Earth Sciences

Researchers from around the globe participating in the world’s largest environmental science experiment, the Large-Scale Biosphere Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA), will, fittingly, convene in Brazil this week.

From July 27-29, some 800 researchers will attend the Third International Scientific Conference of the LBA in Brasilia, Brazil, to discuss key findings on how the world’s largest rainforest impacts the ecological health of Amazonia and the world. Never before has so mu

This perspective image of a fractured crater near Valles Marineris on Mars was obtained by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board the ESA Mars Express spacecraft.

The image was taken during orbit 61 in January 2004 with a resolution of 12. 5 metres per pixel. It shows part of a cratered landscape to the north of the Valles Marineris, at 0.6° S latitude and 309° E longitude, with this crater having a fractured base.

This crater has a rim diameter of 27.5 kilometres

Living in New Orleans means having to live with water. It’s everywhere. The city’s elevation ranges from about 12 feet (3.65 meters) above sea level to as much as six-and-a-half feet (2 meters) below sea level. Some believe the city faces an ongoing battle against submersion by the rising Gulf of Mexico.

New research reported by a team led by a University of Illinois at Chicago earth scientist suggests the sea level in the lower Mississippi delta near New Orleans has been rising a

Discovery suggests presence of diamonds in northern Saskatchewan

Researchers at the University of Alberta have found evidence that a 2,000-kilometre corridor stretching diagonally across northern Canada was under tremendous pressure to split in two about 2.7 billion years ago. It is the first evidence suggesting enormous continental landforms and plate tectonics existed that long ago. “Rifts are one hallmark of plate tectonics, and there is a huge debate in our field about wheth

Scientists investigating the possible effect of underwater seismic pulses on marine mammals have conducted a series of tests, designed to better understand the force of sound waves generated by shipboard airguns. These instruments are used by some 100 vessels worldwide to penetrate into the seabed for oil exploration and geophysical research, with an estimated 15 to 20 active on any given day.

Researchers from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University conducted tests in

Now more than 100 000 kilometres away from Earth, ESA’s Moon-bound spacecraft SMART-1 looked back at Earth and returned this planetary perspective of the Middle East and Mediterranean Sea.

’Smart’ usage of the solar-electric propulsion system (the ion engine) has saved a lot of fuel and the spacecraft will get to the Moon earlier than expected.

Almost 20 kilograms of the xenon fuel could be saved out of the original 84 kilograms, which could then be used to get closer to