Planet Earth, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 8, 2024

Colossal underwater canyon discovered near seamount deep in the Mediterranean Sea

Scientists have discovered a giant underwater canyon in the eastern Mediterranean Sea that likely formed just before the sea transformed to a mile-high salt field. The canyon formed around 6 million years ago, at the onset of the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC), when the Gibraltar gateway between the Atlantic Ocean...

Feb 9, 2024

'We are approaching the tipping point': Marker for the collapse of key Atlantic current discovered

Scientists have discovered a key warning sign before a crucial Atlantic current collapses and plunges the Northern Hemisphere into climate chaos. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) carries warm water north from the Southern Hemisphere, where it releases heat and freezes. The freezing process concentrates salt in the non-frozen portion...

Feb 19, 2024

'More unzipping of the landscape': Arctic permafrost could crumble into rivers, unleashing devastating feedback loop

Permafrost isn't just a feature of Arctic landscapes — it actually shapes those landscapes by directing the flow of water. And as global temperatures increase, this permanently frozen ground could give way to create new rivers and expand existing ones, which would release huge quantities of carbon into the atmosphere,...

Mar 12, 2024

Every 2.4 million years, Mars tugs on Earth so hard it changes the ocean floor

Mars' gravitational pull on Earth may be influencing the climate on our planet, new research hints. Geological evidence tracing back more than 65 million years and taken from hundreds of sites across the world suggests that deep-sea currents have repeatedly gone through periods of being either stronger or weaker. This...

Mar 15, 2024

Sleeping subduction zone could awaken and form a new 'Ring of Fire' that swallows the Atlantic Ocean

A subduction zone below the Gibraltar Strait is creeping westward and could one day invade the Atlantic Ocean, causing the ocean to slowly close up, new research suggests. The subduction zone, also known as the Gibraltar arc or trench, currently sits in a narrow ocean corridor between Portugal and Morocco....

May 28, 2013

Tiny Sensor Promises Better Monitor for Environment

This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. Researchers are developing a device that they hope will allow real-time, onsite detection of water and air pollutants in an inexpensive and environmentally friendly manner. Professors Juejun Hu and Chaoying Ni of the University...

May 30, 2013

Air Pollution May Contribute to Childhood Obesity

Exposure to air pollution while in the womb may increase a child's risk of obesity, a new study suggests. Pregnant women exposed to high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons had children who were 1.8 times more likely to be obese at age 5, and 2.3 times more likely to be...

Jun 3, 2013

LA Pollution Is Losing Its Sting, Study Shows

An eye-stinging air pollutant in Los Angeles is decreasing due to stricter vehicle emissions standards in Southern California and the United States, a new study that examined emissions of chemicals in the City of Angels found. The chemical, called peroyxacetyl nitrate (PAN), is associated with eye irritation during smoggy days....

Jun 7, 2013

Africa's Worst Drought Tied to West's Pollution

The biggest drought to hit the planet in the 20th century, the Sahel drought sucked Central Africa dry from the 1970s to the 1990s. The severe famines that resulted killed hundreds of thousands of people during this period and gained worldwide attention. A new study blames the dry spell on...

Jun 11, 2013

American West Is Becoming a Dustier Place

The Old West was an infamously dusty place, the grime a symbol of the gritty frontier. But the West may be even dustier today than it was in the past, thanks to a combination of factors that include droughts, land-use changes and more frequent windstorms, a new study suggests. All...

Jun 21, 2013

Air Pollution Hits Record Levels in Singapore

Wildfires burning on the Indonesian island of Sumatra have sent a choking haze over Singapore, pushing air pollution to record levels. At 12:00 p.m. local time (04:00 GMT) Friday (June 21), the Pollution Standards Index — a scale of 0 to 500 to measure air pollution — hit 401 in...

Jul 11, 2013

2 Million Deaths Yearly Worldwide Linked with Air Pollution

Air pollution may be responsible for more than 2 million deaths around the world each year, according to a new study. The study estimated that 2.1 million deaths each year are linked with fine particulate matter, tiny particles that can get deep into the lungs and cause health problems. Exposure...

Jul 17, 2013

Burst Appendix Linked to Ozone Air Pollution

High levels of ozone — a major component of smog — may increase the risk of a burst appendix, according to a new study from Canada. Researchers found that people's risk of a burst appendix rose by 22 percent with every 16-part-per-billion increase in ozone levels over the previous seven...

Jul 24, 2013

Thousands of Dead Eels Wash Ashore in China

Tens of thousands of dead eels have washed ashore in China over the past few weeks. The eel is just the latest animal to die en masse in China's waters. In March, thousands of dead pigs were dumped by farmers into the Hangpu River in Shanghai, and hundreds of dead...

Aug 28, 2013

How Air Pollution Affects Climate: NASA Mission Explores

HOUSTON — In an attempt to better understand how air pollution and natural emissions of certain chemicals are distributed by storms and how that movement affects Earth's climate on a global scale, NASA has commenced its most complex airborne science study of the year, drawing together coordinated observations from the...