Thursday, 24 May, 2012

To understand and protect the home planet: it’s no longer a key NASA mission. What will we lose as NASA turns its eyes toward the moon and Mars?

What are earthquakes? How do we study them? Are we any closer to accurate predictions?

As New Orleans sinks and the seas rise, hurricanes are getting worse. Does it make sense to start restoring marshes and barrier islands that dampen the hurricanes? Could wetlands moderate the next Katrina?

The sea floor reveals another surprise: White chimneys with a biology and geochemistry all their own. Could these chimneys tell us something about the beginning of life?n.

How do volcanoes work (p. 2)? How do we predict them (p. 3)? How do they change the landscape (p. 4)? How does life return after the eruption (p. 6)?

History shows societies collapse without soil. What can the world cando to keep our dirt clean?

An international team of scientists selected the Homestake goldmine to be the world’s deepest underground lab, but the project may sink.

Earth Observing System uses satellites to accelerate earth science, oceanography, meteorology and global change.

If we put up a giant umbrella to shield the Earth from global warming, what will happen to plant productivity?

How do current conditions compare to past predictions of the effects of global warming? Are living on a warming planet?