Oil spill expert Nancy Kinner discusses lessons learned from Deepwater Horizon, dangers of aging infrastructure and atomized dispersants, and a Russian plan that imperils Arctic waters.
News
Diamond Impurities Reveal Water Deep Within the Mantle
A high-pressure form of ice, trapped within diamonds forged in the lower mantle, suggests that aqueous fluids reside deeper in Earth than we knew.
New Juno Data Reveal Four Key Secrets of Jupiter
Deep clouds, polar storms, lopsided gravity, and a uniformly rotating interior demonstrate that the gas giant plays by different rules than Earth.
An NSF Geosciences Road Map to Be Revised with Community Input
The agency requests comments by 15 April.
Federal Spending Act Boosts Funding for Many Science Agencies
Congressional priorities reflected in the legislation differed sharply from the administration’s.
Images Suggest a Viral Role in Some Rock Formation
Viruses might have helped transform dense bacterial colonies into a type of sedimentary rock that is frequently associated with underground oil reserves.
Homemade “Spatter Bombs” Can Reveal Volcanic Secrets
Researchers use trial and error to develop a technique to create volcanic lava bombs.
Pacific’s Garbage Hot Spot Holds More Plastic Debris Than Was Thought
A nonprofit that helped to collect data for the research plans to use the study’s findings to help guide it in an upcoming campaign to remove buoyant plastic trash from ocean gyres.
Stanley “Stan” Ruttenberg (1926–2017)
This talented geophysicist, with his love of music, played key roles in the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958) and many other research programs, as well as in organizing a major music festival.
Rocks with Soft-Tissue Fossils Share a Mineral Fingerprint
Discovering new resting places of these rare and information-rich fossils will be critical to understanding the largest expansion of life in Earth’s history, according to researchers.