Tiny yet stable magnetized particles created by microbes long ago could help scientists better determine the strength and orientation of ancient magnetic fields.
biogeosciences
"Sunken City" Was Really Made by Microbes
What scientists thought was a sunken Greek city turns out to be the fossils of an ancient hydrocarbon seep from several million years ago.
Deepwater Horizon Oil Lingered and Sank, Stuck to "Marine Snow"
A new study may explain how supposedly buoyant oil from the huge 2010 oil spill coated corals and other organisms on the ocean floor.
What Does the Pacific Arctic's New Normal Mean for Marine Life?
Climate change has reconfigured Arctic ecosystems. A 5-year project focuses on the relationships among oceanographic conditions and the animals and other life-forms in this region.
Author Tells Tale of Cellular Engines That Power Life
The American Geophysical Union held a public lecture to introduce a new book about how microbes changed the world.
How Bat Breath and Guano Can Change the Shapes of Caves
Researchers working in caves in Borneo and elsewhere are finding evidence that biological processes shape many tropical caves by slowly eating away at surrounding rock.
Physical-Biogeochemical Coupling in the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean Dynamics and Biogeochemistry Workshop; Pasadena, California, 2–5 February 2015
Priorities for Antarctic Research: Glaciers, Genomes, and Cosmic Waves
The next decade of research should focus on the need to understand the changing Antarctic environment and how organisms adapt to it, a high-level report says.
Fungus, Physics Explain Weird Tresses of Ice
Alfred Wegener, of plate tectonics fame, proposed a link nearly 100 years ago between fungi and "hair ice" on dead wood. A new study has identified the fungus and how it may influence ice structure.
Manzoni Receives 2014 Early Career Hydrologic Science Award
Stefano Manzoni received the 2014 Early Career Hydrologic Science Award at the 2014 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, held 15–19 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award is for significant early career contributions to hydrologic science.