Nature & Environment : Science World Report

Apr 17, 2012 11:44 AM EDT

Can Sound Science Guide Dispersant Use During Subsea Oil Spills?

Two years ago this week, oil began streaming from the seafloor into the Gulf of Mexico following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon platform. All told, the disaster cost 11 lives, released 4.9 million barrels of crude oil, and caused still unspecified impacts to marine life and the Gulf economy.

Apr 17, 2012 11:37 AM EDT

New CU-Boulder Study Indicates Greenland May be Slip Sliding Away Due to Surface Lake Melt

Like snow sliding off a roof on a sunny day, the Greenland Ice Sheet may be sliding faster into the ocean due to massive releases of meltwater from surface lakes, according to a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder-based Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.

Apr 17, 2012 11:20 AM EDT

The Sea as a Rubbish Tip

Large quantities of globally produced plastics end up in the oceans where they represent a growing risk. Above all very small objects, so-called microplastic particles, are endangering the lives of the many sea creatures. An estimate of how greatly the oceans are polluted with microplastic particles...

Apr 17, 2012 06:15 AM EDT

Mexico Raises Alert for Popocatepetl Volcano

Mexican authorities raised the alert level for the Popocatepetl volcano near to Mexico City on Monday after it started spewing red-hot fragments of rock.

Apr 17, 2012 06:07 AM EDT

Strong Quake Shakes Chile, No Damage Reported

A powerful 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Chile's eastern port of Valparaiso early on Tuesday, shaking buildings as far away as the capital Santiago, but there were no reports of significant damage and the country's main copper mines were unaffected.

Apr 16, 2012 10:35 AM EDT

Coral Reef Winners and Losers in a Warmer World

There are winners and losers among corals under the accumulating impacts of climate change, according to a new scientific study. In the world's first large-scale investigation of how climate affects the composition of coral reefs, an international team of marine scientists concludes that the pict...

Apr 16, 2012 10:17 AM EDT

Nanosponges Soak up Oil Again and Again

Researchers at Rice University and Penn State University have discovered that adding a dash of boron to carbon while creating nanotubes turns them into solid, spongy, reusable blocks that have an astounding ability to absorb oil spilled in water.

Apr 16, 2012 09:27 AM EDT

Drastic Changes Needed to curb Most Potent Greenhouse Gas

Meat consumption in the developed world needs to be cut by 50 per cent per person by 2050 if we are to meet the most aggressive strategy, set out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to reduce one of the most important greenhouse gases, nitrous oxide (N2O).

Apr 16, 2012 07:27 AM EDT

Resurfacing Urban Areas to Offset 150 Billion Tons of CO2

Imagine a world where the rooftops and pavements of every urban area are resurfaced to increase the reflection of the Sun's light rays. Well, this is exactly what a group of Canadian researchers have done in an attempt to measure the potential effects against global warming.

Apr 16, 2012 07:20 AM EDT

Ocean Acidification Linked with Larval Oyster Failure in Hatcheries

Marine researchers have definitively linked the collapse of oyster seed production at a commercial oyster hatchery in Oregon to an increase in ocean acidification.

Apr 16, 2012 06:48 AM EDT

â€œIreneâ€ Retired from List of Atlantic Basin Storm Names

Irene has been retired from the official list of Atlantic Basin tropical storm names by the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) hurricane committee because of the fatalities and damage it caused in August 2011 and will be replaced by Irma.

Apr 13, 2012 03:37 PM EDT