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Jan 31, 2013

Plankton Pumping Iron May Impact Climate

This Research in Action article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. Like humans, phytoplankton (tiny plants that drift on ocean currents) need iron to survive. Normally, though, iron is in short supply in the ocean. But a recent study funded by the National Science Foundation...

Jan 31, 2013

New Source Found For Cold, Deep Antarctic Currents

With help from seals, scientists have discovered a new source for the coldest, deepest water in the ocean. Instruments glued to seals' heads tracked Antarctic Bottom Water flowing down deep canyons off Cape Darnley in East Antarctica. The spot was an unexpected font of the bottom water — cold, dense,...

Jan 31, 2013

'Sunglint' Silhouettes Northeast Coast in Astronaut Photo

The coast of the northeast United States is silhouetted against the shimmering water of Cape Cod Bay and Long Island Sound in a new photo captured by astronauts on the International Space Station. The phenomenon of light from a setting sun reflecting off water to create a shining, mirrorlike surface...

Dec 31, 2012

China's Extreme Cold Snaps Records

An unusually cold winter across China has some regions hitting their lowest average temperatures in more than 40 years, according to state media reports. The Chinese national meteorological agency said polar fronts caused by global warming are to blame for the frigid air. The freeze is the coldest winter in...

Dec 31, 2012

Lined-Up Sun, Moon Give Rise to 'King Tides'

High tides will be extra high everywhere around the world this week. These so-called king tides are occurring now because the sun and the moon are very near Earth, as meteorologist Dan Satterfield reports on his blog hosted by the American Geophysical Union. Tides are caused by the pull of...

Dec 31, 2012

Best Earth Images of the Week Jan. 11, 2013

Uncommon sight (Image credit: Jersusalem snow image via Shutterstock)An unusual storm brought snow and chaos to the Middle East yesterday (Jan. 10). The weather system dumped 4-6 inches (10-15 centimeters) of snow on Jerusalem Wednesday night (Jan. 9) and yesterday morning, according to Jason Samenow, chief meteorologist with the Washington...

Dec 31, 2012

Pacific Bluefin Tuna in Trouble, Scientists Say

Populations of bluefin tuna in the western Pacific Ocean are down by nearly 97 percent from pre-fishing levels, according to a stock assessment by researchers. We found the Pacific bluefin stock is being overfished, said Steve Teo, a fisheries biologist at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, Calif.,...

Dec 31, 2012

Climate Change Threatens Spectacular Hawaiian Plant

One of Hawaii's iconic plants is again at risk. The striking and rare Haleakalā silversword, found only on the high volcanic slopes of Maui, is on the decline, scientists report today (Jan. 15) in the journal Global Change Biology. First, the plant was nearly killed off by cows and collectors...

Dec 31, 2012

Megadrought Took Long-Lasting Toll on Amazon

During the summer of 2005, a stretch of rainforest in the Amazon nearly double the size of California experienced a severe drought. In an area more than 270,000 square miles (700,000 square kilometers) across, dried-out trees toppled to the ground and leaves and branches withered away, especially among the forest's...

Dec 31, 2012

Energy-Guzzling Cities Changing Weather 1,000 Miles Away

The heat released by everyday activities in energy-guzzling cities is changing the weather in far-away places, scientists report today (Jan. 27). The released heat is changing temperatures in areas more than 1,000 miles away (1609 kilometers). It is warming parts of North America by about 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.6 degrees...

Nov 30, 2014

Rapid Warming Hits Antarctica's Shallow Seas

Ocean waters around Antarctica have warmed steadily for the past 40 years, according to a new study. Some shallow areas have also heated more quickly than others, and waters around Antarctica are growing less salty in some regions, researchers reported today (Dec. 4) in the journal Science. The changes have...

Nov 30, 2014

California's Worst Drought Ever Is 1st Taste of Future

The drought now plaguing California is the worst to parch the central and southern parts of the state in the last 1,200 years, a new study finds. The 2012 to 2014 drought's lack of rain isn't remarkable on its own, according to tree-ring records reported in the study. There have...

Nov 30, 2014

'Magic' Mushrooms in Royal Garden: What Is Fly Agaric?

Hallucinogenic mushrooms are perhaps the last thing you'd expect to find growing in the Queen of England's garden. Yet a type of mushroom called Amanita muscaria — commonly known as fly agaric, or fly amanita — was found growing in the gardens of Buckingham Palace by the producers of a...

Nov 30, 2014

Top 10 Cities That Will See More Storm Outages Revealed

Hurricane Sandy left Lower Manhattan completely dark, eerily bereft of the electricity that keeps New York City buzzing 24 hours a day. Across town, 34,000 people living in the Rockaways, an exposed spit of land that acts as a barrier island, were left without power for weeks when the storm...

Nov 30, 2014

Biggest Cloud-Seeding Experiment Yet Only Sparks More Debate

Meteorologists first conceived of seeding clouds as a way to increase rainfall in 1946, working at General Electric's laboratories in Schenectady, New York. But in the nearly 60 years since then, it has remained unclear whether human attempts to make it snow actually work. Now, the results of the most...