Saturday, 25 May, 2013

A high-pressure rock-buster caused natural gas production to explode. How does fracking work? What’s up with groundwater pollution?

Military technology supports atmospheric and ocean science! 1: a robot sub smart enough to find stuff in the deep ocean 2: a metal fish glides for weeks under the ice 3: an electric sinker-bobber that never needs recharging 4: a research jet that flies miles above airliners.

BP released 160,000 tons of methane into Gulf. Most was eaten by bacteria. Can bacteria on the seabed reduce global warming from methane?

400 years ago, Galileo discovered the moons of Jupiter. We discover water from 11 billion years ago, volcanoes at Titan, a moon of Saturn, and good reasons to shun light pollution.

Decay is part of life, and death. When garbage decays in a landfill, or manure decays in a tank, the result is methane. Is this natural gas a problem — or an opportunity?

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.