Earth & Environment Discoveries

NSF's public investment in science, engineering, education and technology helps to create knowledge and sustain prosperity. Read here about the Internet, microbursts, Web browsers, extrasolar planets, and more... a panoply of discoveries and innovations that began with NSF support.

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		Risky Science at the Top of the World Geology Professor Anne Sheehan recounts obstacles faced doing research in Nepal in September 2001 Released  January 2, 2008
		Feverish Effort Under Way to Understand Mt. Vesuvius Geologist Lucia Gurioli tells how a life-long interest in the A.D. 79 eruption led to her research interest in Vesuvius' volcanic processes Released  December 12, 2007
		Yellowstone Rising Volcano inflating with molten rock at record rate Released  November 13, 2007
		Life at Sea: An Oceanographer's Adventure Cassandra Lopez of the University of Miami reports that conducting research at sea can be an adventure, but it is always enjoyable and exciting Released  November 2, 2007
		Getting to the Core of Climate Change Graduate student tells how University at Buffalo geologists communicate their research on climatic change and its impact to local people Released  October 26, 2007
		Comet May Have Exploded Over North America 13,000 Years Ago Caused wooly mammoth extinction, global cooling and end of early human Clovis culture Released  August 14, 2007
		Sea Turtle Conservation Method Could Have Unintended Consequences for Sharks, Marlins Circle-shaped fishing hooks not a panacea for tuna, swordfish longliners Released  May 7, 2007
		2006: Year in Review A look back at some of the NSF-supported activities highlighted last year Released  January 9, 2007
		Nation's Most Advanced Research Aircraft Completes First Science Mission Groundbreaking studies could lead to safer air travel Released  July 12, 2006
		West Coast Kelp Forest Ecosystems At Risk Overfishing Has More Effect Than Nutrient Pollution Released  June 8, 2006
		Molecules Are Fossils, Too Paleoproteomics lends fresh insight into ancient bones Released  May 17, 2006
		Life Leaves Subtle Signature on Lay of the Land Living things bring out the planet's softer side Released  January 31, 2006
		Istanbul Overdue for Earthquake Retrofit Researchers present concerns to Turkish Prime Minister Released  January 5, 2006
		Earthquake Study Suggests Simple Building Fixes Can Save Lives Code enforcement may have prevented dozens of deaths in Turkish temblor Released  October 13, 2005
		Fantastic Fungus: Plant Biologist Discovers Natural Antimicrobial in Honduran Jungle Montana State University professor Gary Strobel travels the world in search of exotic plants and the mysterious fungi that live inside them. Among his discoveries: a smelly white fungus that acts as a natural antimicrobial. Released  October 5, 2005
		Snake Attack on Frog Eggs Provokes Premature Hatching Developing tadpoles dive to stay alive Released  June 3, 2005
		Waves of Power New buoys convert the ocean's energy into electricity Released  May 17, 2005
		Teenage Mentors Open Door to Science for Younger Girls How can schools encourage more girls to study science? Researchers have found that pairing high school girls as mentors of elementary school girls for field and laboratory science investigations boosts interest--and confidence--in both groups. Released  April 6, 2005
		Deeper View Helps Explain Rio Grande Rift Subsurface revealed down to the Earth's mantle Released  March 1, 2005
		Of Microbes and Mars Desert microbe discovery has extraterrestrial implications Released  December 17, 2004
		Earth's Core Spins Faster than Earth The motion of the Earth's inner core had never been detected before two seismologists decided to investigate an unproven theory. They discovered that the fast-spinning inner core makes a complete revolution inside the Earth in about 400 years. Released  July 30, 2004
		Geomagnetic Landmarks Give Turtles Sense of Where They Are, Where to Go How sea turtles navigate across vast expanses of featureless ocean to reach feeding and breeding sites has long been a mystery. Now, clues are surfacing to indicate turtles rely partly upon invisible landmarks created by the Earth’s magnetic field. Released  July 30, 2004
		Worldwide Biodiversity Threats Tied to Growth in Households Taking a fresh look at world population dynamics, scientists have uncovered evidence that increasing numbers of households -- even where populations are declining -- are having a vast impact on the world's biodiversity and environment. Released  July 30, 2004
		Scientists Discover Secrets of 'Lost City' The Lost City hydrothermal vent field was discovered in December 2000 during an NSF-funded expedition. Lost City structures, including a vent 18 stories tall, are formed in a very different way than ocean-floor vents studied since the 1970s. Released  July 30, 2004
		Tracking the Black Rosy-Finch: Hidden Treasure and Higher Learning in North America's Alpine Zone Climbing for science above 10,000 feet, a University of Wyoming student makes a rare discovery that yields new genetic data about one of North America's highest breeding species. Released  July 30, 2004
		Arctic Carbon a Potential Wild Card in Climate Change Scenarios An international team of scientists has determined that most of the 28 million tons of carbon that enters the Arctic Ocean each year is young and unlikely to affect the global climate balance. However, Arctic warming trends could change the equation. Released  July 30, 2004
		Arctic Thaw May Release Greenhouse Gases from Siberian Peat Bogs Siberian peat bogs, the frozen home of untold kilometers of moss and hordes of mosquitoes, are huge repositories for gases that are thought to play an important role in the Earth's climate balance, according to a team of U.S. and Russian scientists. Released  July 27, 2004
		Antarctic Treasure: The Underwater Images of Norbert Wu Each year NSF enables a select group of artists to visit Antarctica. Norbert Wu, a world-renowned photographer and cinematographer, returned with new views of an otherworldly realm in his spectacular high definition film, "Under Antarctic Ice." Released  July 9, 2004
		Spider Venom Could Yield Eco-Friendly Insecticides You could call Glenn King "The Spider Man." The University of Connecticut research scientist is mapping spider toxins at the molecular level. His work may result in an insecticide that takes out agricultural pests without harming other insects. Released  May 3, 2004
		Bacteria May Thrive in Antarctica's Buried Lake Vostok Two investigations suggest that bacteria may thrive in Lake Vostok, a suspected lake thousands of meters below the Antarctic ice sheet -- and that microbes could thrive in similarly hostile solar system outposts, such as Jupiter's icy moon, Europa. Released  December 9, 2003