Scientists have discovered that a deficiency of oxygen and the heavy metal molybdenum in the ancient deep ocean may have delayed the evolution of animal life on Earth for nearly two billion years. (Arizona State University press release)

The mechanism behind different types of lightning may now be understood, thanks to a combination of direct observation and computer modeling reported by a team of researchers. (Pennsylvania State University press release)

Dramatic satellite and video images show an Antarctic ice shelf that looks set to be the latest to break out from the Antarctic Peninsula. (British Antarctic Survey press release)

The giant ocean eddy that cooled Sydney's shores a year ago has been superseded by another 300-kilometer-diameter [186-mile] giant. (CSIRO Australia press release)

Scientists have completed the first-ever series of flights by autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles in Antarctica, opening up a major new technique for gathering scientific data in the harshest and remotest environment on Earth. (British Antarctic Survey press release)

Using data from the SCIAMACHY instrument aboard the European Space Agency's Envisat environmental satellite, scientists have for the first time detected regionally elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide – the most important greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming – originating from manmade emissions. (European Space Agency press release)

Healthy streams with vibrant ecosystems play a critical role in removing excess nitrogen caused by human activities, according to a major new national study published this week in Nature. (Oregon State University press release)

Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was expected to increase plant growth, increase plant biomass and ultimately beef up the organic matter in the soil, but a study found that not to be the case. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign press release)

A new study implies that large-scale simulations of water dynamics in soil may be imprecise to completely wrong, but it also opens new options for a specific refinement of simulation techniques. (Soil Science Society of America press release)

Interactions between the stratospheric ozone chemistry and atmospheric air flow lead to significant changes of airflow patterns from the ground up to the stratosphere, according to new climate simulations. (Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research press release)

An ocean odor that affects global climate also draws together reef fish to feed as they "eavesdrop" on events that might lead them to food. (University of California – Davis press release)

Scientists recently developed a new modeling approach to estimate sea ice thickness, the only model based entirely on historical observations. (United States Geological Survey press release)