An ambitious project to chart ten years in the life of the Earth's vegetation has reached a midway point, with participants and end-users having met to review progress so far. (European Space Agency press release)

Yale researchers have recently received funding to observe, describe and explain severe atmospheric turbulence over mountains and the effect of "gravity waves" on the stratosphere. (Yale University press release)

Two new studies show that mountain ranges rise to their height in as little as two million years--several times faster than geologists have always thought. (University of Rochester press release)

An analysis of seven tropical forests around the world has found that nature encourages diversity by selecting for less common trees as the trees mature. (University of California-San Diego press release)

Researchers have found that a universal rule regulating the metabolism of plants of all kinds and sizes may also offer a key to calculating their carbon dioxide emissions. (University of Minnesota press release)

An international team of scientists used satellite data to demonstrate for the first time that rainforest parks and indigenous territories halt deforestation and forest fires. (Woods Hole Research Center press release)

For the first time, scientists are able to describe the size, depth and origin of two large lakes in Antarctica. (Earth Institute at Columbia University press release)

Three world-class oceanographic research institutions announced a collaboration to conduct a global census of coral reef ecosystems aimed at estimating the numbers of reef species and determining their vulnerability to human stressors. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography press release)

A new, portable atmospheric laboratory with sophisticated instruments and data systems is being placed in Niger, Africa, by the U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program to gain a better understanding of the impacts of Saharan dust on global climate. (U.S. Department of Energy press release)

Asia suffered 220 landslides in the past century--by far the most of any region of the world--but those in the Americas have caused the most deaths and injuries. (United Nations University press release)

The answer to why China has darkened over the past half-century, according to one climatologist, is the usual suspect: cloud cover. (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory press release)

Trees, particularly those with deep roots, contribute to the Earth's climate much more than scientists thought, according to a new study by biologists and climatologists. (University of California-Berkeley press release)

A new report that links global warming to the recent extinction of dozens of amphibian species in tropical America is more evidence of large phenomena that may affect broad regions, many animal species and ultimately humans. (Oregon State University press release)

Climate modelers have succeeded in reproducing the climate changes caused by a massive freshwater pulse into the North Atlantic that occurred at the beginning of the current warm period 8,000 years ago. (The Earth Institute at Columbia University press release)

Although the story on glacier fluctuations in northwestern North America over the last 10,000 years has remained largely unchanged for decades, a researcher is uncovering new evidence that will rewrite glacial history and offer clues about our climate. (University of Alberta press release)

Sediment cores collected from the seafloor off Southern California reveal that plankton populations in the Northeastern Pacific changed significantly in response to a general warming trend that started in the early 1900s. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography press release)

A European Space Agency-backed project is sending daily forecasts via text message to individuals in parts of London. (European Space Agency press release)

New research helps illustrate how global warming caused by greenhouse gases can quickly disrupt ocean processes and lead to drastic climatological, biological and other important changes around the world. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography press release)