As the planet's average surface temperature jumped to a new high last year, variations in ocean conditions on a smaller scale led to some distinct deviations from the overall pattern.
News
Posted inNews
Arctic States Nearing Science Cooperation Pact
Negotiations are focusing on removing obstacles to conducting research rather than on setting international scientific priorities. Research priorities among Arctic nations already overlap considerably, according to a U.S. negotiator.
Posted inNews
Antarctic Ice May Harbor Huge Network of Canyons
Scientists saw hints in satellite data of dramatic geologic features under thousands of meters of ice in a little-probed part of East Antarctica. Now they are using airborne radar to explore further.
Posted inNews
United States Still First in Science, Tech Research Spending
Although federal funding of science and engineering research has fallen behind inflation, private sector investment remains high, reports the U.S. National Science Board in its latest update.
Posted inNews
Human Activities Account for Less Than a Third of Ocean Nitrogen
Researchers found that humans contribute far less nitrogen to the open ocean than previously thought.
Posted inNews
Quake or Bomb? Seismic Waves Speak Truth, Even If Nations Don't
When the Earth rumbles and no one knows why, seismologists can analyze the seismic event's waveforms to determine whether a hidden explosion or an earthquake caused the shaking.
Posted inNews
Icebergs Fertilize Southern Ocean, Sequester Carbon
Huge, drifting ice rafts (the white spot on the satellite image below ) shed minerals as they melt, painting trails of nutrients, teeming phytoplankton, and chlorophyll across hundreds of kilometers of ocean.
Posted inNews
Obama Says Combating Climate Change Aids Earth and U.S. Economy
In his seventh and final State of the Union address, President Obama touts alternative-energy gains during his tenure, urges a quicker shift from fossil fuels, and mocks climate change skeptics.
Posted inNews
What Caused the Sudden Heating of Uranus's Atmosphere?
A recently observed temperature reversal on Uranus may offer a clue to a long-standing mystery: Why are the upper atmospheres of gas giants so hot?
Posted inNews
New NOVA TV Show Explores Coevolution of Rocks and Life
Mineralogist Robert Hazen and other scientists probe connections between living organisms and rocks in "Life's Rocky Start," which premieres tonight on PBS stations around the United States.