Researchers studying global warming have often been confounded by the differences between observed increases in surface-level temperatures and unchanging low-atmosphere temperatures. Because of this discrepancy, some have argued that global warming is unproven, suggesting instead that true warming should show uniformly elevated temperatures from the surface through the atmosphere. Researchers have proposed a theory that changes in cloud cover could help explain the puzzling phenomenon, but none-until

An unusual combination of oceanic and atmospheric events may be to blame for a mysterious and sudden die-off of numerous crabs, fish and invertebrate animals off the central Oregon coast during the past two weeks.

Oregon State University researchers who are studying near-shore ecosystems say extremely low oxygen levels – especially in the lower water column – appear to be the culprit.

“Though we are just beginning to amass the evidence, it appears that there has been a confluence o

Without adequate cleaning regimes swimming pools can become a health hazard.
Now water experts and mathematicians are ‘pooling’ their expertise to anticipate the factors that lead to an unhealthy swimming environment.

The researchers are testing different water treatments using a unique pilot pool, donated by an advisory body, that simulates the chemical environment of a municipal swimming pool. Significantly this research technique could also be applied to other water recycling systems,

Fruit rinds provide new clues about crop domestication

Distinctly sculptured opaline phytoliths in soil and plant remains tell archaeologists which plants were present thousands of years ago. However, the production and purpose of these tiny glassy structures common in plant tissues is poorly understood. Dolores Piperno at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama and colleagues predict that a single genetic locus controls both lignin and phytolith production in sq

By the time you`ve had your new computer for six months, much faster processors will already be on the market. But there is a limit to how fast conventional computers can become. This is because computers process information in a step-by-step fashion, carrying out each part of the process in turn. To make things work really fast, we need to build `quantum computers` instead. Computers today handle information in binary form, representing everything as zeros or ones. In order to process that

Parchment points to authenticity of Vinland Map

For the first time, scientists have ascribed a date – 1434 A.D., plus or minus 11 years – to the parchment of the controversial Vinland Map, possibly the first map of the North American continent. Collaborators from the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education (SCMRE), Suitland, Md., the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N.Y., used carbon-dating techn