Scientists at Bristol University have established the time when mountains first became forested. The timing of upland ‘greening’ has major implications for understanding global temperatures in the past, and will help refine models of present-day climate change.

A unique assemblage of giant fossil trees has been found in 300-million-year-old rocks in Newfoundland, Canada, by Dr Howard Falcon-Lang of Bristol University’s Earth Sciences Department. The fossilised trees represent the oldest upla

Plankton appear to play a major role in regulating the global climate system, according to new research

David Siegel, professor of geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and director of the Institute for Computational Earth System Science, made the discovery with his former Ph.D. student Dierdre Toole, who is now based at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

In an article in the May 6 issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the scientists explai

For years the debate about climate change has had a contentious sticking point – satellite measurements of temperatures in the troposphere, the layer of atmosphere where most weather occurs, were inconsistent with fast-warming surface temperatures.

But a team led by a University of Washington atmospheric scientist has used satellite data in a new and more accurate way to show that, for more than two decades, the troposphere has actually been warming faster than the surface. The new approach

University of Leicester scientists have made a unique discovery at an Atlantic island popular with British holidaymakers.

They have uncovered giant sand dunes on Tenerife that tell a tale of terrifying destruction in ancient times, when fiery clouds swept right across the island, leaving very little in their wake.

Volcanic islands – volcanoes whose summits poke out of the oceans – make popular holiday destinations, like Madeira, Hawaii and the Azores. Some, like Hawaii, erupt lava f

The global environment is in the midst of a profound transformation making sustainable development a matter of urgency, said Dr Will Steffen from the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP, www.igbp.kva.se) at a major international consultation on education for sustainability in Gothenburg today.

Dr Steffen, Executive Director of IGBP, told the delegates from 80 countries that the transformation of Earth’s environment has accelerated so dramatically since the 1950s that it is now

An international archaeological project, sponsored by Southern Methodist University, headed by Dr. David Freidel of SMU, and Guatemalan archaeologist Héctor Escobedo of Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, is attempting to combine scientific research of the ancient Maya past of Guatemala with conservation and development in an effort to save a vital section of tropical rainforest in the Department of Petén.

The Waka’ Archaeological Project, which began research at the site (located a

A Purdue University research team has found a set of genes that may orchestrate insects’ ability to fight the effects of pesticides.

“Our study suggests that more than one gene may be involved in making insects resistant to certain pesticides,” said Barry Pittendrigh, associate professor of entomology. “Using a music analogy, metabolic resistance may not be a single individual playing a single instrument. It’s more likely a symphony with numerous instruments playing a role i

Research to improve the resistance of Australia’s northern beef herds to cattle ticks received a boost recently with the discovery that tropically-adapted cattle breeds have a different immune response to tick infestation than more susceptible European breeds.

CSIRO Livestock Industries scientist, Dr Ian Sutherland, says that while research has traditionally focused on the genetics of tick resistance, little was known about the underlying immune mechanisms involved.

Now, howeve

Think of ESA’s Proba as the little satellite that does a lot. It is only the size of a washing machine but its main instrument – the smallest hyperspectral imager ever flown in space – has an expanding portfolio of uses encompassing agricultural mapping, water quality monitoring, charting forest fire damage and disaster management.

Launched in October 2001, the Project for Onboard Autonomy (Proba) satellite measures just 60 x 60 x 80 cm. Its main instrument takes up around a third of t

Traditional fishing techniques are destroying some of the world’s finest coral reefs, according to new research which has major implications for international marine conversation management strategies.

Until now commercial fishing was believed to pose the greatest risk to reefs, which are found in more than 100 countries and cover almost 300,000 square kilometres.

However, a British research team has found the comparatively minor disruption to the marine environment by subsistence

Ecology and environmental management is largely predicated on the view that ecosystems respond to environmental changes in a smooth and straightforward way. However, in Ecology Letters, May, Schmitz reports on a long-term field experiment that may prompt a hard, critical look at this reigning view. In the experimental system, top predators instrumentally control species diversity and productivity of the ecosystem. This control comes about by causing herbivores to feed on and suppress the abundance of

Technology reveals ’molecular map’ of organic matter

A new facility unveiled today at U of T at Scarborough provides an unprecedented view of the molecular secrets found in organic matter-shedding new light on fields such as climate change, environmental contamination and forensic science.

The Environmental Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Centre is the first of its kind in Canada dedicated to research in environmental science. Husband-and-wife researchers Myrna Si

The Younger Dryas period, about 12 000 years ago, was marked by a sharp cooling event in the Northern Hemisphere. Temperatures there fell by between 2 and 10°C. The East Antarctic in contrast experienced an episode of warming. Data have up to now been insufficient or too inconclusive to enable palaeoclimatologists to track this climatic event in the southern temperate regions and the tropics. An IRD researcher campaign took a 2 m drill core sample from the isle of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu, found to co

NASA scientists discovered pollution could catch an airborne “express train,” or wind current, from Asia all the way to the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Scientists believe during certain seasons, as much as half of the ozone pollution above the Atlantic Ocean may be speeding down a “train” track of air from the Indian Ocean. As it rolls along, it picks up more smog from air peppered with thunderstorms that bring it up from the Earth’s surface.

Bob Chatfield, a scientist at NASA&#1

A groundbreaking initiative that could lead to the development of longer-lasting consumer goods is under way in the UK

The research network will focus on how cars, furniture, clothes, household appliances and other consumer products can be made more durable. Until now, little research has been carried out in this area, even though increased product durability would help to conserve the Earth’s resources and minimise waste.

The aim is to promote the exchange of ideas between

Something is missing in the analysis of emissions of volatile organic compounds from a Michigan forest, and, according to a team of atmospheric scientists, what they do not know can have a large impact on air pollution in areas in and near forests.

“Organic compounds emitted by some trees play a role in ozone and aerosol production in the lower atmosphere,” says Dr. William H. Brune, professor of meteorology and head of Penn State’s department of meteorology. “It appears that, at least