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. Researchers in Australia say they have pinpointed key factors in the early ripening of grapes, providing potential answers for wine growers threatened by global warming. http://phys.org/news249485326.html Space & Earth Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:29:04 EST news249485326 (PhysOrg.com) -- While NASA's fleet of Earth science spacecraft -- its "eyes on the Earth" - continues to monitor the pulse of our home planet, 2012 is also shaping up to be an extraordinary time for NASA's Airborne Science Program and its Earth system science research initiatives. Multiple aircraft and specialized instruments, including several from JPL, will operate in the United States, Europe, Asia and South America this year in support of studies conducted by NASA and the Earth science community, improving scientists' understanding of our planet. http://phys.org/news248519990.html Space & Earth Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:30:01 EST news248519990 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists seeking insight into the role vegetation plays in water fluctuation between soil and the atmosphere recently conducted research using specialized sensors during a series of NASA Airborne Science flights over California's San Joaquin Valley. http://phys.org/news243761548.html Space & Earth Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:33:57 EST news243761548 (PhysOrg.com) -- ESA’s SMOS satellite is designed to observe soil moisture and ocean salinity, but this innovative mission is showing that it can also offer new insight into Earth’s carbon and methane cycles by mapping soil as it freezes and thaws. http://phys.org/news243152472.html Space & Earth Thu, 15 Dec 2011 06:21:28 EST news243152472 (PhysOrg.com) -- The record-breaking drought in Texas that has fueled wildfires, decimated crops and forced cattle sales has also reduced levels of groundwater in much of the state to the lowest levels seen in more than 60 years, according to new national maps produced by NASA and distributed by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. http://phys.org/news241898374.html Space & Earth Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:59:42 EST news241898374 Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are leading the way in learning more about "biochar," the charred biomass created from wood, other plant material, and manure. http://phys.org/news239976142.html Space & Earth Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:02:59 EST news239976142 Nitrogen fertilizers from farm fields often end up in aquatic ecosystems, resulting in water quality problems, such as toxic algae and underwater 'dead zones'. There are concerns that fertilizers used on lawns may also contribute to these problems. All of the lawns in the United States cover an area almost as large as Florida, making turfgrass our largest 'crop' and lawn fertilizer use a legitimate issue. http://phys.org/news239628075.html Space & Earth Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:21:30 EST news239628075 Germplasm and stay-green technology utilized by Texas AgriLife Research corn breeders could make growing corn on limited water a greater possibility in the near future, according to AgriLife Research studies. http://phys.org/news236342891.html Biology Tue, 27 Sep 2011 11:48:19 EST news236342891 Drought in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti is pushing tens of thousands of people from their homes as millions face food insecurity in a crisis visible from space. ESA’s SMOS satellite shows that the region’s soil is too dry to grow crops. http://phys.org/news230551451.html Space & Earth Fri, 22 Jul 2011 11:04:22 EST news230551451 In the Sahel, the frequency of storms increases when soil moisture varies over a few kilometers. Such contrasts cause air circulation between dry and humid areas, contributing to the development of storms. For the first time, these contrasts have been studied on a small scale by a collaboration between French researchers from the Groupe d'Etude de l'Atmosphere Meteorologique (CNRS) and UK researchers from CEH, as part of the AMMA project. Their findings, published in the July 2011 issue of Nature Geoscience, provide new data that should help to address the issue of drought in the Sahel. http://phys.org/news227885683.html Space & Earth Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:35:37 EST news227885683 A new study of how storms are generated could improve rainfall prediction in dry regions of Africa, where drought and short growing seasons are common. http://phys.org/news227073340.html Space & Earth Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:00:08 EST news227073340 A rocket carrying an Earth-observing satellite launched early Friday on a mission to measure the saltiness of the ocean from space. http://phys.org/news226921209.html Space & Earth Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:40:24 EST news226921209 (PhysOrg.com) -- Moisture and heat fluctuations from the land surface to the atmosphere form a critical nexus between surface hydrology and atmospheric processes, especially those relevant to rainfall. While current theory has suggested that soil moisture has had a positive impact on precipitation, there have been very few large-scale observations of this. A team of researchers from Columbia Engineering, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, and Rutgers University has now demonstrated that evaporation from the land surface is able to modify summertime rainfall east of the Mississippi and in the monsoonal region in the southern U.S. and Mexico. One of their main findings is that evaporation from the land is, however, only able to modify the frequency of summertime rainfall, not its quantity. http://phys.org/news226497082.html Space & Earth Sun, 05 Jun 2011 13:00:01 EST news226497082 The US space agency said Tuesday it is preparing to launch a satellite to observe levels of salt on the surface of the world's oceans and how changes in salinity may be linked to future climate. http://phys.org/news224870474.html Space & Earth Tue, 17 May 2011 17:01:31 EST news224870474 Western Europe's exceptionally dry spring is clear to see in maps generated using data from SMOS. While these maps offer an interesting view of the stark difference in soil moisture compared to a year ago, the data are also important for agricultural and hydrological applications. http://phys.org/news224495070.html Space & Earth Fri, 13 May 2011 08:44:51 EST news224495070 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agronomist Greg McMaster has developed computer software that tells farmers when to spray pesticides. McMaster works at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Agricultural Systems Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colo. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency. http://phys.org/news224414053.html Biology Thu, 12 May 2011 10:14:26 EST news224414053 A new study of the oldest trees in Mexico provides the first ever detailed, year-by-year look at the climate of Mesoamerica over a thousand-year span. The data, gathered from the annual growth rings in trees, supplies precise dates for the duration of three historically important droughts, including one that was previously unknown. http://phys.org/news222363463.html Space & Earth Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:38:08 EST news222363463 Wheat growers in the Southwest have a better idea about how to adjust to climate change in the decades ahead, thanks to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists in Arizona. http://phys.org/news217789403.html Biology Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:03:35 EST news217789403 U.S. agricultural practices create 58 percent of nitrous oxide in the world, which is the third most prevalent greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Scientists believe nitrous oxide contributes to global warming about 300 times more than carbon dioxide. New practices and products have been introduced to address this issue, but farmers do not have the time or profit margins to experiment with ideas that may ultimately hurt the "bottom line." Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found methods to help farmers reduce those emissions while also increasing corn grain production. http://phys.org/news214138382.html Space & Earth Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:10:01 EST news214138382 Climate change will not just influence the average climate but also extremes such as heat waves, models from climate researchers indicate. Using broad measurements taken in southeastern Europe,a study demonstrates that the moisture contained in soils play an essential role for these extremes. Compared to wet summers, the frequency of very hot days increases tenfold in summers with dry soils. http://phys.org/news211704527.html Space & Earth Thu, 16 Dec 2010 07:10:01 EST news211704527 (PhysOrg.com) -- An instrument that uses cosmic rays to measure the moisture content in soil ultimately could prompt major improvements in weather forecasting and irrigation practices, and provide a wealth of new data about land density and the impacts of climate change. The University of Arizona's Marek Zreda is leading the project. http://phys.org/news209229755.html Space & Earth Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:50:01 EST news209229755 The European Space Agency (ESA) said on Wednesday that it had launched a behind-the-scenes campaign to shut down illicit radio and TV transmissions interfering with a major climate satellite. http://phys.org/news205588842.html Space & Earth Wed, 06 Oct 2010 13:10:03 EST news205588842 Rising sea levels and coastal development are threatening coastal freshwater wetlands with saltwater intrusion. While most ecosystem restoration projects have focused on surface water and groundwater, new research finds that conditions in the vadose zone, the unsaturated soil below the surface but above the water table, are of particular importance to seedling survival in coastal floodplain ecosystems. http://phys.org/news203088803.html Space & Earth Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:50:01 EST news203088803 (PhysOrg.com) -- ESA's SMOS water mission has taken another step forward by demonstrating that it will lead to a better understanding of ocean circulation. Using preliminary data, scientists can clearly see how surface currents affect the 'Amazon plume' in the open sea. http://phys.org/news202724011.html Space & Earth Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:13:44 EST news202724011 Reducing the runoff from plant nutrients that can eventually wash into the Chesapeake Bay could someday be as easy as checking the weather forecast, thanks in part to work by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists. http://phys.org/news201351901.html Space & Earth Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:05:14 EST news201351901 Today, a focus at ESA's Living Planet Symposium is on the innovative SMOS mission, which recently became operational. Early results are proving very encouraging with its first observations due to be released in early July. http://phys.org/news197116858.html Space & Earth Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:41:15 EST news197116858 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers working in Argentina have found 100-million-year-old neosauropod nesting sites in which clutches of eggs were kept warm by geothermal vents. http://phys.org/news197094613.html Other Sciences Wed, 30 Jun 2010 07:40:01 EST news197094613 A new $26-million NASA project led by a University of Michigan researcher aims to help clarify how ecosystems exchange carbon with the atmosphere, an important piece of missing knowledge in the quest to understand, predict, and adapt to climate change. http://phys.org/news196518675.html Space & Earth Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:32:11 EST news196518675 Finding a tick usually involves a squeamish self-examination - carefully rubbing fingertips through the scalp, meticulously scanning the body, and groaning "eyeww" if a little bloodsucker is discovered. http://phys.org/news194545551.html Space & Earth Mon, 31 May 2010 17:26:27 EST news194545551 (PhysOrg.com) -- ESA's SMOS satellite completed its six-month commissioning this week and formally began operational life. This milestone means the mission is now set to provide much-needed global images of soil moisture and ocean salinity to improve our understanding of the water cycle. http://phys.org/news193665344.html Space & Earth Fri, 21 May 2010 13:20:01 EST news193665344