Combined river flows could send up to 3 billion microplastics a day into the Bay of Bengal
Dr Imogen Napper (left) with Dr Anju Baroth, of the Wildlife Institute of India, who joined the expedition’s water team for a day of sediment and water sampling in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on June 8, 2019. Credit: Sara Hylton, National Geographic. Taken on assignment for National Geographic’s The Ganges River—with the combined flows of the […]
Earth’s outer shell ballooned during massive growth spurt 3 billion years ago
Around 3 billion years ago, Earth‘s crust ballooned during a massive growth spurt, geoscientists have found. At that time, just 1.5 billion years after Earth formed, the mantle — the layer of silicate rock between the crust and the outer core that was more active in the past — heated up, causing magma from that […]
Up to a billion tons of waste potentially burned in the open every year
Credit: Aline Tong/Shutterstock As much as one billion tons of waste could be burned in open and uncontrolled fires around the world each year, according to one estimate – close to half of all the municipal solid waste generated on Earth. But even if the true total is a fraction of that amount, the impact […]
Most accurate map of our galaxy pinpoints 1.8 billion cosmic objects
Astronomers were hit Thursday (Dec. 3) with a huge wave of data from the European Space Agency’s Gaia space observatory. Those researchers can now explore the best-yet map of the Milky Way, with detailed information on the positions, distances and motion of 1.8 billion cosmic objects, to help us better understand our place in the […]
Pebble Mine developer promised riches, but expects $1.5 billion subsidy from Alaskans
Credit: CC0 Public Domain The company seeking to develop Pebble Mine in the headwaters of Bristol Bay has long promised that the controversial project would bring Alaska jobs, economic growth and tax revenue. But newly released undercover videos made by an environmental advocacy group show that Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. expects a massive state subsidy […]
Analysis of a Martian meteorite reveals evidence of water 4.4 billion years ago — ScienceDaily
There’s a long-standing question in planetary science about the origin of water on Earth, Mars and other large bodies such as the moon. One hypothesis says that it came from asteroids and comets post-formation. But some planetary researchers think that water might just be one of many substances that occur naturally during the formation of […]
Ultrafast camera films 3-D movies at 100 billion frames per second
A three-dimensional video showing a pulse of laser light passing through a laser-scattering medium and bouncing off reflective surfaces. Credit: Caltech In his quest to bring ever-faster cameras to the world, Caltech’s Lihong Wang has developed technology that can reach blistering speeds of 70 trillion frames per second, fast enough to see light travel. Just […]
