Environment News

Record loss of Arctic ice could impact Wisconsin
Friday, September 21, 2012 - 14:15

Ice covering the Arctic Ocean melted to the smallest areal extent ever recorded this year, falling to 1.3 million square miles at its lowest point on Sept. 16, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.  That's less than half of the normal area covered by ice at summer's end. 

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Unusual symbiosis discovered among marine microorganisms
Friday, September 21, 2012 - 09:25

An international team of scientists from France, Germany and the USA have discovered an unusual symbiosis between tiny single-celled algae and highly specialised bacteria, the first symbiotic relationship known between these types of organisms. Their partnership plays an important role in marine ecosystems, fertilizing the oceans by taking nitrogen from the atmosphere and "fixing" it into a form that other organisms can use.

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Home Sweet Lab: Computerized House to Generate as Much Energy as It Uses
Wednesday, September 12, 2012 - 16:12

NIST unveiled a new laboratory designed to demonstrate that a typical-looking suburban home for a family of four can generate as much energy as it uses in a year. Following an initial year-long experiment, the facility will be used to improve test methods for energy-efficient technologies and develop cost-effective design standards for energy-efficient homes that could reduce overall energy consumption and harmful pollution, and save families money on their monthly utility bills.

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Salt Seeds Clouds in the Amazon Rainforest
Monday, September 10, 2012 - 12:49

It’s morning, deep in the Amazon jungle. In the still air innumerable leaves glisten with moisture, and fog drifts through the trees. As the sun rises, clouds appear and float across the forest canopy … but where do they come from? Water vapor needs soluble particles to condense on. Airborne particles are the seeds of liquid droplets in fog, mist, and clouds.

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NASA Analyzes Isaac's Rainfall: Drought Relief and Flooding
Thursday, September 6, 2012 - 11:52

As it passed through the northern Caribbean, around south Florida, and into Louisiana and the Middle Mississippi Valley, Hurricane Isaac brought lots of rain, some of it beneficial, and some of it not. Using data from the TRMM satellite, NASA created images of rainfall totals generated along Hurricane Isaac's path.

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Methane source discovered in the underbrush
Wednesday, September 5, 2012 - 10:45

Some six years ago scientific textbooks had to be updated because of the surprising discovery made by the research group led by Frank Keppler that plants produce methane in an oxygen-rich environment. At that time this was unthinkable, since it was commonly accepted that biogenic methane could only be formed during the decomposition of organic material under strictly anoxic conditions. His group has now made another fascinating new observation: fungi produce methane.

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