October 27, 2015
Gain some, lose some
Scientists now know that Earth’s rotation is very slowly decelerating, such that the length of the rotational day is about two milliseconds …
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1236 articles · Page 33 of 52
October 27, 2015
Benchmarks: June 30, 1972: Timekeepers add first "leap second" to clocks
On June 30, 1972, at exactly 11:59 p.m. and 60 seconds, timekeepers did something most people only dream about: They added more time to the day. …
October 26, 2015
Benchmarks: May 18, 1952: Stonehenge's age solved with Carbon-14
Like sentinels standing guard over a millennia-old secret, the 8-meter-tall stones of Stonehenge rise above the rolling green hills of England’s …
October 26, 2015
The Washington Monument's Apex
An aluminum pinnacle has graced the Washington Monument since 1884, but subsequent modifications have changed the look of the point. In 1885, …
October 26, 2015
March 23, 1821: Bauxite Discovered
Compared to gold, silver, lead and copper — metals that people have extracted, refined and used for millennia — aluminum is a relative newcomer. …
October 26, 2015
Benchmarks: January 13, 1404: England prohibits Alchemy
Alchemy, in both ancient and medieval times, wasn’t just about turning lead into gold, although such “transmutation” was certainly one desirable …
October 23, 2015
Marine microorganisms drive summer clouds over Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica is home to some of the most pristine air anywhere on Earth. And yet it’s also one of the cloudiest …
October 23, 2015
Fossil fuels diluting atmospheric radiocarbon
Radioactive carbon-14, or radiocarbon, is used to date fossils and artifacts and study ecosystems, as well as to solve crimes and run medical …
October 23, 2015
Ancient lakes may have been refuges for early life
All life needs nitrogen to build essential molecules like proteins, RNA and DNA. And to acquire nitrogen, cells need molybdenum. But molybdenum …
October 23, 2015
Geologic Column: Thanksgiving's unsung hero
In America, we are approaching Thanksgiving, a time when we gather with family, friends and loved ones to celebrate and give thanks. We are also …
October 23, 2015
Comment: Remarkable geology sets new Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument apart
In the Coast Ranges west of Sacramento, Calif., within easy driving distance of San Francisco, lies a wilderness of steep-sided canyons, …
October 22, 2015
Flaring our way out of a water crisis
In the process of providing the energy we consume, oil and gas producers around the world use large quantities of clean water, generate massive …
October 22, 2015
Getting there and getting around Cyprus
Cyprus has been populated for centuries by a mix of ethnic Greeks and Turks. Periodic ethnic tensions erupted into communal violence in 1963, …
October 22, 2015
Northern Cyprus' "Peace Water" Pipeline
With its semi-arid climate and growing population, Cyprus suffers from the highest level of water stress in Europe and is ranked in the top five …
October 22, 2015
Travels in Geology: Cyprus: Island of Oceanic Crust
The eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus played a pivotal role in the development of plate tectonic theory. Thus, when planning a recent …
October 20, 2015
Down to Earth With: Geophysicist Julian Lozos
Julian Lozos, a postdoctoral researcher affiliated with both the U.S. Geological Survey and Stanford University, designs computer models that …
October 20, 2015
Geomedia: Film: Banff Mountain Film Festival is geologic showcase
The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is a traveling collection of outdoor adventure films that feature the stories of climbers, alpine …
October 12, 2015
Peculiar shape of hair ice linked to fungus
If you have ever taken a morning hike through the woods and seen strange, silky-looking ice on fallen logs, you might have been observing a …
October 8, 2015
Tree of life reshaped
Since the 1970s, the classic “tree of life” taught in classrooms has portrayed three domains of life — Archaea, Bacteria and Eukaryota — all …
October 8, 2015
Travertine buildup reflects ancient Rome's water usage
By the third century, Rome had 11 aqueducts — engineered rivers enclosed by masonry — that supplied water to more than a million people in the …
October 6, 2015
Finding and tracking conflict minerals in the heart of darkness
Deep within the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in a mountainous jungle that is home to volcanoes and silverback gorillas, lies a …
October 6, 2015
Campi Flegrei makes its own concrete caprock
In the 1980s, Tiziana Vanorio was a teenager living in the Italian port city of Pozzuoli west of Naples when the Campi Flegrei volcanic complex …
September 29, 2015
Subducted seawater the source of fluid-rich diamonds
Subducting oceanic plates that dive hundreds of kilometers beneath Earth’s surface carry with them cargoes of sediment and seawater. As the plate …
September 28, 2015
Benchmarks: December 4, 1992: The Seattle Fault Zone is described
Since the early 1900s, scientists, boaters and residents have known that a ghostly, submerged forest of dead trees lurked just below the surface …