Environment News

Statistical Analysis Projects Future Temperatures in North America
Thursday, May 17, 2012 - 14:30

Through maps on the statisticians’ website, people can see how their own region’s temperature will likely change by 2070 - overall, and for individual seasons of the year. Given the complexity and variety of climate models produced by different research groups around the world, there is a need for a tool that can analyze groups of them together, explained Noel Cressie, professor of statistics and director of Ohio State’s Program in Spatial Statistics and Environmental Statistics.

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Scientists document volcanic history of turbulent Sumatra region
Thursday, May 17, 2012 - 14:02

The early April earthquake of magnitude 8.6 that shook Sumatra was a grim reminder of the devastating earthquakes and tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people in 2004 and 2005. Now a new study, funded by the National Science Foundation, shows that the residents of that region are at risk from yet another potentially deadly natural phenomenon – major volcanic eruptions.

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1000 years of climate data confirms Australia’s warming
Thursday, May 17, 2012 - 09:06

In the first study of its kind in Australasia, scientists have used 27 natural climate records to create the first large-scale temperature reconstruction for the region over the last 1000 years. The study was led by researchers at the University of Melbourne and used a range of natural indicators including tree rings, corals and ice cores to study Australasian temperatures over the past millennium and compared them to climate model simulations.

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Chocolate and diamonds: Why volcanoes could be a girl’s best friend
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - 09:51

Scientists from the University of Southampton have discovered a previously unrecognised volcanic process, similar to one that is used in chocolate manufacturing, which gives important new insights into the dynamics of volcanic eruptions.

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University of Maryland Finding May Hold Key to Gaia Theory of Earth as Living Organism
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - 21:24

Is Earth really a sort of giant living organism as the Gaia hypothesis predicts? A new discovery made at the University of Maryland may provide a key to answering this question. This key of sulfur could allow scientists to unlock heretofore hidden interactions between ocean organisms, atmosphere, and land -- interactions that might provide evidence supporting this famous theory.

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A Push From the Mississippi Kept Deepwater Horizon Oil Slick Off Shore, Penn Research Shows
Thursday, May 10, 2012 - 15:49

When the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded April 20, 2010, residents feared that their Gulf of Mexico shores would be inundated with oil. And while many wetland habitats and wildlife were oiled during the three-month leak, the environmental damage to coastal Louisiana was less than many expected, in part because much of the crude never made it to the coast.

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