Toxic Algae Hampers Everglades Restoration
April 30 — Researchers believe toxic algae, possibly formed in part from three hurricanes last year, might lead to an ecological disaster in Florida's Lake Okeechobee. (Associated Press)

Drought to Persist in North America Due to La Niña
April 30 — Experts at the Climate Modeling Group at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) expect drought to worsen in the U.S. Plains and West over the next several years due to La Niña-like conditions. (Science Daily)

Australian Fly Warms to Climate Change
April 29 — An Australian fruit fly has shown a surprising ability to adapt genetically to rising temperatures. (AFP)

Experts: New Data Show Global Warming
April 29 — NASA climate scientists armed with new data from deep in the ocean and far into space have found that Earth is absorbing much more heat than it is giving off, a conclusion they say validates projections of global warming. (Associated Press)

Nanobacteria in Clouds Could Spread Disease, Scientists Claim
April 29 — Micro-organisms in clouds could play a crucial role in the spread of disease and in the formation of rain drops, scientists have claimed. (Science Daily)

Report Urges Increased Volcano Monitoring
April 28 — While Mount St. Helens and Kilauea generate the most attention, many other volcanoes in the United States have little or no regular monitoring and need to be watched for potential eruptions, a new report warns. (Associated Press)

Ozone Hits Record Low in 2005
April 27 — Researchers say a combination of climate change and pollution is chewing through Europe's upper atmospheric ozone, causing the protective layer to be much thinner this season. (Nature)

Pollution Squeezing Out Rare Plants
April 27 — Nitrogen, that miracle cure for ailing plants in our gardens, may actually be pushing a lot of rare and endangered plants closer to extinction, according to an exhaustive new study. (ABC)

Indian Coral Relocation Offers Hope for Reefs
April 27 — Indian marine biologists have successfully relocated more than 300 coral reefs in a creek in the Arabian Sea, raising hopes of more transplants of the threatened species, officials say.(Reuters)

Gulf Dead Zone Starts Earlier, May Grow Larger
April 27 — An annual dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico has appeared earlier this year than in the past, suggesting it may reach a record size this summer. (LiveScience.com)

Study Offers Clues on Forest Response to Climate Change
April 27 — Research from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) offers new insights into the life cycles of forests, information that could help predict how forests would respond to environmental change. (Science Daily)

Geologists Find New Active Fault in Nepal
April 26 — Researchers have discovered a new active "thrust fault" at the base of the Himalaya in Nepal that likely accommodates some of the subterranean pressure caused by the continuing collision of the Indian subcontinent with Asia. (The Agonist, UK)

Climate Change Warning over Food Production
April 26 — Climate change is set to do far worse damage to global food production than even the gloomiest of previous forecasts, according to studies presented at the Royal Society in London, U.K. (New Scientist)

Carbon Dioxide Role in Past Climate Revealed
April 25 — Researchers at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the University of California, Santa Cruz have discovered that Earth's last great global warming period, 3 million years ago, may have been caused by levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere similar to today's levels. (Science Daily)

Early Earth Atmosphere Favorable to Life
April 25 — A new University of Colorado at Boulder study indicates Earth in its infancy probably had substantial quantities of hydrogen in its atmosphere, a surprising finding that may alter the way many scientists think about how life began on the planet. (Science Daily)

Eruption of Comoros' Mount Karthala Ends
April 23 — The week-long eruption of Mount Karthala on the main island in the Indian Ocean Comoros archipelago is over, experts say, but they did not rule out the possibility of further eruptions. (AFP)

Crumbled Tombstones Lead to New View of 1906 Earthquake
April 22 — The great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was the deadliest in U.S. history and now a new map of the event, based in part on crumbled tombstones, shows in detail the extent of ground rumbling and provides lessons for future events. (LiveScience.com)

New Australian Reefs Discovered
April 22 — Australian scientists have reported the discovery of coral reefs stretching 100 kilometers (62.5 miles) in the Gulf of Carpentaria, off the north coast. (BBC)

NASA Study Finds Snow Melt Causes Large Ocean Plant Blooms
April 21 — A NASA funded study has found a decline in winter and spring snow cover over Southwest Asia and the Himalayan mountain range is creating conditions for more widespread blooms of ocean plants in the Arabian Sea. (Science Daily)

Antarctic Glaciers Show Retreat
April 21 — A detailed study reported in Science magazine shows nearly 90 percent of the Antarctic ice bodies streaming down from the mountains to the ocean are losing mass. (Associated Press, AFP, BBC)

Model Predicts Hurricane Activity
April 21 — A new method to forecast North American hurricane activity has been developed by a team at University College London. (BBC, AFP)

China Water Supply to Reach Limit in 2030 as Population Grows: Report
April 20 — China's water supply is likely to be stretched to the limit by 2030 as the population expands above 1.6 billion and rivers and lakes run dry or become polluted, state press says. (AFP)

Alaska's Mount Spurr Continues to Rumble
April 19 — Mount Spurr volcano continues to rumble but appears no closer to an eruption than it did over the winter, according to scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory. (Associated Press)

Major Quake of 6.2 Rocks Bird Island Off Japan
April 19 — A powerful earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale jolted the Pacific Ocean east of Japan near an uninhabited volcanic island home to endangered birds, the Japan Meteorological Agency says. (AFP)

Japan Researchers Look to Seaweed in Fight Against Global Warming
April 19 — A group of private and academic research institutes is studying the viability of tackling the gargantuan project of building a seaweed plantation in the Pacific Ocean to absorb carbon dioxide and produce biofuel. (The State, China)

Pile-Up as Berg Hits Antarctica
April 18 — An iceberg the size of Luxembourg has smashed into another vast slab of ice that juts out from Antarctica. (Associated Press, BBC)

Iceberg Collision Forces Redraw of Antarctic Maps
April 18 — An iceberg that collided with Antarctica has broken a piece of the continent off, forcing maps of the bottom of the world to be redrawn, European scientists say. (LiveScience.com)

Chinese Team Begins to Re-measure Mount Everest
April 18 — A team of Chinese scientists began to re-measure Mount Everest for the first time in 20 years, checking theories that it is growing one centimeter (0.4 inches) annually, state media say. (AFP)

Two Earthquakes Rattle Indonesia's Sumatra Island
April 18 — Two earthquakes measuring 4.5 and 5.6 on the Richter scale rattled the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island but caused no reported damage or casualties, reports the Meteorology and Geophysics Office. (AFP)

Piste Pressure on Alpine Plants
April 18 — The impacts of ski piste preparation on alpine plants are long-lasting and greatest at higher altitudes, Swiss researchers report. (BBC)

Southwestern Utah Braces for Flooding
April 17 — As the weather warms, the scenic high-desert town of Cedar City, Utah, is rushing to make preparations before an enormous accumulation of waterlogged snow begins to melt in the mountains and creates a threat of spectacular flooding. (Associated Press)

Severe Weather Hits France, Italy, Switzerland
April 17 — Heavy snowfall and torrential rain have caused serious disruption in much of eastern France, the south of Switzerland and across Italy, and may have contributed to several serious accidents. (AFP)

Volcano Spews Ash, Smoke Cloud in Comoros
April 17 — A volcano spews ash and dark smoke on the main island of the Comoros archipelago, sending hundreds of people fleeing from their homes at the urging of the government, a U.N. official says. (Associated Press)

Indonesia Launches Mangrove Reforestation Project
April 17 — Experts say coastal mangrove forests could help reduce the impact of future tsunami waves by absorbing some of their energy. (AFP)

Oceans Getting Louder; Effects Unclear
April 16 — Scientists are concerned that rising levels of ocean background noise, much of it generated by commercial shipping, may be interfering with the way the entire sea operates. (Associated Press)

Thailand Wages Air War Against Drought
April 16 — Planes stationed at airfields around Thailand take to the skies almost daily, flying sorties in a campaign of national importance � a war on the country's worst drought in seven years. (Associated Press)

In a Record Season, Butterflies Wing It
April 16 — Because of record rainfall in much of the desert, where butterflies spend their winters feasting on fiddleneck and other weeds, the spring migration in Arizona and California has been about 1,000 times greater than normal, say scientists. (CNN)

EU Pollution Deaths Cost Billions
April 15 — The European Union could save money by reducing deaths caused by air pollution that cuts the average life of a European by more than eight months, says the World Health Organization. (BBC)

Study: Greenhouse Gas Limits Affordable
April 15 — Mandatory limits on all U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse" gases would not significantly affect average economic growth rates across the country through 2025, the government says. (Associated Press)

Soot Reduces Sunshine over China, Study Finds
April 15 — It is not as sunny as it used to be over China and pollution is probably to blame, Chinese researchers say. (Reuters)

France Warns of Summer Water Cuts if Drought Continues
April 14 — The French government warned of possible cuts in drinking water supplies this summer in certain parts of the country if the unusually dry conditions seen over the past six months persist. (AFP)

NGOs Say World Bank Policies Harm Forests
April 14 — World Bank forestry programs meant to promote sustainable development are threatening rainforests and harming the people who live in them, environmentalists say. (Reuters)

Finally, a Solid Look at Earth's Core
April 14 — A new study finds further evidence to prove the Earth's inner core is solid. (LiveScience.com)

Lack of Oxygen Worsened 'Great Dying'
April 14 — The biggest of Earth�s mass extinctions may have left animals gasping for air, a new study finds. (LiveScience.com)

Sea-Level Records Reveal Surprising Choppiness
April 14 — A new reconstruction of past changes shows that the level of the oceans varied more dramatically between ice ages than previously thought, implying that the global climate during these intervals was not as stable as believed. (Nature)

Indonesia Nervously Watches 11 Volcanoes as Quakes Heighten Eruption Chance
April 14 — Indonesian scientists placed 11 volcanoes under close watch after a series of powerful quakes awoke intense subterranean forces and increased the chances of a major eruption. (AFP)

Pacific 'Ring of Fire' Awakened by Indonesian Quakes
April 13 — Massive quakes in Indonesia have stirred two huge volcanoes from their slumber and sent shockwaves reverberating along a vast and volatile region known as the Pacific "Ring of Fire." (AFP)

Ten 'Most Endangered' U.S. Rivers Listed
April 13 — The Susquehanna River is the most endangered river in America and a threat to public health due to the sewage flowing into the water, according to a new report by a top environmental group. (Reuters)

Land near Grand Canyon to Be Protected
April 13 — Bolstered by a $1 million grant, conservation groups plan to protect almost 900,000 acres of wilderness, including land stretching along 125 miles of the Grand Canyon's North Rim. (Associated Press)

Activity Changes Dome of Mount St. Helens
April 13 — Surging seismic activity at Mount St. Helens has changed the whale-back shape of the volcano's emerging new dome, leaving it more like the back of a stegosaurus � a dinosaur with bony plates of armor along its spine. (Associated Press)

University to Research Melting Polar Ice Caps
April 12 — A new federally funded center will give the University of Kansas a prominent role in researching global warming, the melting of polar ice caps and their effects on the world's climate. (Associated Press)

40 Years Ago Today: Worst Tornado Outbreak in History
April 11 — Other single tornadoes have proved deadlier, but the outbreak 40 years ago this date was the worst in U.S. history, with 250 deaths and 1500 injuries. (LiveScience.com)

UN Panel Calls for Cuts in Ozone-Friendly Chemicals Amid Pollution Fears
April 11 — International scientists have called for more cuts in the chemicals used in refrigerators, air conditioning units and plastic foams, and better recycling in an attempt to reduce their harmful impact on climate. (AFP)

Extreme Weather Kills 18 in Southwest China
April 10 — Storms, hail and torrential rain have claimed the lives of 18 people in southwest China, officials say. (AFP)

Powerful Earthquakes Jolt Indonesia's Sumatra Island
April 10 — A powerful earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island hours after an earlier tremor in the same area had sparked fears of a repeat of the tsunami disaster, seismologists say. (AFP)

Old Speck of Crystal on Display in Wisconsin
April 9 — To create buzz about an otherwise arcane subject, the University of Wisconsin-Madison showed off a tiny speck of zircon crystal believed to be the oldest known piece of Earth - at about 4.4 billion years old. (Associated Press)

Last Solar Eclipse for Years
April 8 — A partial solar eclipse, like the one today, will not be visible again from the continental United States until May 20, 2012. (Associated Press)

Floridians Get Only a Peek at Eclipse
April 8 — Despite intermittent rain, skywatchers in south Florida got a peek of what looked like the moon taking a bite out of the sun. (Associated Press)

Billions of Butterflies Begin Migration
April 8 — Heavy winter rains have led to billions of butterflies that are beginning to descend on California in what could be a record migration. (LiveScience.com)

Ice Age Discovery in Sunny California
April 8 — The remarkably well-preserved remnants of an estimated half-million-year-old mammoth �including both tusks � were discovered at a new housing development in Southern California. (Associated Press)

Clues to Climate's Future May Lay In Past
April 8 — The climate record - stretching back more than 750,000 years - can be read in the sediments and ice layers from Asia to Greenland, and when carefully analyzed by scientists, reveal a mercurial climate. (CNN)

The Science Debate Behind Climate Change
April 8 — While most scientists support projections by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that temperatures will rise 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) to 5.8 degrees Celsius (10.4 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100, the scientific consensus shows cracks beyond this point. (CNN)

Yellowstone Depths Reveal Rock Plume
April 8 — A remarkable new view into the depths beneath Yellowstone has revealed what may be a strange "beheaded plume" of hot rock welling up from the Earth's mantle. (Discovery.com)

Scientists: Yellowstone Eruption Unlikely
April 8 — Scientists say the odds of another catastrophic volcanic eruption in Yellowstone within anyone's lifetime are extraordinarily remote. (Associated Press)

Rain Washes Out Ash from Pacific Volcano
April 8 — Overnight rain washed away a dusting of ash from Anatahan Volcano, which continued to erupt on an uninhabited island just north of this tiny U.S. territory in the Pacific, authorities say. (Associated Press)

Severe Earthquake Strikes Tibet
April 8 — A severe earthquake, estimated at 6.5 on the Richter scale, has struck a mountainous region in Tibet, the Tibet Seismological Bureau says. (AFP)

Drought Plagues One Million People in South China Island Province
April 7 — A continued lack of rain since the beginning of the year has aggravated a drought in south China's island province of Hainan, where more than one million people face grave shortages of drinking water, state media say. (AFP)

Christmas Storm in Midwest Ranked Worst in 104 Years
April 7 — The December 22-23, 2004 Midwest snow and ice storm broke many records for intensity, size, snowfall totals and damages in the region, according to a new study. (LiveScience.com)

Eco-Firms See Growing Profits
April 7 — Just a niche market in the 1980s, ecosystem restoration has surged in the past five years, with announced multi-year projects exceeding $70 billion worldwide and annual revenues in the U.S. of more than $1 billion a year, industry sources say. (Christian Science Monitor)

Early Stars Show Universe Grew Up Quickly
April 6 — A new study of very distant galaxies adds to mounting evidence that the universe evolved quickly. (LiveScience.com)

Climate Change Could Sour U.S. Maple Sugaring
April 6 — As temperatures rise and weather patterns become more erratic, New England's maple trees are facing growing threats that may eventually force syrup aficionados and leaf-peepers out of the region and into Canada. (Christian Science Monitor)

$626 Million to Protect Wildlife Along Colorado River
April 5 — Federal and state officials have committed $626 million over the next 50 years to protect some of the Colorado River's most imperiled wildlife in an effort to keep tapping water for swimming pools and irrigation ditches across the arid Southwest. (New York Times)

NASA Study Finds Earth's Auroras Not Mirror Images
April 5 — Scientists looking at the Earth's northern and southern auroras were surprised to find they are not mirror images of each other, as was once thought. (Science Daily)

Seawater Offers Air Conditioning for the Tropics
April 5 — The turquoise blue waters surrounding Hawaii's emerald green isles have long been a source of food and recreation, and now the chilly waters deep below the ocean's surface are being eyed as a source of cool relief from the tropical heat. (Associated Press)

Fresh Twist on When, Where, Why Tornadoes Strike
April 5 — A new report finds that nationwide, 79 percent of tornadoes arise out of cells, whereas 18 percent form from line storms. (LiveScience.com)

Scientists Say Columbia River Chinook Run to Date Lowest Since 1949
April 5 — The spring chinook salmon count at Bonneville Dam so far is the lowest since 1949 - due to factors including drought and sea lions, scientists say. (Associated Press)

Explosions in Space May Have Initiated Ancient Extinction on Earth
April 4 — Scientists at NASA and the University of Kansas say that a mass extinction on Earth hundreds of millions of years ago could have been triggered by a star explosion called a gamma-ray burst. (Science Daily)

China Establishes Earthquake Monitoring for Three Gorges Dam
April 4 — An earthquake monitoring and early tremor warning system has been set up for China's $21 billion Three Gorges Dam, the world's biggest hydroelectric project. (AFP)

Moderate Quakes Shake Japan
April 3 — Moderate earthquakes shake Japan, but there was no danger of tsunami seismic waves, the meteorological agency says. (AFP)

Indonesia Quake Adds to Fears of More Disasters
April 1 — The massive tremor that struck northern Indonesia this week has confirmed experts' fears that a December earthquake set off a domino effect of seismic instability that could last decades and kill thousands. (Reuters)

"Super Volcano" Could Dwarf Indonesia's Earthquake Catastrophes: Expert
April 1 — As Indonesians struggled to recover from the second deadly earthquake to strike them in three months, an Australian expert warned the country faced the prospect of a "super volcano" eruption that would dwarf all previous catastrophes. (AFP)

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