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Dec 31, 2007

Buried Volcano Discovered in Antarctica

A volcano beneath Antarctica’s icy surface has been detected for the first time. Under the frozen continent's western-most ice sheet, the volcano erupted about 2,300 years ago yet remains active, according to a study published Sunday in an online issue of the journal Nature Geosciences. We believe this was the...

Dec 31, 2007

Earth Gets Soft in the Middle

Earth’s middle layer may be squishier than previously thought. A new study suggests the intense heat and pressure deep in the Earth makes sound waves travel more slowly through parts of the lower mantle than had been previously estimated, suggesting that part of this layer of the inner Earth is...

Dec 31, 2007

Humans Force Earth into New Geologic Epoch

Humans have altered Earth so much that scientists say a new epoch in the planet's geologic history has begun. Say goodbye to the 10,000-year-old Holocene Epoch and hello to the Anthropocene. Among the major changes heralding this two-century-old man-made epoch: Vastly altered sediment erosion and deposition patterns.Major disturbances to the...

Nov 30, 2009

The Most Surprising Results of Global Warming

At the United Nations meeting on climate change next week, scientists will be discussing some of the potentially devastating effects of global warming, such as rising temperatures, melting ice caps and rising sea levels in the near future. But Earth's changing climate is already wreaking havoc in some very weird...

Nov 30, 2009

The Reality of 'Climategate'

At a Danish climate summit this week, one subject will certainly be raised: The theft of thousands of private e-mails and files recently hacked from computers at East Anglia university, a leading climate research center. The e-mails, which were made public and appear to show scientific misconduct, have fueled a...

Nov 30, 2009

Gravestones Hold Secrets to Earth's Climate Past

Gravestones may hold secrets of how the Earth's atmosphere has changed over the centuries, and scientists are now asking for the public's help to read these stones. Little by little, atmospheric gases dissolved in raindrops cause the marble in gravestones to erode. As such, headstones can serve as diaries of...

Nov 30, 2009

Time-Lapse Photos Show Dramatic Erosion of Alaska Coast

SAN FRANCISCO — Time-lapse photography of crumbling Alaskan coastlines is helping scientists understand the triple whammy of forces eroding the local landscape: declining sea ice, warming ocean waters and more poundings by waves. The erosion rates from these forces are greater than anything seen along the world's coastlines, with the...

Nov 30, 2009

Robotic Planes Capture Detailed Images of Remote Antarctic

SAN FRANCISCO — Unmanned planes flying over one of the most forbidding regions of Antarctica have captured the first close-up images of the area, where the cold, dense seawater that drives the ocean's circulation is formed. These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are proving a boon to scientists who study the...

Nov 30, 2009

Snowflakes on Christmas Cards Drawn Wrong

In pop culture depictions, snowflakes are usually drawn inaccurately, an expert now says. Snowflakes are six-cornered, rather than the four-, five- and eight-cornered crystals typically depicted in children's books, Christmas cards and even in an ad for a science magazine. Thomas Koop of Bielefeld University in Germany noticed the frosty...

Nov 30, 2009

The First American Women in Antarctica

This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. In the spring of 1969, Terry Tickhill Terrell was 19 and an undergraduate chemistry major at Ohio State University, bored with her lab work and restless. She had never traveled more than 250 miles...

Nov 30, 2009

9 Science Stories We Loved, and Hated, in 2009

The best science answers tough questions, and so some of the hardest-hitting discoveries often elicit controversy, ruffling the feathers of readers and sometimes even other scientists. Here are some of the most loved and hated science stories of the year. Boys' issues are neglected. Growing up can be tough for...

Nov 30, 2009

The 9 Strangest News Stories of 2009

Weirdness takes many forms, and 2009 had its share of weird events. Here's a look back at the strangest news stories of the year drawn from the realms of pseudoscience, the paranormal, media hype, outright lies and the just plain strange. 9. Trailcam Transforms Hiker into Bigfoot When some hunters...

Oct 31, 2009

Giant Crack in Africa Will Create a New Ocean

A 35-mile rift in the desert of Ethiopia will likely become a new ocean eventually, researchers now confirm. The crack, 20 feet wide in spots, opened in 2005 and some geologists believed then that it would spawn a new ocean. But that view was controversial, and the rift had not...

Oct 31, 2009

The Many Mysteries of Neanderthals

Editor's Note: This is Part 6 in a 10-part LiveScience series on the origin, evolution and future of the human species and the mysteries that remain to be solved. We are currently the only human species alive, but as recently as maybe 24,000 years ago another one walked the earth...

Oct 31, 2009

Orwellian or Green? Carbon Taxes on Individuals

Vote below. But first, this news ... The Dutch government wants to tax residents for every mile they drive to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions. The new green tax would replace taxes on the sales and ownership of autos, AFP reports. Each vehicle will be equipped with a GPS...