Research bolsters possibility of plate tectonics on Europa

A Brown University study provides new evidence that the icy shell of Jupiter's moon Europa may have plate tectonics similar to those on Earth. The presence of plate tectonic activity could have important implications for ...

How mussels stay ice-free in an icy world

Antarctic waters have conditions in which objects and living creatures can freeze even under water. This is a major problem for marine travel in polar regions. So-called supercooled water has a temperature just below the ...

Pluto's 'heart' sheds light on a possible buried ocean

Ever since NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto last year, evidence has been mounting that the dwarf planet may have a liquid ocean beneath its icy shell. Now, by modeling the impact dynamics that created a massive ...

Global warming's next surprise: Saltier beaches

Batches of sand from a beach on the Delaware Bay are yielding insights into the powerful impact of temperature rise and evaporation along the shore that are in turn challenging long-held assumptions about what causes beach ...

Salt causes chalk cliffs to collapse

Salt plays a greater role in undermining chalk cliffs than previously thought, say scientists. Until recently, if a chalk cliff collapsed it was blamed on waves eroding its base, or the chalk weakening as it became saturated ...

Team finds how the world's saltiest pond gets its salt

Antarctica's Don Juan Pond might be the unlikeliest body of water on Earth. Situated in the frigid McMurdo Dry Valleys, only the pond's high salt content—by far the highest of any body of water on the planet—keeps it ...

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