Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 30, 2006

Age of the Sierra Nevada Revealed

California's Sierra Nevada, an impressive mountain range that includes the popular Yosemite National Park, has done a great job of keeping its age a secret. But now a new study provides evidence that it's at least 40 million years old. Scientists conducted a chemical analysis of ancient raindrops found in...

Jun 30, 2006

Drought Conditions Worsen in Parts of U.S.

Expansion of drought conditions across the upper Midwest caused NOAA's Climate Prediction Center to issue an unscheduled update Friday to its U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook. Drought conditions that have worsened recently, affecting parts of the northern Plains and the Upper Mississippi Valley, should continue and may expand across eastern Montana,...

Jun 30, 2006

Flocking to the Coast: World's Population Migrating into Danger

New maps developed by investigating the relationship between human population and natural resources shows where people will most likely settle through 2025. Population will grow along various coastlines and in already densely populated developing countries. [Maps: The Americas | Africa, Asia & Europe] The number of people living within 60...

Jun 30, 2006

History Suggests Major Wind Shift Could Again Bring Drought to Great Plains

Nebraska's Sand Hills might look like a place fit only for cattle grazing, but to geologists the expanse of grasslands hide sand dunes that contain a valuable record of ancient climate. A crisscross pattern in the dunes serves as a record of changes in wind direction and shows that 800...

Jun 30, 2006

Sliding Cemetery: Now It's Really All Downhill

GREENFIELD, Mass. (AP)—The eternal slumbers of about 50 people—including a former Massachusetts governor—are about to be interrupted, either by nature or man. Directors of the Green River Cemetery are rushing against gravity in an attempt to exhume and rebury the remains before they slide down a steep slope into the...

May 31, 2006

The Truth About Toilet Seats

The paper toilet-seat cover can be a guardian angel for the backside, but only if the seat is dry to begin with. When the cover is placed onto a seat that's wet, it ferries bacteria and viruses from the toilet seat up to your bare skin. The good news is...

May 31, 2006

Report Warns of Threat to World's Deserts

LONDON (AP)—The world's deserts are under threat as never before, with global warming making lack of water an even bigger problem for the parched regions, a U.N. report released Monday said. The first comprehensive look at deserts around the world said these areas, their wildlife and, most of all, their...

May 31, 2006

New Satellite Provides 'Breathtaking' Views Inside Storms

New images from a recently launched radar satellite show the promise of providing unprecedented views inside storms all around the globe. NASA's new CloudSat satellite reveals never-before-seen details of both the clouds and precipitation within a storm, from the Earth's surface to 19 miles high. We're seeing the atmosphere as...

May 31, 2006

Earthquake Aftershocks Not What They Seemed

Aftershocks are more common than primary earthquakes, but researchers know little about how the two are related. They have long assumed that a main quake reconfigures stress on a fault, leading to subsequent tremblings that have roughly the same origin. But a new study finds some aftershocks are triggered primarily...

May 31, 2006

Alberto, Season's First Tropical Storm, Causes Little Damage

Updated 3:52 p.m. ET Tuesday, June 13 CEDAR KEY, Florida (AP)—The first tropical storm of the season raked northern Florida with rain and powerful wind gusts Tuesday but did not blow up into a hurricane as forecasters had feared. A hurricane warning that had been issued for more than 100...

May 31, 2006

Global Warming Could Release Permafrost Carbon

Carbon that has been locked away for thousands of years could escape into the atmosphere if global warming thaws large patches of frozen ground in Alaska and Siberia as expected, a new study warns. Called permafrost, the frozen ground contains large amounts of carbon-rich grass and animal bones. The new...

May 31, 2006

Urban Irrigation Has Increased Phoenix Area's Rainfall

Phoenix and other cities in arid regions create artificial conditions that alter rainfall patterns, a new study finds. Scientists have known for some years that cities create their own heat islands, as dark roofs and blacktop streets gather and retain the sun's warmth more than a natural environment. That's true...

May 31, 2006

Cell Phones Increase Risk of Death By Lightning, Doctors Claim

If you're chatting on a cell phone during a lightning storm, dropped calls could be the least of your worries. According to a letter published in this week's issue of the British Medical Journal, people who talk on, or even just carry, mobile phones outdoors during storms are more likely...

May 31, 2006

No Quick Fix for the Ozone Hole

The hole in Earth's protective ozone layer won't repair itself until about two decades later than had been expected, scientists announced yesterday. The ozone layer blocks more than 90 percent of the sun's ultraviolet radiation, helping to make life as we know it on Earth possible. For many decades, ozone...

Apr 30, 2006

Earlier Spring Starves Migratory Birds

Trees are blossoming, plants are flowering, and temperatures are warming up. Spring is finally is here and everyone seems happier. Well, except for the pied flycatcher, a small bird that can't schedule its breeding time to cope with the earlier spring season caused by climate change. The pied flycatcher winters...