Wind turbines could offer a double whammy in the fight against climate change. Besides harnessing wind to generate clean energy, turbines may help to funnel carbon dioxide to systems that…
Category: Earth
Here’s what happened to the Delaware-sized iceberg that broke off Antarctica
It was the rift watched ‘round the world. In July 2017, after weeks of anticipation, a massive iceberg about the size of Delaware split from the Antarctic Peninsula (SN: 7/12/17).…
How fungi make potent toxins that can contaminate food
Food contaminated with fungi can be an inconvenience at best and life-threatening at worst. But new research shows that removing just one protein can leave some fungal toxins high and…
Heat waves in U.S. rivers are on the rise. Here’s why that’s a problem
U.S. rivers are getting into hot water. The frequency of river and stream heat waves is on the rise, a new analysis shows. Like marine heat waves, riverine heat waves…
Climate change could turn some blue lakes to green or brown
Some picturesque blue lakes may not be so blue in the future, thanks to climate change. In the first global tally of lake color, researchers estimate that roughly one-third of…
Gas flares are leaking five times as much methane than previously thought
In many oil and gas producing regions, flames light the sky. The flares burn off 98 percent of the escaping natural gas, oil and gas companies claim. But observations of…
Robin Wordsworth re-creates the atmosphere of ancient Mars
Visitors to the village of Drumnadrochit, on the western shore of Scotland’s murky Loch Ness, come to see the nearby ruins of Urquhart Castle or to chance a glimpse of…
Jacky Austermann looks to the solid earth for clues to sea level rise
It’s no revelation that sea levels are rising. Rising temperatures brought on by human-caused climate change are melting ice sheets and expanding ocean water. What’s happening inside Earth will also…
Mangrove forests expand and contract with a lunar cycle
The glossy leaves and branching roots of mangroves are downright eye-catching, and now a study finds that the moon plays a special role in the vigor of these trees. Long-term…
How Kenyans help themselves and the planet by saving mangrove trees
On the fringe of Kenya’s Gazi village, 50 kilometers south of Mombasa, Mwatime Hamadi walks barefoot on a path of scorching-hot sand toward a thicket of trees that seem to…
