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Aug 31, 2014

Iceland Volcano Sparks New Flooding Threat

Iceland's fiery Holuhraun eruption may soon tunnel under a nearby glacier, triggering an explosive showdown between lava and ice, according to scientists monitoring the volcanic turmoil. To make space for the fresh magma feeding the eruption, rock underneath nearby Dyngjujokull glacier has cracked, forming a long depression called a rift...

Aug 31, 2014

Spectacular Auroras Light Up Alaska Skies (Photos)

The superheated particles launched from the sun after two back-to-black solar flares erupted this week have created dazzling light shows for skywatchers. Filling the skies near Cleary Summit in Fairbanks, Alaska, with their eerie green and purple-pink glow, the northern lights made for quite a sight. And Victor Chinn, a...

Aug 31, 2014

Southwest's Earthquake Spike Linked to Injection Wells

A dramatic increase in earthquakes in a small region of New Mexico and Colorado was triggered by the underground disposal of wastewater, according to a new study from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). There was a 40-fold increase in earthquakes in the area since 2001, compared to over the last...

Aug 31, 2014

NASA Space Shuttle Data Tapped to Combat Climate Change

The White House is looking to data from NASA's space shuttle program to help in the fight against climate change. At the United Nations Climate Summit in New York this week, U.S. President Barack Obama announced a suite of new initiatives to help people around the world prepare for drought,...

Aug 31, 2014

Lots o' Water! 117 Million Lakes Dot Earth, Most Accurate Survey Finds

Until now, no one knew for sure how many lakes exist on Earth. Blame geography — most of the world's lakes are in places where humans don't live, said David Seekell, an environmental scientist at Umea University in Sweden. This is something one would have assumed had been done long...

Jul 31, 2014

Dead Volcano, Dying Lake Seen from Space (Photo)

A volcano that once poked out of a salty lake in Iran now sits on the shores of the drying body of water. This extinct volcano sits by Lake Urmia, one of the largest lakes in the Middle East, according to NASA's Earth Observatory, But Lake Urmia is shrinking rapidly....

Jul 31, 2014

Supermoon Sunday: Largest Full Moon of the Year Rises

The biggest and brightest full moon of the year — a dazzling supermoon — will rise tomorrow (Aug. 10). Sunday's supermoon will be the largest of a summer trifecta, along with a full moon that lit up skies in July and another that will occur in September. However, this weekend's...

Jul 31, 2014

Faraway Earthquake Triggered Antarctica Icequakes

Antarctica's ice snapped and popped because of a major earthquake in Maule, Chile, halfway around the world, a new study reports. Antarctica has been touched by great earthquakes before. In March 2011, Japan's Tohoku tsunami tore off two Manhattan-size icebergs from the Sulzberger Ice Shelf, more than 8,000 miles (13,000...

Jul 31, 2014

Leafy Bloodhounds: Plants Might Find Land Mines

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Wars may end, but land mines last for decades. These deadly explosives can be cleared, but the task is often dangerous and time-consuming. Someday, there may be an easier way: Plants could indicate where mines lay hidden underground, according to researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in...

Jul 31, 2014

Strongest Earthquake in 25 Years Hits Northern California

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Bay area near Napa, California, this morning (Aug. 24), the largest such event in the area since the magnitude-6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Dozens of injuries and severe damage to homes, buildings and infrastructure have been reported,...

Jul 31, 2014

5 Ways Gut Bacteria Are Good for More Than Just Your Gut

Exercise may improve more than just the look and diameter of your gut, according to a recent study. It may also increase the bacterial diversity within it, the study published in June in the journal Gut showed. But is having more gut bacteria a good thing? To give you an...

Jul 31, 2014

Iceland Volcano Blasts Back to Life

A new volcanic eruption in southeast Iceland on Sunday (Aug. 31) fountained lava nearly 200 feet (60 meters) into the air. Lava is spewing from the same crack as a small eruption that occurred Friday (Aug. 29). The fissure slices through the 200-year-old Holuhraun lava field, between Bardarbunga volcano and...

Jun 30, 2014

Tropical Storm Arthur's Threat Seen From Space (Photo)

Tropical Storm Arthur bears down on the coast of Florida, in this photo captured today (July 2) by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The menacing storm is clambering northward, and could strengthen into the first hurricane of the season by Friday, just in time to spoil Fourth of July...

Jun 30, 2014

Beauty of Greece Dazzles from Space (Photo)

Greece's rugged shoreline stands out against the brilliant blue Mediterranean Sea in a new astronaut photograph. Taken from the International Space Station, this photograph snapped on March 21 shows a cloud-free view of most of Greece. The large peninsula at the center of the image is the Peloponnese, home to...

Jun 30, 2014

'Family That Walks on All Fours' Not Evolutionary Throwbacks

When Turkish evolutionary biologist Uner Tan introduced the world to a Turkish family with some members who could walk only on all fours, in a bear crawl, he and other scientists speculated this odd gait was the resurgence of a trait lost during human evolution. Not so, a new study...