Great Salt Lake May Return to Normal Level
October 31 — The drought-shrunken Great Salt Lake could be back at its typical level in as few as two or three years, experts say, as the U.S. Geological Survey automated gauge has recorded its level at about 4,195.5 feet above sea level for the past three weeks. (Associated Press)

October Sets Rainfall Records in Northeast
October 31 — With a month of widespread flooding from Maine to Maryland, it should come as no surprise that it was the wettest October on record in 15 cities throughout the Northeast, Cornell University meteorologists reported. (Associated Press)

Hurricane Forecasting Gets Budget Boost
October 31 — Hurricane forecasting and research improvements -- including a new "hurricane hunter'' airplane -- are part of a proposal to provide an additional $55 million this fiscal year for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Associated Press)

Military Wants the Weather on Its Side
October 31 — This year's horrid hurricane season has scientists associated with the military wondering about ways to improve predictions -- and even control storms. (Space.com)

Tremors Shake Sicily's Mount Etna
October 30 — Several small earthquakes, the strongest measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale, were recorded on the southern slope of Sicily's Mount Etna, though no casualties were reported. (AFP)

Beta Sweeps Ashore in Nicaragua, Weakens
October 30 — Hurricane Beta swirled onto Nicaragua's central Caribbean coast, ripping off roofs, toppling trees and flooding low neighborhoods before weakening to a tropical storm. (Associated Press)

Hurricane Beta Sets Record for Most in a Season
October 29 — Hurricane Beta, the 13th hurricane this year - more than any Atlantic season on record - battered the mountainous Caribbean island of Providencia, ripping roofs off wooden homes. (LiveScience.com)

Keep a Weather Eye on Those Vanishing Jellyfish
October 29 — When jellyfish vanish, it's usually cause for celebration, but their disappearance from Jellyfish Lake in Palau, Micronesia, could act as an early warning of severe weather events caused by El Niño and La Niña. (New Scientist)

Plantation Project to Study Greenhouse Gases
October 29 — Scientists from the University of Melbourne will use state-of-the-art technology to monitor emissions of greenhouse gases as part of a major research project on Western Australia's south coast. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Scientists Unsure of How to Protect River
October 28 — Scientists say they still don't know how to protect the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon without disrupting water and power production upstream. (Associated Press)

Mediterranean Basin, Alps Most Vulnerable to Global Warming
October 28 — The Mediterranean basin and the Alps could be the most affected by climate change brought about by global warming in the 21st century, according to scientific research. (AFP)

Pollution-Cutting System for De-Icing Aircraft Tested in Oslo
October 28 — A system for cutting pollution by deicing aircraft with infrared rays rather than chemicals will be tested at Oslo's airport, officials said. (Associated Press)

Mexico's Resort Islands Slow to Recover after Wilma Damages Towns, Reefs
October 28 — Mexico's Caribbean coastline took a beating from Hurricane Wilma, but the resort area's islands bore the brunt of the storm, with extensive damage to reefs and white-sand beaches. (Associated Press)

Disorientation Seen in Mass Australia Whale Deaths
October 28 — The death of about 110 stranded whales in the southern Australian state of Tasmania was probably caused by the animals becoming disoriented in confusing coastal waters, officials said. (Reuters)

Beavers Released in England in Effort to Restore Species
October 28 — Six beavers from Bavaria were released in western England in a second attempt to restore a species that has been extinct in the country since the 12th century. (Associated Press)

Illness Threatens Turtles in Puerto Rico
October 27 — A population of endangered green sea turtles is in danger of being wiped out on the Puerto Rican island of Culebra because of a tumor-causing illness, environmental officials said. (Associated Press)

Tens of Thousands Evacuated as Heavy Rains Drench Southern India
October 27 — Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated as heavy rains lashed southern India for the third straight day, triggering floods, an official said. (AFP)

Trees Protected Some in India from Tsunami
October 27 — Coastal villages set behind mangrove forests in southeast India suffered much less damage in the Asian tsunami than places without the protection of trees, a new study reports. (Associated Press)

Historians Track Hurricanes Back to 1700s
October 27 — Plantation diaries and Royal Navy ship logs, along with newspaper clippings and history books, are proving valuable to researchers looking to create a history of Atlantic Coast and Gulf Coast hurricanes that goes back as far as the American Revolution. (LiveScience.com)

Four Caribbean Countries to Receive Weather Radar Systems
October 26 — Four Caribbean countries will receive new Doppler weather radar systems next year under a program funded by the European Union, an official said. (Associated Press)

Scientists Draft Blueprint to Protect World Oceans
October 26 — International scientists are mapping out a plan for a network of marine parks to save the world's oceans from fish stock depletion and growing pollution. (Reuters)

Heavy Rains Can Make More Dust in Earth's Driest Spots
October 25 — A new NASA-funded study looking at some of the world's dustiest areas shows that heavy downpours can eventually lead to more dust being released into the atmosphere. (Space Daily)

Early Nor'easter Dumps Mounds of Snow
October 25 — An early nor'easter fed by Hurricane Wilma dumped heavy rain and up to 20 inches of wet snow from New England to West Virginia, knocking out power to tens of thousands. (Associated Press)

Galapagos Volcano Erupts for Third Day
October 25 — A volcano on the largest of the Galapagos Islands erupted for the third straight day, but experts said it didn't threaten villagers on the island or the super-sized tortoises that gave the remote archipelago its name. (Associated Press)

Half of Coral Reefs Could Be Destroyed
October 25 — Nearly half of the world's coral reefs may be lost in the next 40 years unless urgent measures are taken to protect them against the threat of climate change, according to a new report by the World Conservation Union. (Associated Press)

Virginia Seeks Answers on Shenandoah Fish Kills
October 24 — State officials want more testing to try to uncover the cause of massive fish kills on the Shenandoah River that have devastated its adult smallmouth bass fishery. (Associated Press)

Study: Dinos Swam in the Sea
October 24 — Using data from rocks more than 165 million years old, a new study finds that dinosaurs intentionally swam out to sea to hunt fish. (Discovery.com)

Australia Wins Praise for Great Barrier Reef Protection Plan
October 24 — Australia, a frequent target of criticism from environmentalists for refusing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, received the World Wildlife Fund's top accolade for its efforts to protect the Great Barrier Reef. (AFP)

New Close-up on Arctic's Climate Changes
October 24 — To monitor changing environmental conditions in the Arctic more closely, international scientists have launched a scientific field assault in the region. (Christian Science Monitor)

Africa Aid at Risk, Warns Expert
October 24 — Extra aid for Africa approved by the Group of Eight industrial nations could be canceled out by global warming, a senior scientist has warned. (BBC)

Global Warming Sparks Increased Plant Production in Arctic Lakes
October 24 — Biological activity in some Arctic lakes has ratcheted up dramatically over the past 150 years as a result of global warming, according to a new study. (LiveScience.com)

Africa, Donors Unveil Plan to Fight Desertification
October 24 — African governments and donors launched an ambitious plan to fight desertification, which causes chronic food shortages and threatens to drive millions from their homes in coming decades. (Reuters)

Volcano Erupts on Largest Galapagos Island
October 23 — A volcano has begun to erupt on one of the Galapagos Islands known for its diverse flora and fauna, including the archipelago's famed giant tortoises, park officials said. (Associated Press)

Tropical Storm Alpha Drenches Hispaniola
October 23 — Tropical Storm Alpha drenched Haiti and the Dominican Republic with torrential rains, sending rivers crashing over their banks, washing away homes and threatening to set off deadly flooding and mudslides. (Associated Press)

Wilma Threatens Florida with 110-mph Winds
October 23 — Hurricane Wilma accelerated toward storm-weary Florida, threatening residents with 110-mph winds, tornadoes and a surge of seawater that could flood the Keys and the state's southwest coast. (Associated Press)

Four Dead as Wilma Wreaks Havoc on Mexico Resorts
October 22 — Four people were killed and two were missing after Hurricane Wilma erased beaches and flooded luxury hotels up to the third floor in Mexico's famous Yucatan resorts, officials said. (AFP)

Tropical Storm Alpha Breaks Atlantic Record
October 22 — A tropical depression over the Caribbean Sea gathered strength and was named Tropical Storm Alpha, making this year's Atlantic hurricane season the most active on record, U.S. forecasters said. (AFP)

Group Tracks Cougar Population in Midwest
October 22 — Reports of cougars, sometimes called mountain lions, have increased in the Midwest in recent years, and a nationwide effort is searching for evidence of more in middle America, where the big cats thrived generations ago. (Associated Press)

Seesawing Gas Kept Earth Frozen for Longer
October 22 — A puzzling shift in glacial cycles that occurred 950,000 years ago could be partially explained by changing greenhouse gas levels. (New Scientist)

Strong Quake Kills Two in Turkey, Sparks Widespread Panic
October 21 — The fourth powerful earthquake in a week rocked the western Turkish city of Izmir, causing two deaths and keeping terrified residents on the edge. (AFP)

Camera to Take Snapshot of Reef Water Quality
October 21 — Marine scientists are to drop a camera onto the Great Barrier Reef in a new experiment to monitor sea temperatures and water quality after the wet season on Davies Reef, off Townsville. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Delta Waters Safe for Swimming Again
October 21 — While casting a nervous eye at Hurricane Wilma, federal and state officials reported that the latest pollution data in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina indicated for the first time that the Mississippi Delta was again a safe place to swim. (Associated Press)

Deadly Wilma Tears Into Mexico Resort Area
October 21 — Hurricane Wilma tore into Mexico's resort-studded Mayan Riviera with torrential rains and shrieking winds, filling the streets with water, as thousands of stranded tourists hunkered down in hotel ballrooms and emergency shelters. (Associated Press)

Scientists: Better Preparation Needed for Inevitable Disasters
October 21 — Governments need to stop assuming that death and destruction from natural disasters are inevitable and work more closely with scientists on ways to minimize the damage, a leading scientific group said. (Associated Press)

Dutch Windmills at Risk from Climate Change
October 21 — Windmills, one of the Netherlands' trademarks, may go idle because of less wind as a result of climate change, Dutch scientists predict. (Reuters)

Researchers: No Way to Halt Tree-Killing Asian Beetle's Destruction
October 21 — The Canadian government and some U.S. researchers say there's no way to stop an Asian beetle from steadily spreading to attack and kill all 10 billion ash trees in the United States and Canada. (Associated Press)

Bad Science Led to Poor Panther Protection, Experts Say
October 21 — The Florida panther--one of the world's most endangered animals--is being shortchanged by established science, according to a team of experts. (National Geographic News)

Wilma's Rage Suggests New Hurricane Categories Needed
October 20 — In a season that has included three Category 5 hurricanes for the first time on record in the Atlantic Basin, scientists are beginning to wonder if their rating system is adequate. (LiveScience.com)

Varying Wilma Models Confound Forecasters
October 20 — Using a suite of computers models, forecasters predict Hurricane Wilma would meander a few days in the Gulf of Mexico and then race across southwest Florida or the Keys, but her slower-than-expected movement is puzzling forecasters. (Associated Press)

Termites Could Spread and Boom after Hurricane
October 20 — The Formosan subterranean termite is a pest so formidable that even a hurricane can't bring it down, worrying entomologists along the Gulf Coast. (ABC News)

Global Warming a Major Threat to Africa
October 20 — Deadly epidemics, ruined crops, and the extinction of some of Africa's legendary wildlife are some of the potential consequences of global warming that could be devastating to the world's poorest continent. (Associated Press)

Rain-Forest Damage Much Worse Than Thought
October 20 — Loss of trees in the Brazilian rain forest is much worse than had been thought, according to a new study. (Associated Press)

Greenland Ice Cap Thickens Slightly
October 20 — Greenland's ice cap has thickened slightly in recent years despite wide predictions of a thaw triggered by global warming, a team of scientists said. (Reuters)

Old Ways of Life Are Fading as the Arctic Thaws
October 20 — Freed by warming, waters once locked beneath ice are gnawing at coastal settlements around the Arctic Circle, and in Bykovsky, a village of 457 on Russia's northeast coast, the shoreline is collapsing. (The New York Times)

California Landslide Part of Ancient Problem
October 20 — A landslide that killed 10 people and destroyed some 30 homes in La Conchita, Calif., in January was part of a much larger slide that dates back to prehistoric times, according to a new study. (LiveScience.com)

Wilma Sets Barometric Pressure Record
October 19 — Hurricane Wilma doesn't stop making history: It is the strongest, most intense Atlantic hurricane in terms of barometric pressure and the most rapidly strengthening on record. (Associated Press)

Antarctic Species Feel the Warmth
October 19 — An alarming rise in temperature in the Southern Ocean threatens seals, whales and penguins as well as krill, which play a crucial role in the food chain. (BBC)

Earthquake Shakes Tokyo
October 19 — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 struck northeastern Japan, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and while the temblor shook buildings in Tokyo and nearby areas, there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. (Associated Press)

Earthquake Prediction Eludes Scientists
October 18 — A long-term study aimed at predicting earthquakes has ended in a sad failure, according to a new report. (AFP)

Antarctic Ice Melts as Sea Warms but Cause Unknown
October 18 — Antarctica is melting, adding to the inexorable rise in global sea levels, endangering millions of lives and whole economies, leading scientists say. (Reuters)

Polar Regions Take Center Stage in Climate Crisis
October 18 — World scientists are aiming to spell out in graphic detail the threat of flooding faced by millions of people from America to Asia as global warming melts the polar ice caps. (Reuters)

Global Warming Takes Toll on Africa's Coral Reefs
October 18 — Global warming is taking a toll on coral reefs off east Africa, which will likely be killed off in a few decades if sea surface temperatures continue to rise, a leading researcher warned. (Reuters)

Puget Sound Region Feeling Climate Change
October 18 — The Puget Sound region is feeling the impact of climate change from flooding to warmer waters and things could be getting worse, according to a report by University of Washington researchers. (Associated Press)

Expert: Warming Trends Could Plague New Mexico
October 18 — Warming trends could cause more water shortages in New Mexico, a climatologist predicts and experts point to carbon dioxide emissions as the primary cause of global warming. (Associated Press)

Warming to Cause Harsher Weather, Study Says
October 18 — Extreme weather events -- including heat waves, floods and drought -- are likely to become more common over the next century in the United States because of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study by Purdue University researchers. (The Washington Post)

Scientists: Mission to Venus Could Help Beat Global Warming
October 18 — Europe's first space mission to the planet Venus will shed new light on the greenhouse effect here on Earth, scientists said. (The Independent, UK)

Antarctic Ozone Hole May Have Peaked, UN Agency Says
October 18 — Depletion of the ozone layer above Antarctica, caused by emissions of industrial chemicals, seems to have peaked, indicating that global environmental pacts are working, U.N. scientists said. (Reuters)

Climate Change May Mean Green Sahel
October 17 — Rainfall over parts of Africa's Sahel appears to be rising but its greening could prove a mixed blessing if the population surges as a result and drought follows, a leading ecologist said. (Reuters)

Warmer Climate Produces Less Rain
October 17 — New climate simulations from NASA show that under the warmer global temperatures of the 20th century, water vapor in the atmosphere took longer than normal to fall out of the sky fall as rain, snow and other precipitation. (Scientific American)

Crews Start Work on Drenched Northeast U.S.
October 16 — Emergency and utility crews across the Northeast worked to repair the damage caused by several days of rain and floods, but strong winds continued to cause problems. (Associated Press)

Cayman Islands Braces for Tropical Storm
October 16 — A tropical storm warning was in effect for the Cayman Islands as a tropical depression moved through the Atlantic on a path that could threaten the U.S. Gulf Coast later this week as a hurricane, forecasters said. (Associated Press)

Amazon Drought Emergency Widens
October 15 — A worsening drought in the Amazon basin has prompted Brazil to extend an emergency across the region. (BBC)

Study: December 26 Tsunami Had Two Sources
October 14 — Satellite observations and arrival times of the December 26 Indian Ocean tsunamis on the shores of India are revealing that there were two places that the ocean floor surged to create the killer waves. (Discovery.com)

Planet Sees Warmest September on Record
October 14 — Worldwide, it was the warmest September on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. (Associated Press)

World Temperatures Keep Rising with a Hot 2005
October 13 — New international climate data show that 2005 is on track to be the hottest year on record, continuing a 25-year trend of rising global temperatures. (The Washington Post)

Study: Quakes Trigger Quakes
October 13 — Large earthquakes have long been suspected -- but rarely convicted -- of triggering lesser quakes near and far, and now a theory is starting to explain how they do it. (Discovery.com)

Odds Put on Next Great San Francisco Earthquake
October 13 — The San Francisco Bay area has a 1 percent chance of a magnitude-7 or greater earthquake every year and a 25 percent chance that one will occur within two decades, according to a new computer forecast. (LiveScience.com)

Polar Express: Warming to Shift Storm Paths North
October 13 — Regions near both of Earth's poles will experience more intense storms of rain and snow during the 21st Century as the planet warms, according to a new study. (LiveScience.com)

Eight Dolphins Seen in Lake Pontchartrain
October 13 — The manatees that grazed in Lake Pontchartrain before Hurricane Katrina haven't been seen since, but eight dolphins were leaping in the lake this week. (Associated Press)

Invasive Plant Found in Alaska
October 13 — An invasive plant that could overrun wetlands such as Potter Marsh and block salmon runs on the Kenai Peninsula has been found growing wild in Anchorage for the first time. (Associated Press)

Medflies Found in California Prompt Quarantine
October 13 — Agriculture officials plan to quarantine fruits and vegetables in up to 80 square miles of San Jose after finding two Mediterranean fruit flies -- pests that don't pose a threat to humans but can ruin crops. (Associated Press)

Aspen Tree Population Suffers in Northern Arizona
October 12 — A symbol of the Western mountains, the Aspen tree is rapidly disappearing from the landscape at a rate not previously seen. (NPR)

San Diego May Soon See California Condors
October 12 — California condors are expected to return soon to the skies over San Diego County, nearly a century after they disappeared, as some of the birds released in Mexico three years ago have made exploratory flights and will soon cross the border. (Associated Press)

Heavy Rain Hits Britain, Disrupts Key Rail Line
October 12 — Heavy rain burst a river bank and flooded towns on the border between Scotland and England as well as in Wales, with emergency services called to the worst affected areas, officials said. (AFP)

Logging Does Not Raise Flood Risk
October 12 — Deforestation and logging do not increase the risk of major floods, according to a new report. (BBC)

U.S. Forecasts Warmer-than-Normal Winter
October 12 — Government forecasters predicted a warmer-than-normal winter, offering hope to much of the Midwest and West as concern grows about the rising costs of heating during cold weather. (Associated Press)

A-Bomb System Can Warn of Tsunami
October 12 — Monitoring stations set up to detect atomic explosions could help predict the path of a tsunami, research shows. (BBC)

Red Tide Still a Problem in Florida Panhandle
October 12 — Red tide, which has beachgoers complaining of allergy-like symptoms while causing fish kills and closing oyster harvesting areas, remains scattered across the Florida Panhandle, state officials said. (Associated Press)

Alaskan Volcanoes Show Signs of Unrest
October 12 — Anchorage residents could see a cloud of steam last weekend from a volcano 75 miles away -- one of three Alaskan volcanoes showing signs of unrest. (Reuters)

Brazil Declares Amazon River a Disaster
October 11 — Authorities declared part of the Amazon River a disaster area after a drought left the levels of parts of the river too low for navigation, officials said. (Associated Press)

Katrina May Affect New Orleans' Wildlife
October 11 — Chemicals in New Orleans floodwater from residential neighborhoods posed little risk to people but may be a long-term hazard to wildlife in Lake Pontchartrain, a new study says. (Associated Press)

Hurricanes Bring No Increase in West Nile Cases
October 11 — Louisiana health officials say a feared post-hurricane increase in cases of deadly West Nile virus has not occurred despite reporting 30 new cases of the disease in the past week. (Reuters)

Spain Gets First Tropical Storm: Vince
October 11 — Vince, the 20th named tropical storm in the Atlantic this year, is the first storm of its type to reach Spain in recorded history, the National Hurricane Center said. (AFP)

Death Toll from Tropical Storm Stan, Mudslides Tops 2,000
October 11 — The death toll from devastating mudslides in Guatemala topped 2,000, as rescuers called off their search for hundreds of people buried for six days under solidifying mud. (AFP)

Hurricane Charley Slices a Florida Island
October 11 — As Hurricane Charley came ashore on the southwest coast of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane in August 2004, it changed the look of North Captiva Island, according to a joint study by the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (Science Daily)

Global Warming Could Overwhelm Storm Drains
October 11 — Scientists offered a tip to city planners around the world: prepare your culverts for global warming as climate models predict more frequent downpours in the future. (LiveScience.com)

Past Climate Change Supports Current Global Warming
October 11 — Some of the strongest evidence yet of a direct link between tropical warmth and higher levels of greenhouse gases is found in past climate records, U.S. researchers say. (Forbes)

Deal Protects Part of World's Oldest Reef
October 11 — A 71-acre section of 450 million-year-old rock in Vermont that is believed to be part of the world's oldest coral reef, will be preserved and opened to the public, officials announced. (Associated Press)

Scientists Find Gases from Earth's Mantle
October 11 — Reaching 10,000 feet into the Pacific Ocean, marine geologists have snatched rare volcanic rocks off the sea floor, bringing to the surface chemicals direct from the Earth's interior. (San Diego Union Tribune)

Longleaf Pine Disappearing in South Carolina, Expert Says
October 10 — The longleaf pine, which once covered tens of millions of acres across the Southeast, is in danger of disappearing in parts of South Carolina, says a forest conservationist with the Clemson Extension Service. (Associated Press)

Tsunami Warning System to Be Installed
October 10 — A team of German and Indonesian scientists will set sail for Sumatra Island to install a tsunami warning system in the region worst hit by last year's Asian killer wave. (Associated Press)

Vince Weakens to Tropical Storm
October 10 — Tropical Storm Vince weakened but did not break up over the cooler water of the far eastern Atlantic and was expected to make landfall along the southern coast of Portugal or southwestern Spain. (Associated Press)

Northeast Torrential Rains Leave 10 Dead
October 10 — Residents assessed the damage wrought by the weekend's deadly floods across the Northeast, but the swollen rivers barely had a chance to recede as more rain was forecast. (Associated Press)

High Temperatures Killed Pinyon Trees
October 10 — High temperatures were the underlying cause of a massive die-off of pinyon pines in the recent Southwest drought, a research team reported. (Associated Press)

Nearly 20,000 Dead in South Asian Quake
October 9 — Pakistan said nearly 20,000 people died in an earthquake it called the biggest tragedy in its history. (AFP)

Experts: South Asia Is Hotbed for Quakes
October 9 — The area stretching across Pakistan into India and Afghanistan is a hotbed for seismic activity that erupts each time the Indian subcontinent slams into Asia, but it's the shallow faults that make these temblors so deadly. (Associated Press)

Hope Fades in Guatemala as Hundreds Still Trapped in Mudslide
October 9 — Hundreds of people remained trapped inside what may become a massive mud tomb in a scenic lake region of Guatemala, four days after Tropical Storm Stan unleashed a devastating mudslide. (AFP)

Hurricane Vince Forms in Eastern Atlantic
October 9 — Hurricane Vince formed in the far eastern Atlantic, but the storm did not immediately threaten land, forecasters said. (Associated Press)

Engineers: New Cause of New Orleans Flood
October 8 — Much of the city flooded not because water rushed over the tops of levees, but because two of the storm barriers that ring New Orleans actually shifted and then collapsed, a team of independent engineers said. (Associated Press)

617 Killed in Central America Rain, Floods
October 8 — Dozens of Mayan Indians used hand tools to dig through hardening mud, searching for bodies under a landslide that swallowed a Guatemalan neighborhood and pushed the region-wide death toll from a week of pounding rains to 617. (Associated Press)

Scientists: Mt. Everest Only 29,017 Feet
October 8 — The world's highest mountain, Mount Everest, is 12 feet shorter than previously thought, Chinese scientists who measured the peak earlier this year said. (Associated Press)

Satellite Said to Break Up in Flight
October 8 — A European Space Agency satellite that was to have collected data on polar ice broke up in flight after being launched on a converted ballistic missile, a Russian space agency official said. (Associated Press)

Rain Hinders Wading Birds' Nesting Efforts
October 7 — Too much rain and high water caused a drop in wading bird nests this year in the Florida Everglades and other nearby areas, according to the South Florida Wading Bird Report. (Associated Press)

Gulf Nature Park Awaits Gators' Return after Rita
October 7 — The alligators have fled and the tall, green marsh grasses are brown from salt water, but the coastal Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge's resilient natural defenses may have prevented a catastrophe in the area ravaged by Hurricane Rita. (Reuters)

Weather Officials Probe Katrina's Strength
October 7 — Government hurricane specialists said they are investigating whether Hurricane Katrina was actually a Category 3 storm, not a 4, when it struck the Gulf Coast. (Associated Press)

Tropical Storm Stan Kills 278 in Central America, Mexico
October 7 — Devastating Tropical Storm Stan has killed at least 278 people in Central America and Mexico after lashing the region for days with relentless rain, authorities said. (AFP)

Amazon Area Threatened by Drought
October 7 — Brazil has adopted emergency measures to deal with one of the Amazon region's worst droughts in decades. (BBC)

Bad Air Days to Increase Out West as Planet Warms
October 6 — By the year 2050, warmer temperatures in the western United States could fuel a doubling in the number of bad air days this time of year, according to a new study. (LiveScience.com)

New Zealand Battles Invasion of Canadian Rock Snot, Korean Sea Squirts
October 6 — Foreign algae and sea creatures have invaded New Zealand's rivers and harbors where they are threatening the nation's seafood and tourism industries, officials said. (Associated Press)

Global Warming to Hit Migratory and Static Species
October 6 — The Golden Toad has already paid the ultimate price of extinction and other species are expected to follow suit as the world warms, according to a new published report. (Reuters)

NASA Scientists Confirm Toxic Seas during Earth's Evolution
October 6 — NASA exobiology researchers confirmed Earth's oceans were once rich in sulfides that would prevent advanced life forms, such as fish and mammals, from thriving. (Science Daily)

Agency to Restore Flood Protection in Louisiana
October 6 — The head of the Army Corps of Engineers said that the flood defenses for New Orleans should be restored by June to the level where they were when Hurricane Katrina struck and overpowered them. (Associated Press)

Tropical Storm Tammy Brings Some Flooding
October 6 — Tropical Storm Tammy turned subdivisions into lagoons and soaked some areas of the Southeast with more than 4 inches of rain before weakening to a tropical depression. (Associated Press)

Indonesia to Create Tsunami Warning System
October 6 — Indonesia will establish a tsunami warning system in its most earthquake-prone region by the end of 2005, a government scientist said. (Associated Press)

Arizona Officials to Track Mountain Lions
October 5 — Officials will fit as many as 20 mountain lions with tracking collars near Tucson and Payson in a study that aims to better understand how the animals and people can coexist. (Associated Press)

Could Birds and Bats Help Rebuild Forests?
October 5 — Scientists have come up with a bit of trickery in their effort to restore parts of tropical forests that were "slashed and burned" to make way for agriculture and later abandoned. (Associated Press)

White Shark Travels Shocking Distance
October 5 — Named Nicole, in honor of shark-admiring actress Nicole Kidman, a white shark made a 6,900-mile round trip in just nine months, which is faster than any known marine traveler, said scientists. (Discovery.com)

Satellite to Keep an Eye on Coral Reefs
October 5 — The European Space Agency's Envisat satellite could be used to keep tabs on the state of the oceans' coral reefs, Australian researchers say. (The Register)

Forecasters: Another Hurricane Could Hit
October 5 — With two months left in the Atlantic hurricane season, forecasters warn that another devastating storm could hit the U.S. this year and that some of the conditions that sent Hurricanes Katrina and Rita slamming into the Gulf Coast appear to still be in place. (Associated Press)

Storms Turn Everyday Items to Toxic Trash
October 5 — Tons of household chemicals that were once stored safely in garages, bathrooms and kitchen cabinets along the Gulf Coast pose a potential environmental threat after being scattered by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. (CNN)

Hurricanes Cause Peru Amazon Waters to Fall
October 5 — Water levels along Peru's stretch of the Amazon River have fallen to 35-year lows following a series of recent hurricanes along U.S. and Mexican coasts and years of deforestation in the Amazon jungle, Peru's National Meteorological Service said. (Reuters)

China Typhoon Death Toll Reaches 15
October 4 — The death toll from Typhoon Longwang in China climbed to 15 people and dozens of military students were still missing, media reported. (Reuters)

Bedrock under Amazon River Sinks 3 Inches during Floods
October 4 — Bedrock under the Amazon River falls about 3 inches every year during seasonal flooding and then rebounds as the river carries less water. (LiveScience.com)

$40 Billion Louisiana Protection Plan Sparks Debate
October 3 — A $40 billion plan to hurricane-proof the Louisiana coast has ignited a battle over how best to prevent a repeat of this year's double flooding of New Orleans. (Associated Press)

Thousands Gather to See Annular Eclipse
October 3 — Thousands of people across Portugal and Spain donned protective eyeglasses to watch a rare and spectacular type of eclipse. (Associated Press)

Climate to Increase British Flies
October 3 — Fly populations in Britain could soar this century because of climate change, according to a new study. (BBC)

Sweat, Fire Help Bring U.S. Midwest Prairies Back
October 3 — Restoring vanished prairies that once looked like an endless inland grass sea covering the U.S. Midwest requires backbreaking work to clear brush, collect and spread seeds and, most importantly, set fires. (Reuters)

Hurricane Otis Weakens into Tropical Storm
October 2 — Hurricane Otis weakened to a tropical storm and headed north toward an unpopulated stretch of the Baja California Peninsula, while tropical storm Stan crossed the Yucatan peninsula, apparently heading for open Gulf waters. (Associated Press)

Typhoon Longwang Hits China after Lashing Taiwan
October 2 — Typhoon Longwang struck China's southeastern coast, Chinese state media said, after the cyclone churned across Taiwan, leaving one dead and dozens injured. (AFP)

Heavy Rain Causes Flash Floods in Kansas
October 2 — More than a foot of rain fell in northeast Kansas, prompting flash floods that left residents stranded in their homes and cars and forced officials to close roads under three feet of water. (Associated Press)

El Salvador Volcano Spits Rock, Hundreds Evacuated
October 1 — Authorities evacuated hundreds of people living on the slopes of a volcano in western El Savador after it spat large rocks and ash from its crater during an early morning explosion. (Reuters)

Ground Shifted Beneath Levees
October 1 — The rapid sinking of the Louisiana coast may have lowered New Orleans' levees and contributed to their failure after Hurricane Katrina, resulting in the city's catastrophic flooding, engineers and other experts say. (Los Angeles Times)

Experts: Future of Big Hurricanes Looms
October 1 — Some experts say the United States can expect to be pummeled by more mega-catastrophes over the next 20 or 30 years in a nasty conspiracy of unfavorable weather patterns and changing demographics. (Associated Press)

Hurricane Otis Sparks Flooding in Mexico
October 1 — Hurricane Otis' outer bands lashed the coast of western Mexico as the storm crawled toward the Baja California peninsula, forcing hundreds of families to evacuate their homes. (Associated Press)

Forest Fires Flare Anew in Drought-hit Portugal
October 1 — More than 800 firefighters battled 10 blazes that burned out of control in central and northern Portugal as scorching temperatures returned to the drought-hit country. (Reuters)

Deep-Sea Expedition Lead from Land
October 1 — The ship with all the gadgets and underwater rovers was stationed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but for the first time the scientists directing the expedition were not on board: they sat in rooms thousands of miles away. (Associated Press)

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