The National Geographic Society has joined scientists from around the world in adding a fifth named ocean to the world map even though the idea is still not accepted by all countries. For World Oceans Day on Tuesday, the society announced it is recognizing the Southern Ocean, which circles Antarctica up to a latitude of 60 degrees South. It joins […]
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Simple statement: 13 of the 15 warmest years ever recorded have occurred within the first 15 years of this century. Complicated question: what is the probability that this happened purely by chance? The latest calculated answer: it could be one in 5000, or it could be as unlikely as one in 170,000, or it could be somewhere in between. Conclusion: […]
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Are the scientists working to save Antarctica’s fragile ecosystem inadvertently contributing to its destruction? Could they possibly be Destroying Antarctica? A new study has linked a chemical used in flame-retardants—called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)—that is contaminating the Antarctic environment to Australia’s Casey research station. Researchers found that dust and treated wastewater at the station contained PBDEs and another chemical that […]
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Saturn’s ice-covered moon Enceladus could harbor a warm-water ocean beneath its frozen surface, opening up new possibilities for life beyond Earth. Enceladus has fascinated astronomers since 2005, when NASA’s Cassini probe caught geysers on the moon’s south pole spewing out plumes of salty water. Water that is thought to have originated in an ocean buried beneath the moon’s 25-mile-thick ice […]
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Scientists have revealed that some fish that thrive in the freezing cold waters of the Antarctic actually have ice in their veins. A protein in their system called notothenioids not only keep the fish from freezing to death, but also keeps ice crystals in their veins. Although the ice crystals would melt at temperatures just slightly above freezing, the fish […]
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The planet’s inexorable warming means there will be no new ice age for at least the next 100,000 years, scientists say. Human beings have not just started to leave a unique geological stratum that will announce their existence long after the species has been extinguished. They may have altered a climate cycle that has been stable for millions of years and even […]
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Earth may owe its existence to the planet Jupiter. New research shows that the giant planet played a key role in the formation of the solar system by barreling through it like a cosmic wrecking ball, destroying existing planets and creating debris that coalesced into new ones, including ours. Astronomers began examining this theory after finding that virtually all of […]
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There’s no question that our species has had a dramatic impact on the planet’s physical environment, particularly over the last few centuries, with the rise of modern industry, transportation, and infrastructure. But as new research shows, humans have been transforming the landscape, with lasting impacts, since long before the start of the Industrial Era. Scientists from MIT and the University […]
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As a new generation of writers confronts global warming, a new book genre has emerged: “climate fiction”, or “cli-fi”. Russell: “In my secret heart, I hope that all these books that are now talking about climate change will help to move public opinion.” That’s Canadian novelist Craig Russell. In his recent book, Fragment, a shockwave sends a massive Antarctic ice […]
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We all know that hurricanes are very powerful and destructive. Some scientists think that we can try to control them by slowing, stopping or weakening them with pumps. The pumps would bring the colder water to the surface from deep into the ocean waters to decrease the heat that hurricanes thrive on. This system would be very costly transporting the […]
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