Latest EARTH News

Underwater basalt formation looks like a city wall

Alexandra Ossola — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:00:34

...but it isn't. Beneath the Taiwan Strait, scientists have discovered an underwater geological formation that closely resembles a fortress wall. It's not Atlantis, either.

Guatemalan landslide kills 33

Alexandra Ossola — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:24:28

A landslide in northern Guatemala buried dozens of people Sunday. Between 40 and 60 people are still missing.

Benchmarks: Three men die in nuclear reactor meltdown

Cassandra Willyard — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:40:55

One frigid night in 1961, on a remote patch of desert about 65 kilometers east of Idaho Falls, a nuclear reactor exploded. Three men were killed in the nation’s only fatal nuclear accident.

Comet finished off North American big game animals, cooled the planet?

Brian Fisher Johnson — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:25:57

Tiny nanoparticle-sized diamonds found in sediments dating to 13,000 years ago may hold a clue to why North America's mammoths disappeared about that time. The tiny gems suggest a cosmic impact, scientists say, that may have ultimately been behind the extinctions.

Swarm of earthquakes rattles Yellowstone

Alexandra Ossola — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:24:57

A series of minor earthquakes has shaken up Yellowstone National Park over the past week. Although scientists say the swarm probably doesn't foreshadow a volcanic eruption, they are keeping a close watch over the region.

Stonehenge's Mysterious Stones

Brian S. John and Lionel E. Jackson Jr. — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:11:16

At about 4,500 years old, Stonehenge is the world’s most iconic and mysterious prehistoric ruin, and archaeologists and geologists still wrangle over the origin of some of Stonehenge's stones: Did humans transport them hundreds of kilometers to southern England? Or were glaciers responsible, acting as a kind of natural conveyor belt?

AGU: Colorado ski industry owes Great Salt Lake thank you note

Brian Fisher Johnson — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 12:41:27

Salt from Utah's Great Salt Lake makes for fluffier snow over Colorado's slopes.

AGU: Mount St. Helens has gone back to sleep

Megan Sever — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:28:33

After three and a half years of continuous eruption, the volcano has — for now — quieted.

AGU: How scientists should talk climate change

Brian Fisher Johnson — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 02:40:56

Climate change policy isn't just about science — it has to consider economics, legal and social issues. By glossing over those, researchers say, scientists are having trouble getting their message across.

AGU: Climate science report questions likelihood of abrupt climate change

Megan Sever — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:15:58

A new U.S. Climate Change Science Program report states that abrupt climate change is unlikely to happen over the next century, scientists announced Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. But the consequences could still be severe.

AGU: Aloha, magma! Geothermal engineers drill into surprising lava

Carolyn Gramling — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:11:15

At the bottom of a geothermal well, engineers unexpectedly drilled straight into molten magma.

EIA: Worldwide oil demand will plummet in 2009

Brian Fisher Johnson — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:00:28

According to EIA's latest Short-Term Energy Outlook report, the global demand for oil dropped dramatically this year — but will plunge even further next year.

Travels in Geology: Australia's wonders, from ocean to desert

Jason Betzner — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:31:51

The Aborigines regard Australia’s unique, beautiful geological formations as sacred and mystical. But geologists can also take pleasure in the geological mysteries of the Land Down Under, each of which has its own story to tell.

Benchmarks: Bhopal gas leak kills thousands

Cassandra Willyard — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:38:01

In 1984, nearly half a million people in Bhopal, India, were exposed to a toxic gas that had leaked from a nearby Union Carbide pesticide plant. Thousands died. And as the effects of the poison linger in the groundwater, court cases against the company are still dragging on.

Minerals also evolve

Brian Fisher Johnson — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:19:27

Taxonomist Linneaus applied his classification system not only to living creatures but also to minerals. Although counterintuitive — iron doesn't have genes! — scientists say Linneaus may have been on to something: Like living organisms, minerals have evolved considerably over the course of Earth’s history.