PASADENA–New images from NASA’s Mars InSight lander show its robotic arm is ready to do some lifting. With a reach of nearly 6 feet (2 meters), the arm will be used to pick up science instruments from the lander’s deck, gently setting them on the Martian surface at Elysium Planitia, the lava plain where InSight […]
Explore Where the Sea Meets the Shore
LA JOLLA–Shorter days and lower tides mean Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is kicking off Tidepooling Adventure season. December through March offers the best times for tidepooling in Southern California as minus tides get lower and expose the hardy creatures that call the intersection of land and sea home.On Tidepooling […]
Amazonian Peatlands May Soon Switch From A Carbon Sink To A Carbon Source
(Newswise)–Until humans can find a way to geoengineer ourselves out of the climate disaster we’ve created, we must rely on natural carbon sinks, such as oceans and forests, to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. These ecosystems are deteriorating at the hand of climate change. Once destroyed, they may not only stop absorbing carbon […]
NASA Sends New Research, Hardware To Space Station On SpaceX Mission
Experiments in forest observation, protein crystal growth and in-space fuel transfer demonstration are heading to the International Space Station following the launch Wednesday of SpaceX’s 16th mission for NASA under the agency’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. The company’s Dragon spacecraft lifted off at 1:16 p.m. EST on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex […]
NASA InSight Lander Arrives On Martian Surface To Learn What Lies Beneath
Mars has just received its newest robotic resident. NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander successfully touched down on the Red Planet after an almost seven-month, 300-million-mile journey from Earth. InSight’s two-year mission will be to study the deep interior of Mars to learn how all celestial bodies with rocky […]
Scientists Find Corals in Deeper Waters Under Stress Too
LA JOLLA–(Newswise)–Coral reefs around the world are threatened by warming ocean temperatures, a major driver of coral bleaching. Scientists routinely use sea-surface temperature data collected by satellites to predict the temperature-driven stress on reef communities, but new research shows that surface measurements alone may not accurately predict the full extent of thermal stress on deeper […]
Archaeologists Identify Ancient North American Mounds Using New Image Analysis Technique
Binghamton, N.Y. (Newswise)–Researchers at Binghamton University, State University at New York have used a new image-based analysis technique to identify once-hidden North American mounds, which could reveal valuable information about pre-contact Native Americans. “Across the East Coast of the United States, some of the most visible forms for pre-contact Native American material culture can be […]
Previously Overlooked “Coral Ticks” Weaken Degraded Reefs
(Newswise)–A previously overlooked predator— a thumbnail-sized snail—could be increasing the pressure on coral reefs already weakened by the effects of overfishing, rising ocean temperatures, pollution and other threats. The snail attacks a key coral species that may offer the last hope for bringing back degraded Pacific reefs. The snail damages coral by sucking fluid from […]
Where Do Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Come From, and What Can Be Done to Reduce Them?
(Newswise)–Agronomists and farmers are working hard to improve the sustainability of agricultural land. The June 22nd Sustainable, Secure Food blog explains which greenhouses gases are released in agriculture, and efforts to reduce them. Agriculture is a basic need for society. “In addition to feeding the world, our current agricultural land provides fibers for clothing (cotton, […]
Ocean Warming, ‘Junk-Food’ Prey Cause Of Massive Seabird Die-Off, Study Finds
(Newswise)–In the fall of 2014, West Coast residents witnessed a strange, unprecedented ecological event. Tens of thousands of small seabird carcasses washed ashore on beaches from California to British Columbia, in what would become one of the largest bird die-offs ever recorded. A network of more than 800 citizen scientists responded as the birds, called […]