Antarctic Ice Sheet Key to Sudden Sea Level Rise in the Past
March 28 — A massive and unusually abrupt rise in sea level about 14,200 years ago was caused by the partial collapse of ice sheets in Antarctica, a new study has shown, in research that solves a mystery scientists have been heatedly debating for more than a decade. (Oregon State University release) More

Crossing Alaska by Snowmobile in Search of Climate-Change Clues
March 25 — A group of scientists left Nome, Alaska, late last week on a 35-day snowmobile traverse to scour the Alaskan tundra for clues to the role snow cover plays in climate change. (National Science Foundation release) More

Sensitive Detector Identifies Missing Nitrogen Oxide Pollutant in Atmosphere
March 22 — Until now, as much as half the nitrogen oxide from vehicle tailpipes has been unaccounted for in the atmosphere, leaving air pollution models incomplete. (University of California--Berkeley release) More

Hurricanes Impact Carbon Sequestration by US Forests
March 22 — Hurricanes significantly lessen the capacity of US forests to sequester atmospheric carbon, according to a recent analysis by a US Forest Service researcher. (Southern Research Station - USDA Forest Service release) More

For the First Time in 30 Years, Some New York Lakes Failed to Freeze This Past Winter
March 21 — In his 30 years of studying freeze-thaw cycles of lakes in New York State, Kenton Stewart, Ph.D., has never seen some lakes in his lake-ice network stay unfrozen for an entire winter unless it was an El Nino year. (State University of New York?Buffalo release) More

Pollen Production-and Allergies-May Rise Significantly Over Next 50 Years
March 20 — Rising carbon dioxide levels associated with global warming could lead to an increase in the incidence of allergies to ragweed and other plants by mid-century. (Harvard Medical School release) More

Report Supports Sustainable Food Production
March 20 — Industrial agriculture's resource-intensive methods are bringing us closer to the limits of our ability to produce food and fiber for everyone in the future. (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health release) More

Riverways Create as Much Pollution as Highways
March 19 — Large riverside cities like Portland, St. Louis, Nashville and New Orleans should look beyond road traffic to an important but usually overlooked source of air pollution -- river traffic. (American Chemical Society release) More

'Mercury Sunrise' Phenomenon Found in Antarctica
March 19 — New research now shows that a phenomenon reported in the Arctic, where large amounts of mercury get rained down every spring, also occurs each year in the Antarctic. (American Chemical Society release) More

Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapses in Largest Event of Last 30 Years
March 18 — Recent satellite imagery has revealed that the northern section of the Larsen B ice shelf, a large floating ice mass on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula, has shattered and separated from the continent in the largest single event in a 30-year series of ice shelf retreats in the peninsula. (University of Colorado--Boulder release) More

Behind the Big Dry
March 13 — A 27-year dry spell affecting the southwestern part of Australia could be a foretaste of future national experiences under the Greenhouse Effect. (Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation release) More

Researchers Capture Unusual Sprite-like Blue Jet
March 13 — A team of stalwart researchers captured an elusive blue jet on video tape and found the first evidence of a connection between the ionosphere and cloud top in these events. (Penn State release) More

U.S. Forests May Be Products of Pollution
March 12 — Studies of pristine forests in South America found that the cycling of nitrogen, an essential nutrient, was quite different than expected, and it suggests that many forests of North America and Europe actually have an unnatural ecology driven largely by air pollution, acid rain and artificial nitrogen fertilization. (Oregon State University release) More

Hurricane floods pose risk to environment, health, new research on 1999 storm reveals
March 7 — Flooding from hurricanes poses a significant threat to both environmental and human health by washing industrial animal operation wastes into areas with vulnerable populations, according to a new study. (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill release) More

Back to: News