu, 01 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430112530.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429120817.htm The state of Alaska has the dubious distinction of leading the lower 48 in the effects of a warming climate. Small villages are slipping into the sea due to coastal erosion, soggy permafrost is cracking buildings and trapping trucks. In an effort to better understand how the Pacific Northwest fits into the larger climate-change picture, scientists are heading to Denali National Park on the second leg of a multi-year mission to recover ice cores from glaciers in the Alaska wilderness. Thu, 01 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429120817.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428175339.htm Recent additions to the premier collection of Southern Ocean sediment cores at Florida State University's Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility will give international scientists a close-up look at fluctuations that occurred in Antarctica's ice sheet and marine and terrestrial life as the climate cooled considerably between 20 and 14 million years ago. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428175339.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429095100.htm Over millions of years carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have been moderated by a finely-tuned natural feedback system -- a system that human emissions have recently overwhelmed. Scientists have now linked the pre-human stability to connections between carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the breakdown of minerals in the Earth's crust. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429095100.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428104521.htm A new NASA satellite mission will make global soil moisture and other measurements essential to the accuracy of weather forecasts and predictions of global carbon cycle and climate. At present, scientists have no network for gathering soil moisture data as they do for rainfall, winds, humidity and temperature. SMAP will change that. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428104521.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm Chondritic meteorites have a similar chemical composition to the sun and are therefore reliable witnesses as to what the solar nebula, from which the planets formed, was composed of. This can be used to deduce what the Earth consists of chemically. However, researchers have now discovered that strictly speaking this fundamental geological assumption is not true. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428081732.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424141929.htm Monitoring Earth's rising greenhouse gas levels will require a global data collection network 10 times larger than the one currently in place in order to quantify regional progress in emission reductions, according to a new research. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424141929.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428130641.htm Before ice first began to form in Antarctica around 34 million years ago, the Earth was a very different place - but then greenhouse conditions swiftly gave way to an icehouse climate, causing the oceans to become less acidic. Scientists have been piecing together how Earth's changing climate affected ocean chemistry during this period of transition. Their work sheds light on the links between glaciation and the ocean carbon cycle. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428130641.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080425095207.htm More than 20 years of continuous measurements and a dose of "belief" yield discovery of subtle ocean currents that could dramatically improve forecasts of climate, ecosystem changes. A scientific team detected the presence of crisscrossing patterns of currents running throughout the world's oceans. The new data could help scientists significantly improve high-resolution models that help them understand trends in climate and marine ecosystems. Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080425095207.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423153318.htm Geologists studying deposits of volcanic glass in the western United States have found that the central Sierra Nevada largely attained its present elevation 12 million years ago, roughly 8 or 9 million years earlier than commonly thought. The finding has implications not only for understanding the geologic history of the mountain range, but for modeling ancient global climates. Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423153318.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423135236.htm The 1600 eruption of Huaynaputina in Peru had a global impact on human society, according to geologists. The eruption is known to have put a large amount of sulfur into the atmosphere, and tree ring studies show that 1601 was a cold year, but no one had looked at the agricultural and social impacts. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423135236.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424171350.htm To the surprise of many, the earthquake on April 18, 2008, about 120 miles east of St. Louis, originated in the Wabash Valley Fault, not the better-known and more-dreaded New Madrid Fault in Missouri's bootheel. The concern of seismologists is that the New Madrid Fault may have seen its day and the Wabash Fault is the new kid on the block. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424171350.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140407.htm A much-discussed idea to offset global warming by injecting sulfates into the stratosphere would drastically affect the ozone layer. A new study warns that such an approach might delay recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole by decades and cause significant ozone loss over the Arctic. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140407.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422120313.htm Sharks in captivity avoid metals that react with seawater to produce an electric field, a behavior that may help fishery biologists develop a strategy to reduce the bycatch of sharks in longline gear. Shark bycatch is an increasing priority worldwide given diminished populations of many shark species, and because sharks compete with target species for baited lines, reducing fishing efficiency and increasing operating costs. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422120313.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424113454.htm A full recovery of the stratospheric ozone hole could modify climate change in the southern hemisphere and even amplify Antarctic warming, according to scientists. While Earth's average surface temperatures have been increasing, the interior of Antarctica has exhibited a unique cooling trend during the austral summer and fall caused by ozone depletion, they said. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424113454.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423181652.htm Last year alone global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the primary driver of global climate change, increased by 0.6 percent, or 19 billion tons. Additionally methane rose by 27 million tons after nearly a decade with little or no increase. NOAA scientists released these and other preliminary findings Aprill 23 as part of an annual update to the agency's greenhouse gas index, which tracks data from 60 sites around the world. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423181652.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421111622.htm The Antarctic deep sea is getting colder, which might stimulate the circulation of the oceanic water masses. Scientists studied ocean currents as well as the distribution of temperature, salt content and trace substances in Antarctic sea water. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421111622.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421160728.htm Increased carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere is causing microscopic ocean plants to produce greater amounts of calcium carbonate (chalk) - with potentially wide ranging implications for predicting the cycling of carbon in the oceans and climate modelling. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421160728.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421124230.htm The shrinking expanse of Arctic sea ice is increasingly vulnerable to summer sunshine. New research finds that unusually sunny weather contributed to last summer's record loss of Arctic ice, while similar weather conditions in past summers did not have comparable impacts. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421124230.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416165732.htm Scientists have developed a new model that accurately maps where coral reefs are in the most trouble, and identifies regions where reefs can be protected best. The model is being applied in areas throughout the Indian Ocean. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416165732.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416140958.htm Using novel isotopic studies, scientists have identified the most important processes responsible for changes in natural methane concentrations over the transition from the last ice age into our warm period. The study shows that wetland regions emitted significantly less methane during glacial times. The glacial/interglacial changes in atmospheric methane concentrations are quite drastic. Glacial concentration were on average 350 ppbv (part per billion by volume) and increased to approximately 700 ppbv during the last glacial/interglacial transition. During the last centuries human methane emissions artificially increased methane concentrations to approximately 1750 ppbv. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416140958.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417105456.htm Data from faint earth tremors caused by wind-driven ocean waves -- often dismissed as "background noise" at seismographic stations around the world -- suggest extreme ocean storms have become more frequent over the past three decades. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other prominent researchers have predicted that stronger and more frequent storms may occur as a result of global warming trends. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417105456.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417170213.htm Hurricanes in some areas, including the North Atlantic, are likely to become more intense as a result of global warming even though the number of such storms worldwide may decline, according to a new study by MIT researchers. The lead author of the new study, wrote a paper in 2005 reporting an apparent link between a warming climate and an increase in hurricane intensity. That paper attracted worldwide attention because it was published in Nature just three weeks before Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans. Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417170213.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080418112341.htm The average global land temperature in March of 2008 was the warmest on record and ocean surface temperatures were the 13th warmest. Combining the land and the ocean temperatures, the overall global temperature ranked the second warmest for the month of March. Global temperature averages have been recorded since 1880. An analysis by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center shows that the average temperature for March in the contiguous United States ranked near average for the past 113 years. It was the 63rd warmest March since record-keeping began in the United States in 1895. The average global land temperature in March of 2008 was the warmest on record and ocean surface temperatures were the 13th warmest. Combining the land and the ocean temperatures, the overall global temperature ranked the second warmest for the month of March. Global temperature averages have been recorded since 1880. Sat, 19 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080418112341.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417142503.htm Researchers have for the first time documented the sudden and complete drainage of a lake of meltwater from the top of the Greenland ice sheet to its base. From those observations, scientists have uncovered a plumbing system for the ice sheet, where meltwater can penetrate thick, cold ice and accelerate some of the large-scale summer movements of the ice sheet. Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417142503.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080414103617.htm For the first time, a German has taken part in a Russian drift expedition. He has spent seven months on an ice floe and gained observational data from a region, which is normally inaccessible during the Arctic winter. Fri, 18 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080414103617.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416153558.htm The Earth's jet streams are shifting -- possibly in response to global warming. Scientists have determined that over a 23-year span from 1979 to 2001 the jet streams in both hemispheres have risen in altitude and shifted toward the poles. The jet stream in the northern hemisphere has also weakened. These changes fit the predictions of global warming models and have implications for the frequency and intensity of future storms, including hurricanes. Storm paths in North America are likely to shift northward as a result of the jet stream changes. Hurricanes, whose development tends to be inhibited by jet streams, may become more powerful and more frequent as the jet streams move away from the sub-tropical zones where hurricanes are born. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416153558.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416174630.htm The dangers posed by a major earthquake in the New Madrid and Charleston, South Carolina, zones in the Midwestern and Southern parts of the United States may be noticeably lower than current estimates if seismologists adjust one of the major assumptions that go into calculating seismic hazard, according to a new study. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416174630.htm