science wire

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—The University of Michigan has several experts available to discuss a variety of topics related to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The latest evidence of the dominant role humans play in changing Earth's climate comes not from observations of Earth's ocean, atmosphere or land surface, but from deep within its molten core. Scientists have long known that the length of an Earth day - the time it takes for Earth to make one full rotation - fluctuates around a 24-hour average.

PASADENA, Calif. The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are losing mass at an accelerating pace, according to a new NASA-funded satellite study. The findings of the study - the longest to date of changes in polar ice sheet mass - suggest these ice sheets are overtaking ice loss from Earth's mountain glaciers and ice caps to become the dominant contributor to global sea level rise, much sooner than model forecasts have predicted.

University Park, Pa. Crabs, fishing, land use and pollution sources are frequently hot topics for researchers in the Chesapeake Bay area, but finding all the available information, especially remote sensing data, is frequently a chore.

Science | Earth Pete Wilton | 07 Mar 11 New radar imagery from the Alos satellite is helping researchers to map the devastating earthquake which hit Christchurch, New Zealand, on 22 February.

News release URL Integrative Oceanography Division Scripps Homepage Scripps News Home Phytoplankton peak arising up to 50 days early, with unknown impacts on marine food chain and carbon cycling Marc

A geographical map depicting landowners' loyalties to the restored King Charles II after the English Civil War has shown that contrary to popular opinion, peace was not assured in the 1660s, long after the war had ended in 1651.

Several hundred rare and beautiful images, some dating back as far as the 16th century and recording a graphic account of everything from the anatomy of the human body to a CIA record of Soviet-bloc military installations, are being brought together in a new digital exhibition.

The first late winter thaws bring puddles, mud, and a promise of spring in the air. But there may also be something less wholesome in the air — very high levels of air pollution.

A new dinosaur named Brontomerus mcintoshi, or "thunder-thighs" after its enormously powerful thigh muscles, has been discovered in Utah, USA. The new species is described in a paper recently published in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica by an international team of scientists from the U.K. and the U.S. A member of the long-necked sauropod group of dinosaurs which includes Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus, Brontomerus may have used its powerful thighs as a weapon to kick predators, or to help travel over rough, hilly terrain.

New research gives the first accurate estimate of how much faster the Earth's core is rotating compared to the rest of the planet. Previous research had shown that the Earth's core rotates faster than the rest of the planet. However, scientists from the University of Cambridge have discovered that earlier estimates of 1 degree every year were inaccurate and that the core is actually moving much slower than previously believed - approximately 1 degree every million years.

Washington D.C. A shift in the global research landscape will reposition the United States as a major partner, but not the dominant leader, in science and technology research in the coming decade, according to a Penn State researcher. However, the U.S. could benefit from this research shift if it adopts a policy of knowledge sharing with the growing global community of researchers.

Researchers from The Australian National University have used a long-forgotten mathematical rule to reveal that in nature the number one dominates, as well as detect natural events like earthquakes for the first time ever. The research, led by Professor Malcolm Sambridge in the Research School of Earth Sciences, shows that events as diverse as the rotation rates of dying stars and the surface areas of rivers all share one thing in common - in nature larger numbers are less likely to occur than smaller ones.

The chances of dying early (under 75) since 1965 are a fifth higher in the north of England than the south, finds a study published on bmj.com today (Wednesday).

Anne Thompson, professor of meteorology at Penn State, is a recent recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship to work in South Africa.

Research into deep-water volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean will lay the groundwork for scientists to map the Earth as it appeared millions of years ago. An international team of scientists, including Dr David Buchs from the Research School of Earth Sciences at The Australian National University, returned on Friday from a two-month expedition to the Louisville Seamount Trail, a chain of extinct, underwater volcanoes 1500 kilometres to the northeast of New Zealand.

News release Integrative Oceanography Division Marine Physical Laboratory Scripps Institution of Oceanography Scripps News Diverse projects address concern for acidifying marine ecosystems Scripps In

Researchers map out ice sheets shrinking during Ice Age A set of maps created by the University of Sheffield have illustrated, for the first time, how our last British ice sheet shrunk during the Ice Age.

They're called atmospheric rivers - narrow regions in Earth's atmosphere that transport enormous amounts of water vapor across the Pacific or other regions.

Tagging and tracking leatherback sea turtles has produced new insights into the turtles' behavior in a part of the South Pacific Ocean long considered an oceanic desert. The new data will help researchers predict the turtles' movements in the ever-changing environment of the open ocean, with the goal of reducing the impact of fishing on the endangered leatherback population.

For immediate release A giant-scale experiment on deforestation, biodiversity and carbon cycling has got underway in the spectacular forests of Sabah, a Malaysian state on the tropical southeast Asian island of Borneo.

Mass evacuations are underway in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland in anticipation of what forecasters expect will be the largest cyclone ever to hit the continent.

The current winter storm system blasting much of the United States is depicted in this new NASA satellite image from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite.

News release Marine Biology Research Division Scripps Institution of Oceanography Scripps News Researchers create map of fishery sub-regions necessary for customized ecosystem-based management Januar

Scientists launch major ecological study on Borneo's deforested landscapes Imperial scientists have begun a large-scale study on the ecological effects of oil-palm developments in South East Asia - News Release Tuesday 2 January 2011 For immediate release A giant-scale experiment on deforestation, biodiversity and carbon cycling has got underway in the spectacular forests of Sabah, a Malaysian state on the tropical southeast Asian island of Borneo.

Fresh on the heels of a series of crippling floods that began in December 2010, and a small tropical cyclone, Anthony, this past weekend, the northeastern Australian state of Queensland is now bracing for what could become one of the largest tropical cyclones the state has ever seen.

At the bottom of the world, scientists are camping near the Transantarctic Mountains, studying exposed rocks at the edge of a vast ice sheet and looking for clues to its past.

Sediment cores taken from the Dead Sea indicate the area has dried up at least twice without human intervention. The lake faces new stress now from humans pulling fresh water from the Jordan River, which flows into the sea. Scientists are drilling deep into the bed of the fast-shrinking Dead Sea, searching for clues to past climate changes and other events that may have affected human history even earlier than biblical times.

A hurtling asteroid about the size of the Titanic caused the scar that appeared in Jupiter's atmosphere on July 19, 2009, according to two papers published recently in the journal Icarus. Data from three infrared telescopes enabled scientists to observe the warm atmospheric temperatures and unique chemical conditions associated with the impact debris.

A new TV series featuring dinosaur detectives from The University of Manchester looking at how dinosaurs once lived, looked and functioned begins in the UK this week.

Policy 24 Jan 11 The Oxford Centre for Asian Archaeology, Art and Culture, based in Oxford University's School of Archaeology, has received its first major research award since its launch in October last year.

A new species of parrot-sized dinosaur, the first discovered with only one finger, has been unearthed in Inner Mongolia, China.

A conference taking place at the University of Cambridge has brought together researchers from throughout the world to share knowledge and ideas about both the scientific and cultural aspects of environmental change.

PA 19/11 A University of Nottingham researcher has been awarded funding to help China prevent human disaster as some of its fastest-growing cities sink under the weight of towering skyscrapers.

Top Stories People Press Clips @Work What's Happening Faculty Authors Scripps to Take Scientific Lead in $25 Million Global Network to Monitor Greenhouse Gases Ioana Patringenaru | Jan. Watch a video about Scripps' collaboration with Earth Networks to build a $25 million global network to measure greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Snowfall in the eastern Sierras. Credit: Mark Flanner Click image for higher resolution. ANN ARBOR, Mich.—The decreases in Earth's snow and ice cover over the past 30 years have exacerbated global warming more than models predict they should have, on average, new research from the University of Michigan shows.