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EartherEarth ScienceThe Arctic Ocean Was Once Filled With Fresh Water, New Research Suggests
Stunning new evidence suggests the Arctic Ocean was covered by a thick layer of ice and filled with fresh water on at least two occasions during the past 150,000 years. The observation could finally explain strange and dramatic climate anomalies associated with these glacial periods. With all the human-induced melting that’s going on these days, … Continued
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Earther2020 Just Broke a 170-Year Hurricane Season Record
It’s officially the busiest Atlantic hurricane season in 170 years of record keeping. Subtropical Storm Theta formed late on Monday, taking us further into the Greek alphabet. The storm itself isn’t a particularly formidable sight to behold or even that interesting. It’s subtropical, meaning it has characteristics of both tropical storms and those that form … Continued
By Brian Kahn -
EartherEnergyJudge Rules Trump Plans to Open Up Swathes of Arctic, Atlantic Oceans for Drilling Illegal
In a major blow to the Donald Trump administration’s oil and gas policy, on Friday a federal judge ruled the president’s order opening massive swathes of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans to oil and gas drilling operations illegal, the Washington Post reported. According to the Post, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason’s decision impacts around 98 … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsThere Are Now Officially Three Hurricanes Churning in the Atlantic
As the strongest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history continues to wreak havoc in the Caribbean, two more threats have emerged in the form of hurricanes Jose and Katia. Though it’s unusual for three hurricanes to be active in the Atlantic basin at the same time, it’s not without precedent. Earlier this year, scientists at the … Continued
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Tech News
This New Species of Worm Snail Is Basically a Penis
Today, science news writers got excited about a purportedly new species of “worm snail” found by Field Museum researchers. It’s a slime-shooting, finger-length thing that shows up where no one wants it to. Guys, it’s a sea dick. Scientists went scuba diving at the similarly dick-shaped state Florida’s Keys to visit some shipwrecks that have … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Hunt for Undiscovered Drugs at the Bottom of the Sea
In 2009, Kerry McPhail descended Jacques Cousteau-style towards the Axial Volcano, inside the cramped, 30-year-old little submarine DSV Alvin, with a pilot and another scientist. Three hundred miles off the coast of Oregon, they were collecting tubeworms, bacterial mats and bivalves living near a deep sea volcanic vent. These samples could potentially yield new pharmaceutical … Continued
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Tech NewsFrench Town Attacked by Foam, Is Foam Town Now
The town of Penmarch, on the northwestern tip of France, isn’t famous for anything—yet. But wait until FoamHeads get a load of this. Penmarch is POISED to become the world’s number one vacation destination for fish froth enthusiasts. Video uploaded yesterday shows a blizzard of quivering sea foam coating the town’s Port Saint-Guénolé. The cause … Continued
By Kate Knibbs -
io9
The winds of the stratosphere reshape deep ocean currents
We know Earth’s countless geological and climatological processes are interconnected, but this connection is particularly incredible. Wind patterns 15 to 30 miles above the Earth’s surface can wreak havoc on deep ocean currents… and Earth’s climate as a whole. That’s the finding of a research team led by the University of Utah’s Thomas Reichler. The … Continued
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io9
How turtles sense Earth’s drifting magnetic field
Turtles are one of many species that use their sense of Earth’s magnetic field to navigate great distances. But the magnetic field is constantly drifting, and that can cause major confusion in such a long-lived species. Here’s their ingenious solution. Species like the loggerhead turtle show incredibly fine-tuned understanding of the Earth’s magnetic field. Born … Continued
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ScienceSpaceBooster Cam Video of the Last Space Shuttle Launch
Here’s a beautiful video of the Space Shuttle Atlantis launch taken by two separate cameras installed on the rocket boosters. You can follow the Shuttle on its way up and watch the rocket boosters fall back down until they splash land in the Atlantic Ocean. [NASA Television via PopSci] You can keep up with Kelly … Continued
By Kelly -
io9
How many groups reached the Americas before Christopher Columbus?
In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in what is now the Bahamas, changing the world forever. But was he first non-indigenous person to reach the Americas? Vikings got there before him, and possibly Polynesians too…and those are just the sane theories. Before we get started on this, I want to make one thing clear – this … Continued
