Earth’s Magnetic Fields Guide Salmon Home to Spawn
Earth’s magnetic fields play a significant role in helping salmon find their way home to spawn, according to two new studies from Oregon State University. After poring over 56 years of data, the researchers found that a magnetic map is responsible for providing sockeye salmon with their keen sense of direction which guides them home, […]
Curiosity Determines Age of Martian Rocks
The Curiosity Rover has accomplished yet another first as it continues its amazing journey across the Martian landscape. Scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have been able to successfully determine the age of a Martian rock. But what makes this finding special is that, for the first time, scientists have been able to […]
Scientists Find the Coldest Place on Earth
Winter officially arrives in the Northern Hemisphere in about 10 days (12/21/13). Here in the Washington, DC area, temperatures have already been dropping below 0° C at times. While some of us are already complaining about the recent icy temperatures we know it could be a lot worse! Scientists from NASA and the U.S. Geological […]
First Evidence of Comet Strike Found
A team of South African scientists writing in the journal ‘Earth and Planetary Science Letters’ said that they have found the first evidence of a comet striking Earth 28 million years ago. “Comets always visit our skies – they’re these dirty snowballs of ice mixed with dust – but never before in history has material […]
World’s Largest Single Volcano Found Off Japan Coast
Researchers have identified the largest volcano ever documented on the planet. It’s even bigger than Hawaii’s legendary Mauna Loa, which remains the biggest active volcano on our planet. Called Tamu Massif, this enormous dormant or inactive volcano is located within the huge underwater mountain range called Shatsky Rise formation about 1609 kilometers east of Japan. […]
Cosmic Impact May Have Caused Prehistoric ‘Big Freeze’
Scientists say they may have found a link between a dramatic climate shift nearly 13,000 years ago and an asteroid or comet that struck the Canadian province of Quebec. Researchers at Dartmouth College say the comet/asteroid strike took place at the beginning of a global cooling event known as the Younger Dryas stadial or the […]
Warmer Climate Linked to Increased Human Violence
As global temperatures rise, so do our levels of hostility and violence, according to a new study. Scientists from the University of California, Berkeley and Princeton University discovered a strong link between shifts in climate to human violence around the world. The study found that even minor climate deviations, such as slight changes in normal […]
US, Europe Could Collide to Form Supercontinent
Taking a trip from the United States to Europe might be much easier in 220 million years, according to a recent study, which suggests that’s when the Atlantic Ocean could close up, causing North America to collide with Europe. Australian geologists have detected a new subduction zone–when two oceanic plates collide–forming off the coast of […]
Arctic Bacterium Offers Clues to Life on Mars
A permafrost microbe has been discovered growing at –15°C, the coldest temperature ever reported for bacterial growth. A team of scientists from Montreal’s McGill University made the discovery on Ellesmere Island, located in the Canadian High Arctic. Researchers said they found the living strain of bacteria growing in the extreme cold of the permafrost, which […]
GROVER Robot Provides New tool for Exploring Greenland
NASA‘s newest rover could help scientists better understand changes in the massive Greenland ice sheet. Last summer, higher-than-normal temperatures caused surface melting across about 97 percent of the ice sheet. Scientists expect the robot to detect the layer of the sheet, which is buried beneath two miles of ice, that formed after last year’s extreme […]