http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org)—Forecasters could soon be better able to predict how intense tropical cyclones like Hurricane Sandy will be by analyzing relative-humidity levels within their large-scale environments, finds a new NASA-led study. http://phys.org/news273396384.html Space & Earth Thu, 29 Nov 2012 07:26:34 EST news273396384 Australia can be a world leader in designing marine reserves that keep pace with changes in the climate and human activity and still successfully protect their sea life, a leading marine scientist said today. http://phys.org/news273231765.html Space & Earth Tue, 27 Nov 2012 10:10:08 EST news273231765 Two of the nation's largest producers of wind-generated electric power will share privately-collected weather data with NOAA, providing agency scientists with additional observations from wind farms across the nation for research and operations. http://phys.org/news272186475.html Space & Earth Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:21:23 EST news272186475 Extreme weather phenomena are starting to show signs of a regular pattern: instead of taking place every 10 or 20 years, they are happening every 2 or 3 years. But technology can stay one step ahead, by predicting when these extreme weather events will occur. As in the case of the European Space Agency's (ESA) satellite, which was able to track Hurricane Sandy. http://phys.org/news272096739.html Space & Earth Wed, 14 Nov 2012 06:25:46 EST news272096739 Analysis of 90 years of observational data has revealed that summer climates in regions across the globe are changing—mostly, but not always, warming —according to a new study led by a scientist from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences headquartered at the University of Colorado Boulder. http://phys.org/news272029891.html Space & Earth Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:51:40 EST news272029891 (Phys.org)—Snowpack, an essential source of drinking water and agricultural irrigation for billions of people, could shrink significantly within the next 30 years, according to a study led by Stanford climate change researcher Noah Diffenbaugh. http://phys.org/news272011919.html Space & Earth Tue, 13 Nov 2012 06:52:22 EST news272011919 (Phys.org)—When millions of people are bracing themselves for the onslaught of extreme weather, as much information as possible is needed to predict the strength of the impending storm. ESA's SMOS mission again showed its versatility by capturing unique measurements of Hurricane Sandy. http://phys.org/news271680844.html Space & Earth Fri, 09 Nov 2012 10:54:14 EST news271680844 NASA has selected a proposal from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass., to build the first space-based instrument to monitor major air pollutants across the North American continent hourly during daytime. The instrument, to be completed in 2017 at a cost of not more than $90 million, will share a ride on a commercial satellite as a hosted payload to an orbit about 22,000 miles above Earth's equator. http://phys.org/news271667985.html Space & Earth Fri, 09 Nov 2012 07:19:56 EST news271667985 How have humans influenced Earth? Can geoscientists measure when human impacts began overtaking those of Earth's other inhabitants and that of the natural Earth system? Responding to increasing scientific recognition that humans have become the foremost agent of change at Earth's surface, organizers of this GSA technical session have brought together speakers and poster presentations from a variety of sources in order to answer these questions and define the "Geomorphology of the Anthropocene." http://phys.org/news270996140.html Space & Earth Thu, 01 Nov 2012 13:42:41 EST news270996140 (Phys.org)—An increasing number of scientists are studying ways to temporarily reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the earth to potentially stave off some of the worst effects of climate change. Because these sunlight reduction methods would only temporarily reduce temperatures, do nothing for the health of the oceans and affect different regions unevenly, researchers do not see it as a permanent fix. Most theoretical studies have examined this strategy by itself, in the absence of looking at simultaneous attempts to reduce emissions. http://phys.org/news269187358.html Space & Earth Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:16:06 EST news269187358 (Phys.org)—This year, satellites saw the extent of Arctic sea ice hit a record low since measurements began in the 1970s. ESA's SMOS and CryoSat satellites are now taking a deeper look by measuring the volume of the sea-ice cover. http://phys.org/news268898976.html Space & Earth Mon, 08 Oct 2012 07:09:52 EST news268898976 (Phys.org)—Between 20,000 and 14,000 years ago, the deserts in the American Southwest were covered with enormous lakes. How all that water got there has long puzzled Earth scientists, but new work by a group of scientists that includes a Stanford climate researcher could provide an answer. http://phys.org/news268301197.html Space & Earth Mon, 01 Oct 2012 09:30:04 EST news268301197 An international team of scientists, including geochemists from the University of California, Riverside, has uncovered new evidence linking extreme climate change, oxygen rise, and early animal evolution. http://phys.org/news267894308.html Space & Earth Wed, 26 Sep 2012 16:05:14 EST news267894308 (Phys.org)—Isabella Velicogna's office in UC Irvine's Croul Hall looks like it belongs to an artist instead of a university scientist. Her paintings and drawings—including charming sketches of mice—adorn the walls, and colorful, handcrafted mobiles dangle from the ceiling. http://phys.org/news266569252.html Space & Earth Tue, 11 Sep 2012 08:30:01 EST news266569252 Earth's growing human population needs fresh water for drinking and food production. However, fresh water is also needed for the growth of biomass, which acts as a sink of carbon dioxide and thus could help mitigate climate change. Does the Earth have enough freshwater resources to meet these competing demands? http://phys.org/news265639199.html Space & Earth Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:40:24 EST news265639199 Earth's oceans, forests and other ecosystems continue to soak up about half the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere by human activities, even as those emissions have increased, according to a study by University of Colorado and NOAA scientists to be published August 2 in the journal Nature. http://phys.org/news263040793.html Space & Earth Wed, 01 Aug 2012 13:00:17 EST news263040793 Tanzania is one developing country that could actually benefit from climate change by increasing exports of corn to the U.S. and other nations, according to a study by researchers at Stanford University, the World Bank and Purdue University. http://phys.org/news262604256.html Other Sciences Fri, 27 Jul 2012 10:37:42 EST news262604256 (Phys.org) -- Two of the most destructive fires in the history of Colorado and New Mexico have both now been contained. Together, the High Park Fire in Colorado and the Little Bear Fire in New Mexico have burned well over one hundred thousand acres and destroyed hundreds of homes and other buildings, displacing thousands of people and taking one life. Officials believe the blazes were caused by lightning strikes combined with dry hot summer conditions. http://phys.org/news261636434.html Space & Earth Mon, 16 Jul 2012 05:47:27 EST news261636434 A proposed method of cutting harmful carbon emissions in the atmosphere by storing them underground risks causing earthquakes and is unlikely to succeed, a US study said Monday. http://phys.org/news259253374.html Space & Earth Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:49:50 EST news259253374 Ensuring a sustainable future in the face of inter-connected, human-induced challenges facing the Earth system urgently requires new knowledge and a new relationship between science and society, according to leading scientists gathered in Rio de Janeiro for the Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development. http://phys.org/news259232719.html Space & Earth Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:06:01 EST news259232719 Within two decades, 60 percent of the world's population will live in cities, and coping with the resulting urban drinking water and sanitation issues will be one of the greatest challenges of this century. A U.S. Forest Service study recently published in Urban Ecosystems proposes an expanded view of the complex world of urban water. http://phys.org/news258911696.html Space & Earth Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:55:03 EST news258911696 Vast stores of carbon in U.S. forest soils could be released by rising global temperatures, according to a study by UC Irvine and other researchers in today's online Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. http://phys.org/news258652755.html Space & Earth Mon, 11 Jun 2012 16:59:27 EST news258652755 Earth observations, science, and services (Earth OSS) inform and guide the activities of virtually all economic sectors and innumerable institutions underlying modern civilization, according to a new study by the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Policy Program. The report also found that Earth OSS in the United States face considerable challenges because economic downturns and Federal budget deficits put efforts to build and maintain Earth OSS capabilities at serious risk. http://phys.org/news256899362.html Space & Earth Tue, 22 May 2012 09:57:48 EST news256899362 (Phys.org) -- Its construction now complete, the science instrument that is the heart of NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) spacecraft - NASA's first mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide - has left its nest at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and has arrived at its integration and test site in Gilbert, Ariz. http://phys.org/news255942858.html Space & Earth Fri, 11 May 2012 08:14:24 EST news255942858 The Earth's crust beneath the Mississippi Delta sinks at a much slower rate than what had been assumed. http://phys.org/news252588708.html Space & Earth Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:32:08 EST news252588708 To fulfill the need for an ever more accurate and complete understanding of the flow of carbon through the Earth system, a flurry of research has taken place in the past decade on previously overlooked aspects of the carbon cycle. Researchers have investigated the roles of rivers, lakes, and streams in transporting carbon, often with mixed, or only broadly constrained, results. Further, many investigations have traditionally focused on a small number of sites. Though such focused measurements are important for pinning down spatial and temporal changes in the local exchange of carbon, they make expanding the results to broader regions difficult. http://phys.org/news252393443.html Space & Earth Sat, 31 Mar 2012 09:50:01 EST news252393443 Scientists issued the first "State of the Planet" declaration at a major gathering of experts on global environmental and social issues in advance of the major UN Summit Rio+20 in June. http://phys.org/news252336883.html Space & Earth Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:34:54 EST news252336883 Leading scientists on Thursday called on the upcoming Rio Summit to grapple with environmental ills that they said pointed to "a humanitarian emergency on a global scale." http://phys.org/news252232077.html Space & Earth Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:50:01 EST news252232077 A 'see-sawing' atmosphere over 2.5 billion years ago preceded the oxygenation of our planet and the development of complex life on Earth, a new study has shown. http://phys.org/news251296871.html Space & Earth Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:00:30 EST news251296871 The exhaust fumes from gasoline vehicles contribute more to the production of a specific type of air pollution-secondary organic aerosols (SOA)-than those from diesel vehicles, according to a new study by scientists from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) and other colleagues. http://phys.org/news249926337.html Space & Earth Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:59:04 EST news249926337