Category: Earth
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Volcanic Iceland is rumbling again as magma rises. A geologist explains eruptions in the land of fire and ice
Estimates of how the ground deformed near Grindavík, Iceland, on Nov. 10-11, 2023. The vertical movements of more than 3 feet (dark purple), between Grindavík on the ocean and the Blue Lagoon north of it, were caused by the magma dike’s movement. Credit: Icelandic Met Office Thousands of earthquakes in recent weeks have shaken the…
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Why the Pyrenees’ mountain lakes are turning green
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain I first set foot in the Pyrenees in 2006. Two years later, I began a large-scale survey of mountain lakes and amphibian populations: from east to west, I covered more than 100 mountain lakes located in the eastern Pyrenees to the Béarn region (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). For our various projects, we came back…
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Tomography with neutrons and X-rays shows where particles are deposited
A sample of Beelitz sandy soil containing fragments of thin polyethylene film (PET) was analyzed here. Such films are used in asparagus cultivation. The neutron tomography (in shades of gray) shows where the PET fragments are located. X-ray tomography of the sample (ochre) reveals the soil structure: superimposed on the neutron tomography, the PET particles…
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Scientists combine climate models for more accurate projections
A new method for analyzing climate models brings together information from various lines of evidence to represent Earth’s climate sensitivity. Credit: Jason Smith, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy Researchers from institutions including the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have created a new method for statistically analyzing climate models that projects…
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Deep-sea coral evidence found for enhanced subglacial discharge from Antarctica during meltwater pulse 1A
Fig. 1 Locations of deep-sea coral samples. Credit: NIGPAS Subglacial discharge from the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) likely played a crucial role in the loss of ice sheet and the subsequent rise in sea level during the last deglaciation. However, no direct proxy is currently available to document subglacial discharge from the AIS, which leaves…
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Ice Core Insights: A Comprehensive Look at Phytoplankton Trends Over 800 Years
A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examines how marine phytoplankton throughout the North Atlantic Ocean has maintained its stability and numbers based on ice cores dating as far back as 800 years, which contradicts a 2019 study that concluded marine phytoplankton was on the decline by approximately 10…
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Wildfires are Getting Worse in a New Abnormal, Burning More Houses
Several new research studies have highlighted the increasing risk of wildfires, and the many problems they are causing that are affecting the environment, our health, and property. Wildfires in the United States and Canada are burning areas that are about three times larger than the averages from the 1980s. Canada set a record this year;…
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Three thousand years’ worth of carbon monoxide records show positive impact of global intervention in the 1980s
An international team of scientists have assembled the first complete record of carbon monoxide concentrations in the southern hemisphere, based on measurements of air. Credit: Gordon & Heike Tait An international team of scientists has reconstructed a historic record of the atmospheric trace gas carbon monoxide by measuring air in polar ice and air collected…
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From glaciers to rainfall: Understanding unexpected rain
A scientifc weather station in the rain. Credit: Wolfgang Gurgiser In 2018, a group of students from the Universities of Innsbruck, Austria, and Hamburg, Germany, were on a research excursion close to the village of Llupa in the Rio Santa valley in the Peruvian Andes. While they were busy installing a weather station in preparation…
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Who should collect, manage and have access to data from the oceans?
Scientists check a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) from NTNU’s AUR Lab before the robot is sent out into the Arctic polar night. Credit: Geir Johnsen, NTNU/UNIS Research institutions from Norway and other countries have collected a great amount of data from the northern oceans in recent years. Many people want access to this information. Those…