Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 31, 2010

Mexican Volcano Erupts Constantly

Popocatépetl Volcano one of North America's most active volcanoes has been erupting since January 2005. The volcano, which towers over central Mexico, vents almost constantly from fumaroles, openings in the Earth's crust that emit steam or gases. This low-level background is punctuated by minor steam, gas, and ash emissions ....

Oct 31, 2010

Indonesia Eruption: Why Are Volcanic Plumes So Dangerous?

After a lull in activity, Mount Merapi in Indonesia sent a giant ash cloud barreling down its slope on Sunday (Oct. 31). Indonesian government officials continue to warn that the volcano is still dangerously active, and that nearby villages should continue to stay evacuated. The showers of pale ash spewed...

Oct 31, 2010

Volcanic Eruptions Alter Rainfall Across Broad Swath of Planet

Powerful volcanic eruptions are capable of changing rainfall patterns over large portions of the Earth, soaking some areas while depriving others of essential rain, according to newly emerging data. Tree-ring researchers at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory showed that big eruptions tend to dry up much of central Asia but...

Oct 31, 2010

The Heart of the Shrinking Aral Sea

This satellite image, from July 24 features the heart-shaped Small Aral Sea, also known as the North Aral Sea. The Aral Sea was once the world's fourth-largest inland body of water, but since the rivers that fed it were diverted for irrigation projects 50 years ago, it has been steadily...

Oct 31, 2010

At Kew Gardens, A Corpse Flowers Blooms

A corpse flower nicknamed for the rotten meat smell it releases as it blooms revealed its fetid flower last week (Oct. 26) at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew in England. Jaw dropping site, said Rosemary Walbancke, on Kew's Facebook fan page. But boy does it smell bad. The flower is...

Oct 31, 2010

U.S., India Join to Improve Monsoon Forecasts

The United States and India are teaming up to improve India's forecasts of the intense rainy season that strikes every year, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced yesterday (Nov. 11). To improve monsoon forecasts, President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will join forces between...

Oct 31, 2010

Antarctic Peninsula Headed into Spring

While the Northern Hemisphere is headed toward winter, the Antarctic Peninsula's ice has begun melting with the onset of spring. This Nov. 15 image from NASA's Terra satellite caught this rare, nearly cloud-free view of the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, as the sea ice began to melt. The...

Oct 31, 2010

Nevado Coropuna: Tallest Mountain in Peru

The tallest volcanic peak in Peru is aptly named Nevado (the Spanish word for snowy) Coropuna (the Quechua term for roughly shrine on the plateau), as the volcano is tipped with ice deposits and has long been considered a sacred mountain by locals. Nevado Coropuna is not a typical stratovolcano....

Oct 31, 2010

Child of Krakatau Is Still Smoking

Throughout the summer and fall of this year, the volcano Anak Krakatau has erupted hundreds of times a day. But by Nov. 17, when NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite took this image, activity at the volcano had started to slow at the remnant of one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions...

Oct 31, 2010

Russia's Korean Pine Logging Ban to Help Save Siberian Tigers

The Russian government has added Korean pine to its list of trees that are off-limits to timber companies, a move hailed by conservation groups trying to save the planet's dwindling wild tiger population. Korean pines are a favored food for wild boar, which are key prey for the few Siberian...

Sep 30, 2010

Photos: Amazing Caves Around the World

Lilburn Cave, Sequoia National Park, California (Image credit: Dave Bunnell/Under Earth Images/www.underearth.us.) Stashed away in Sequoia National Park are over 240 caves with maybe hundreds more undiscovered. One of the most amazing is Lilburn Cave, a marble labyrinth and California's deepest cave at over 20 miles (32 kilometers). More than...

Sep 30, 2010

New Sensors Take Yellowstone Geysers' Temperatures

A new sensor network installed in Yellowstone National Park this summer is giving scientists and the public real-time temperature readings from geysers and hot springs in the park's Norris Geyser Basin. Ten new, radio-equipped sensors were installed at different spots within the geyser basin, recording temperatures within runoff channels from...

Sep 30, 2010

Hurricane Season Not Over Yet: Subtropical Storm Otto Forms

Earlier this afternoon (Oct. 6), a subtropical depression that had been lurking to the east of the Caribbean developed into a subtropical storm now dubbed Otto. Otto makes the 15th named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. Named storms include tropical storms and hurricanes. Otto is a little different...

Sep 30, 2010

New Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents Discovered in Middle of Atlantic

An area of hydrothermal vents has been discovered deep below the sea in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The discovery of the vents, which lie nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) below the ocean surface, was a surprise to scientists as the area in which they were found, about 300...

Sep 30, 2010

Creatures of the Frozen Deep: Antarctica's Sea Life

Ice fish (Image credit: British Antarctic Survey.) This ghostly-looking fish has no red blood cells. Glycerol in its blood acts as antifreeze, allowing the fish to stay alive in the frigid Antarctic conditions. Sea Spider (Image credit: British Antarctic Survey.) Arachnophobes beware: More species of sea spider are found around...