Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 30, 2011

Climate Change Debunked? Not So Fast

New research suggesting that cloud cover, not carbon dioxide, causes global warming is getting buzz in climate skeptic circles. But mainstream climate scientists dismissed the research as unrealistic and politically motivated. It is not newsworthy, Daniel Murphy, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) cloud researcher, wrote in an email...

May 31, 2011

Radar Reveals Fjords Hidden Beneath Antarctic Ice

A dramatic new landscape of fjords hidden under miles of ice in Antarctica has been revealed. The fjords reveal how disruptions related to ice here could dramatically affect global sea levels, the researchers said. A team of scientists from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia made the discovery...

May 31, 2011

Photos: Madagascar's Treasure Trove of Species

Madagascar Frogs (Image credit: Axel Strauss/WWF Madagascar.)Since 1999, scientists have discovered 615 new species of animals and plants on the island of Madagascar. Here we take a look at some of the amazing creatures revealed on the historically isolated island. This new species of frog, Boophis lilianae, was formally identified...

May 31, 2011

War's Cost: To Gain Cooperation, People Punish Others

War. What is it good for? Getting people to work together, a new study finds. People are more willing to reward collaborators and punish lone wolves in an effort to force cooperation in times of conflict, according to the research, which was conducted during the 34-day Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006....

May 31, 2011

Pinatubo Flashback, June 11, 1991: Before the Storm

On June 15, 1991, the largest land volcano eruption in living history shook the Philippine island of Luzon as Mount Pinatubo, a formerly unassuming lump of jungle-covered slopes, blew its top. Ash fell as far away as Singapore, and in the year to follow, volcanic particles in the atmosphere would...

May 31, 2011

2011 Fifth Deadliest Tornado Season on Record

This year's tornado season is now tied for the fifth deadliest on record. That ranking could climb even higher by the year's end, one meteorologist said. It's possible that by the end of the year we'll be the second deadliest on record, said meteorologist Harold Brooks, of the National Severe...

May 31, 2011

Sea Level Is Rising Faster Than Ever Seen

Sea levels are rising faster than they have been in the last two millennia, new research shows. The swelling seas match up well with historical temperature data, suggesting the warmer it is, the more the sea level rises. Sea-level rise is a potentially disastrous outcome of climate change, study researcher...

May 31, 2011

Melting Arctic Ice Marks Possible Sea Change in Marine Ecosystems

A single-celled alga that went extinct in the North Atlantic Ocean about 800,000 years ago has returned after drifting from the Pacific through the Arctic thanks to melting polar ice. And while its appearance marks the first trans-Arctic migration in modern times, scientists say it signals something potentially bigger. It...

Apr 30, 2011

Social Beasts: 35 Ancient Marsupials Found in Grave

A large trove of bones found in Bolivia is giving researchers a new look at the social lives of ancient marsupials. These ratlike animals lived in large packs, a very uncommon scenario in modern marsupials. We found a large number of complete skeletons from marsupial mammals. It's very exceptional, said...

Apr 30, 2011

Salt Lake of Tibetan Plateau

Numerous lakes dot the otherwise arid landscape of the Tibetan Plateau. One of those lakes is Ayakum, near the northern boundary of the Plateau, to the southeast of the Kunlun Mountains. While many of the small glacier- and snowmelt-fed streams on the Plateau give rise to major Southeast Asian rivers...

Apr 30, 2011

How Big Is the Mississippi River Flood?

The deadly tornadoes and rainstorms that tore across the Midwest last month combined with melting snow have left the Mississippi River bursting at the seams. Amidst the evacuations and extensive flooding along the river, experts know records are being broken, but they say they won't know the full extent of...

Apr 30, 2011

Maine's Tiny Earthquakes Explained

A combination of tiny faults and an ice age hangover caused Maine's swarm of tiny earthquakes earlier this month. The state was hit by as many as 30 minor tremors from the last day of April through the first week of May. These tiny quakes , all of which were...

Apr 30, 2011

La Niña Weakening, Effects Could Linger

The 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook could be an above-normal year for activity, according to the forecast from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This hurricane season may see 12 to 18 named storms and six to 10 hurricanes, according to the forecast . Several climate factors will play...

Apr 30, 2011

Out of the Tornado Frying Pan and Into the Hurricane Fire?

Tornadoes and hurricanes are very different types of storms. Tornadoes can form a vicious mile-wide funnel in minutes, level a town, and fade away minutes later, making them difficult to forecast. Hurricanes can be spotted weeks out, and the 100-mile-wide storms typically spend days crossing the Atlantic before they hit...

Mar 31, 2011

Desert Colors

This image of Tassili n’Ajjer National Park, part of the Sahara Desert, is made from multiple observations by the Landsat 7 satellite in the year 2000. It uses a combination of infrared, near-infrared, and visible light to better distinguish between the park’s various rock types: Sand appears in shades of...