We are pretty sure the continental parts of plates are not uniform, nor are they rigid. The giant forces that slowly move continents across the viscous mantle layer underneath, like biscuits gliding over a warm toffee ocean, stress the continents, and twist and contort the crust. This is a process that has taken place over millions of years.
Africa is splitting in two - here is why
Methane-consuming bacteria could be the future of fuel
Don’t write off abandoned buildings – they can be an important resource for the community
You need only look to the UK’s high streets to see myriad buildings in decline. Walk through any city or town and witness the empty shops, vacant office blocks and derelict housing. A recent report from the Royal Society for Public Health revealed that one in 10 high street shops in the UK is empty.
Should we turn the Sahara Desert into a huge solar farm?
Whenever I visit the Sahara I am struck by how sunny and hot it is and how clear the sky can be. Aside from a few oases there is little vegetation, and most of the world’s largest desert is covered with rocks, sand and sand dunes. The Saharan sun is powerful enough to provide Earth with significant solar energy.
Jupiter or Earth? Which One’s Which, and Why Do They Look so Similar?
NASA's Greenland Mission Still Surprises in Year Four
Only seven months after NASA's Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG) mission wrapped its last field campaign on the world's largest island, an OMG crew is back in Greenland to collect more data. With two or three field projects a year since 2016, no wonder OMG has made the most comprehensive measurements yet of how ocean water lapping at the undersides of Greenland's melting glaciers affects them. All that data has answered a lot of existing questions — and it's raised plenty of new ones.
Study: Much of the surface ocean will shift in color by end of 21st century
Salt doesn’t melt ice – here’s how it actually makes winter streets safe
Huge Cavity in Antarctic Glacier Signals Rapid Decay
A gigantic cavity — two-thirds the area of Manhattan and almost 1,000 feet (300 meters) tall — growing at the bottom of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica is one of several disturbing discoveries reported in a new NASA-led study of the disintegrating glacier. The findings highlight the need for detailed observations of Antarctic glaciers' undersides in calculating how fast global sea levels will rise in response to climate change.
Why Antarctica’s sea ice cover is so low (and no, it’s not just about climate change)
Can genetic engineering save disappearing forests?
Environmentally friendlier meat might be possible with the help of duckweed
A teen scientist helped me discover tons of golf balls polluting the ocean
Coffee: 60% of wild species are at risk of extinction due to climate change
Is your morning coffee an espresso or a skinny latte? Is it from a darkly roasted French or Italian blend? If it’s a high quality brew, it’s almost certainly made with beans from the Arabica species (Coffea arabica), which is known for its finer flavours. Examples would be Javan coffees, Ethiopian sidamo, and the expensive Jamaican blue mountain.
How to feed a growing population healthy food without ruining the planet
The global race for groundwater speeds up to feed agriculture’s growing needs
Britain has shifted 30% of its electricity away from fossil fuels in just nine years!
What is ‘green’ dry cleaning? A toxics expert explains
The winter holidays are a busy time for many businesses, including retail stores, grocers, liquor stores – and dry cleaners. People pull out special-occasion clothes made of silk, satin or other fabrics that don’t launder well in soap and water. Then there are all those specialty items, from stained tablecloths to ugly holiday sweaters.
Improved crops can double agricultural production, providing future generation with food and resources
Wageningen University & Research is working on a road-map to future-proof crops as part of EU-project CropBooster-P. Future crop yields will increase with optimal use of water and minerals. In addition to that nutritional value and crop quality are high on the list of targets. To feed a future population of 10 billion people and alleviate climate change these new crops need to eventually double the total world wilde food production. The great news that has been scientifically proven to be possible.