Oceans Teem with Bacteria, Study Shows
July 31 — The oceans are teeming with 10 to 100 more types of bacteria than previously believed, many of them unknown, according to a study that has jolted scientists' understanding of evolution in the seas. (Reuters)

National Weather Service Gets Upgrade Funds
July 30 — Congress will spend more than $2 million to upgrade weather-monitoring equipment in areas prone to hurricanes, National Weather Service officials said. (Associated Press)

Is the Recent Heat Wave a Clue to Global Warming?
July 30 — While leading climate scientists have been reluctant to link regional heat waves with rising temperatures in the world's atmosphere and oceans, they say recent weather patterns are consistent with computer projections for global warming. (San Francisco Chronicle)

On the Roof of Peru, Omens in the Ice
July 29 — The blue ice that has claimed the peaks of the Andes for thousands of years is now disappearing rapidly, concerning scientists who say such mountain glaciers are in retreat around the Earth, taking with them vast stores of water that grow crops, generate electricity and sustain cities and rural areas. (The Washington Post)

Swiss Map Permafrost after Signs Alps Crumbling
July 28 — Switzerland has carried out its first ever survey of permafrost -- the frozen soil that keeps its mountains glued together -- as evidence mounts that global warming may trigger natural disasters in the Alps. (Reuters)

California Heat Wave Claims Many Lives
July 28 — Up to 126 people have died due to the stifling heat wave that has seared California in the last two weeks, the state government said. (AFP)

July Hottest Month on Record in Germany
July 28 — July was the hottest and sunniest month ever recorded in Germany, the country's weather service said, with an average temperature was of 71.8 degrees Fahrenheit, according to preliminary figures, beating the previous record set in July 1994. (Associated Press)

New Type of Volcano Pops Up
July 28 — Small volcanoes recently discovered in the Pacific Ocean may be widespread on ocean floors where the mantle just under the crust is squeezed out by tectonic forces when one plate moves under another, researchers report. (LiveScience.com)

Thousands Flee Fearing Indonesian Volcano
July 28 — Thousands of villagers have fled homes lying in the path of red-hot lava flows oozing from Indonesia's Mount Karangetang as the volcano has been put on top alert. (AFP)

"Dead Zone" Off Louisiana Coast Gets Larger
July 28 — The "dead zone," an area of low oxygen waters off the Louisiana coast, is now 6,662 square miles, or about the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined, well over the average of 5,000 square miles. (Associated Press)

China's Growing Pollution Reaches U.S.
July 28 — Researchers say the environmental impact of China's breakneck economic growth is being felt well beyond its borders, including a sharp increase in trans-Pacific pollution that could affect human health, worsen air quality and alter climate patterns. (Associated Press)

France Counts Toll of Heat Wave as Weather Cools
July 27 — Overnight storms in France brought welcome relief from a heat wave that killed 64 people and which provided the first real test of new measures aimed at preventing the mass deaths of three summers ago. (Reuters)

More than 80 Dead, Missing in China Floods
July 27 — Torrential rains from Typhoon Kaemi have left more than 80 people dead or missing in China, with a military barracks swept away, thousands of homes destroyed and rivers bursting their banks. (AFP)

A Hard Look at Aerosols
July 27 — Thanks to new satellites and other sophisticated technology, scientists are now gaining new details about the role of tiny airborne particles in the atmosphere, essential in predicting future climate change. (Christian Science Monitor)

Scientist: Inject Sulfur into Air to Battle Global Warming
July 27 — Injecting sulfur into the second atmospheric layer closest to Earth would reflect more sunlight back to space and offset greenhouse gas warming, a renowned scientist reports. (LiveScience.com)

Cosmic Dust Ruled Out in Ancient Global Warming
July 27 — About 40,000 tons of space dust showers down on Earth each year, and it's been coming down at a steady rate for the past 30,000 years, according to a new study that suggests cosmic dust could not have helped end the last glacial period. (LiveScience.com)

Storm Power Not Tied to Warming, Scientists Say
July 27 — A group of meteorologists says global warming probably is not responsible for an apparent dramatic increase in the strength of extreme storms during the past few decades. (National Public Radio)

An Active Florida Hurricane Season Adds to Red Tide
July 27 — Scientists believe that Florida's very active 2004 hurricane season may have played an important part in the development of extensive and long-lasting red tide conditions that affected its coastal areas in 2005. (Science Daily)

NASA Africa Mission Investigates Origin, Development of Hurricanes
July 26 — Scientists from NASA, other government agencies and universities are about to begin an intensive field research campaign to study how winds and dust conditions from Africa influence the birth of hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean. (United Press International)

Europe Heat Wave Sparks Disruptions, Fire Fears
July 26 — A deadly heat wave gripping central Europe has raised fears of forest fires in Poland, sent electricity prices rocketing in Germany and caused the suspension of shipping on major rivers as water levels dwindle. (Reuters)

Natural Events Occurring Earlier
July 26 — Animals and plants in Scotland are responding to climate change but some are altering more quickly than others, according to a new report. (BBC)

Global Warming Puts Twelve U.S. Parks at Risk
July 26 — A report by the National Resources Defense Council says global warming puts 12 of the most famous U.S. national parks at risk, all located in the West, where temperatures have risen twice as fast as in the rest of the United States over the last 50 years. (Reuters)

Bigger Cities Causing Stronger Storms, Experts Say
July 26 — As cities grow, heat islands increasingly affect the summer weather�not just by making cities hotter but by adding ever more power to summer thunderstorms, scientists report. (National Geographic Online)

Scientists: Warming Triggers "Dead Zone"
July 26 — Bottom fish and crabs washing up dead on Oregon beaches are being killed by a recurring "dead zone" of low-oxygen water that appears to be triggered by global warming, scientists say. (Associated Press)

NASA Coral Reef Images Key to New Global Survey
July 26 — A first-of-its-kind survey of how well the world's coral reefs are being protected was made possible by a unique collection of NASA views from space. (Science Daily)

Space Images Show UK Sweltering
July 25 — Sensors in space have recorded the dramatic increases in land temperatures and air pollution as the UK swelters in record-breaking July heat. (BBC)

Climate Experts Warn of More Coastal Building
July 25 — Regardless of the role of climate change in hurricane intensity and frequency, a group of scientists say there is likely to be an increase in destructiveness from tropical cyclones because of a marked increase in coastal population and development in vulnerable places. (The New York Times)

Typhoon Hits China, Hundreds of Thousands Evacuated
July 24 — Typhoon Kaemi brought heavy rains and high winds to the Philippines before striking the southeast coast of China, sparking the evacuation of more than 700,000 people in an area still reeling from a tropical storm that claimed over 600 lives. (AFP)

NASA Releases Initial Images from CALIPSO
July 24 — The recently launched CALIPSO satellite is returning detailed images of the Earth's clouds and is helping to track the movement and altitude of aerosols, giving important clues to climate scientists. (United Press International)

New Tsunami Alert in Sulawesi
July 23 — Indonesia has started a massive operation to clear debris from the tsunami-hit south coast of Java, as a strong earthquake rattled Sulawesi Island, triggering a fresh tsunami alert. (AFP)

Flood Toll Adds to Welter of Weather Disasters in China
July 23 — With the death toll from Tropical Storm Billis reaching 530, fatalities in China from weather-related incidents during the rainy season rose to 1,345, a senior official said. (AFP)

Japan's Flooding Death Toll Rises
July 22 — Japan's death toll from floods and mudslides triggered by this week's torrential rain rose to 19 as an evacuation warning was issued in the country's southwest, where up to 16 inches of rain had fallen. (AFP)

Researchers Link Wildfires, Climate Change
July 21 — In the Siberian taiga and Canadian Rockies and in southern California and Australia, researchers find growing evidence tying an upsurge in wildfires to climate change, an impact long predicted by forecasters. (Associated Press)

Tropical Storm Beryl Weakens
July 21 — Tropical Storm Beryl, the second of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, whipped up chest-high waves as it blew over Nantucket, Massachusetts, before weakening and heading out to sea. (LiveScience.com)

The Real Reason Louisiana is Sinking
July 21 — The sinking of Louisiana's Gulf coast could be due to the shallowest delta sediments pushing down the underneath layers, a new study suggests, as Louisiana's coastal erosion continues to result in loss of land at the rate of 25 to 35 square miles per year. (LiveScience.com)

Scientists Map Miles of Underwater Dunes
July 21 — More than two square miles of some of the world's largest underwater sand dunes were mapped in the Pacific Ocean near San Francisco to help researchers better understand beach erosion. (Associated Press)

Warmer Water Disrupts Pacific Food Chain
July 21 — The steep decline of bird species from British Columbia to California for a second straight year has rekindled scientists' fears that global warming could be undermining the coastal food supply, threatening entire marine ecosystems. (Associated Press)

Undersea Gas Could Speed Up Global Warming
July 20 — If the world continues to get warmer, vast amounts of methane gas trapped in ice under the sea could belch up and worsen climate change, according to a study. (Reuters)

Ocean "Gummy Bears" Fight Global Warming
July 20 — Swarms of lowly thumb-sized ocean creatures that often resemble chains of transparent �gummy bears� play a critical role in transporting methane deep into the sea, scientists report. (LiveScience.com)

History Suggests Major Wind Shift Could Again Bring Drought to Great Plains
July 20 — A crisscross pattern in Nebraska�s Sand Hills serves as a record of changes in wind direction and shows that 800 to 1,000 years ago during the Medieval Warm Period the winds brought drought to that region, according to a new study. (LiveScience.com)

Red Sea Region Parting in Massive Split
July 19 — For the past 30 million years the Arabian tectonic plate has been moving away from the African plate at the Red Sea, but scientists have determined that a recent tear in the Earth's continental crust in the region is the largest single rip observed since satellite monitoring began. (National Geographic Online)

Europe Sweltering in Record Heat Wave
July 19 — Britain faced the hottest day ever recorded in July, and in France several days of low humidity and high temperatures recalled a heat wave in 2003 when 15,000 people died from dehydration and heat-related disorders. (Associated Press)

Mount Fuji Overdue for Eruption, Experts Warn
July 18 — Mount Fuji, an active volcano which sits near Tokyo, erupts every 30 years on average, but has been quiet for the past 300, suggesting a major eruption could be imminent. (Associated Press)

Japan Plans 30-Year Supercomputer Forecasts
July 18 — In a project slated to begin next year employing one of the world�s fastest supercomputers, Japan will issue ultra long-range 30-year weather forecasts that will predict typhoons, storms, blizzards, droughts and other inclement weather, an official said. (USA Today)

Death Toll in Indonesian Tsunami Reaches 400
July 17 — A magnitude 7.7 undersea earthquake triggered walls of water more than six feet high that crashed into a 110-mile stretch of beach on Java Island, an area spared by the devastating 2004 Asian tsunami, killing at least 400. (Associated Press)

UN Says Mangroves in Pacific under Threat
July 17 — Rising seas caused by climate change could destroy half the mangroves on some Pacific islands, according to a United Nations study. (Associated Press)

More Lava Flows from Philippine Volcano
July 16 — The flow of lava and rock fragments from Mayon volcano southeast of the Philippine capital has picked up, scientists said, increasing the possibility of a violent eruption soon. (Associated Press)

Droughts Could Boost Global Warming
July 16 — Australian scientists have found that drought-affected forests do not absorb carbon dioxide as efficiently as they would under normal climatic conditions, meaning more greenhouse gases may be left in the atmosphere. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Tropical Storm Billis Kills 115 in China
July 15 — Tropical storm Billis killed at least 115 people and injured hundreds as it pounded China's southeast, toppling houses and forcing the evacuation of thousands of villages, reports said. (Associated Press)

European Satellite to Boost Weather Forecasting, Climate Research
July 14 — MetOp, the most complex Earth observation satellite ever to be placed into orbit, is to be launched next week as part of a 15-year European program to improve the accuracy of weather forecasting and the understanding of climate change. (Associated Press)

Massive Chunk Falls from Eiger Mountain
July 13 — A massive chunk of Alpine mountain fell from one of Switzerland's most famous peaks � an event largely expected after days of warnings from scientists regarding rock loosened by melting glacial ice. (Associated Press)

Colombia Volcano Provokes Alert
July 13 — The Colombian authorities are urging several thousand people to leave their homes on the slopes and foothills of a volcano that is spewing ash and smoke. (BBC)

One the Rise: The Thames in 2100
July 13 — The same environmental forces that make droughts increasingly likely in southern England are also responsible for raising sea levels, which in turn increase the chances of flooding, placing about a sixth of London's population at risk from flooding during this century, according to a project aimed at studying the impacts of the rising Thames River. (BBC)

NASA Explains Puzzling Impact of Polluted Skies on Climate
July 13 — In a breakthrough study, scientists explain why aerosols -- tiny particles suspended in air pollution and smoke -- sometimes stop clouds from forming and in other cases increase cloud cover. (Science Daily)

North Atlantic Warmer Than Normal
July 12 — A large section of the North Atlantic - from the coast of Maine to the Grand Banks off Newfoundland - is about three degrees warmer than normal, making forecasters worry that this year�s hurricanes will be less likely to weaken, posing a greater threat to the Canadian Maritimes. (Canadian Press)

'Brown Tide' Blooms in Washington's Waters
July 11 — Scientists say a bloom of deadly "brown tide" that makes a surprise visit to Washington State's inland waters a few times each decade, killing fish and then quickly heading out to the ocean, swept through the area last week. (Associated Press)

Study: Europe's Glaciers Could Disappear this Century
July 10 — From 1850 to the 1970s, glaciers in the European Alps lost about 35 percent of their area; the melting then sped up and by the end of this century they could be nearly gone, according to a new computer model. (LiveScience.com)

Climate Change Threatens Wineries
July 10 — A new study finds climate warming could spell disaster for much of the multibillion-dollar U.S. wine industry, as areas suitable for growing premium wine grapes could be reduced by 50 percent and possibly as much as 80 percent by the end of this century. (Associated Press)

China Evacuates Thousands as Typhoon Skirts Coast
July 8 — China evacuated more than 7,600 people from their homes near the eastern city of Ningbo as a typhoon skirted the coast. (Reuters)

Drought Conditions Worsen in Parts of the U.S.
July 8 — Drought conditions that have worsened recently, affecting parts of the northern Plains and the Upper Mississippi Valley, should continue and may expand across eastern Montana, Minnesota, the Dakotas and parts of Iowa, government forecasters said. (LiveScience.com)

Fears over Impact of Global Warming on China's Rivers
July 8 — Experts have voiced fears that a build-up of greenhouse gases from global warming could significantly reduce the amount of rain ending up in China's rivers, a vital source of water for the country. (AFP)

Overfishing Among Threats to Ecosystems
July 7 — The population boom along the Gulf of Mexico coastline has contributed to over-fishing in Gulf waters, which has endangered marine ecosystems and fisheries that are the source of multimillion-dollar recreation and fishing industries, officials said. (Associated Press)

Florida Coral Battered by Hurricanes, Disease
July 7 — Eight hurricanes in two years and a plague of disease that swept the Caribbean recently have damaged the colorful, thick carpets of open-water coral reefs in the Dry Tortugas National Park off Florida's southwest coast. (Reuters)

Age of Sierra Nevada Revealed
July 6 — California's Sierra Nevada, an impressive mountain range that includes the popular Yosemite National Park, has done a great job of keeping its age a secret - but now a new study involving chemical analysis of ancient raindrops provides evidence that it's at least 40 million years old. (LiveScience.com)

Wildfires May Be Linked to Global Warming
July 6 — An analysis of data going back to 1970 indicates wildfires increased "suddenly and dramatically" in the 1980s and the wildfire season grew longer, according to scientists in Arizona and California. (Associated Press)

Silent Earthquakes Might Predict Major Events
July 5 — Slow moving "silent" earthquakes that last on the order of weeks to months could be useful for predicting when more destructive temblors will strike, scientists said. (LiveScience.com)

Scientists Create Movie of California Quake
July 5 — Scientists at the California Institute of Technology can now create an online movie just 45 minutes after a temblor, showing how seismic waves spread from the epicenter. (Associated Press)

Fossil Fuels Said to Damage Ocean Life
July 5 — Corals and other marine creatures are threatened by chemical changes in the ocean caused by the carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels, a panel of scientists warned. (Associated Press)

Death Toll in Indian Monsoon Rises
July 5 — Heavy rains kept schools and colleges shut for a third day and meteorologists forecast more for Bombay as the nationwide death toll rose to more than 250 since the monsoon began in June. (Associated Press)

Scientists Study 1957 Fargo Tornado
July 4 — University of Chicago researcher Theodore Fujita spent more than a year studying the June 1957 Fargo, North Dakota, twister to help him develop the Fujita Scale of tornado intensity - and now the National Weather Service is compiling details on what the weather was like that evening as a way to mark next summer's 50th anniversary of the disaster. (Associated Press)

Not Since 1950: No Twisters in Central Nebraska
July 4 — Meteorologists with the National Weather Service forecast office in Hastings, Nebraska, say central Nebraska and north-central Kansas has escaped a confirmed tornado for the first six months of this year - a feat last accomplished in 1950. (Associated Press)

Scientists: Warm Seas Threaten Coral
July 3 — Caribbean Sea temperatures have reached their annual high two months ahead of schedule � a sign coral reefs may suffer the same widespread damage as last year, scientists said. (Associated Press)

Low Water in Great Lakes Causes Worry
July 3 — Water levels in the Great Lakes have been at all-time lows since 1998, forcing ships to take on lighter loads and sparking concern about shorelines and wetlands - and experts point to climate change, dredging, private shoreline alterations and even lingering effects of glaciers to explain the changes. (Reuters)

Climate Change Brings New Options for UK Farming
July 3 — Climate change provides many new opportunities for British farmers, like tea and energy crops, but also poses challenges including the threat of new insects and diseases, a British government minister said. (Reuters)

Shake, Rattle, and Test: Earthquake Simulator Rocks Wood-Frame House
July 2 — A multi-university effort has built a genuine two-story townhouse inside a laboratory building atop a pair of massive 23-foot by 23-foot "shaker tables", otherwise known as "earthquake simulators" to learn how to strengthen wood-frame houses in earthquake zones. (USAToday.com)

Experts Consider Reducing Indonesian Volcano Alert
July 1 — Activity at Indonesia's Mount Merapi has been decreasing and officials are reviewing the volcano's top alert status, a scientist said. (AFP)

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