New analysis of 28-years of satellite imagery has shown that mangrove forests have been expanding northward along the Atlantic coast of Florida for the last few decades. While one might assume that this may be occurring because of a general warming trend, researchers are claiming that this northern expansion is likely because cold snaps there…

When a Greenland aquifer was accidently discovered by glaciologists in 2011 during a snow accumulation study, little could be done to continue the study of the aquifer because their tools were not suited to work in an aquatic environment. So this past year, a team of glaciologists led another expedition to southeast Greenland in order…

Pikas are small mammals closely related to rabbits and hares that are native to cold, alpine climates in North America, Asia and Eastern Europe. Pikas are very sensitive to heat, dying if they spend more than two hours above 78 degrees Fahrenheit, so cold climate is important to their survival. And sadly, as increasing temperatures…

Described as being the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, it’s no wonder why there are so many unknown mysteries of Antarctica. But now, for the first time scientists have begun mapping one of the “last frontiers” of the continent. The area, called the Recovery Catchment, sits around 400 km inland from the British Antarctic Survey’s…

According to new research, studying the rodent family tree can shed some light on how species evolve after they move into a new area. Conducted in part by researchers at Florida State University, the study of the evolutionary history of rodents calls into doubt a generally held understanding that when a species colonizes a new…

The burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas has led to dramatically increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere causing climate change and ocean acidification. Although technologies are being developed to capture CO2 at major sources such as power stations, this will only work and help reduce the amounts of CO2…

Ammonia emissions have become a serious concern for scientists at Harvard University. Of particular note, thirty eight U.S. national parks are experiencing “accidental” fertilization” at or above a critical threshold for ecological damage according the study recently published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

Soaring silently above the landscape, owls search out their prey utilizing acoustic stealth. University of Cambridge, England researchers led by Dr. Justin Jaworski are studying the owl’s wing structure and mechanics to better understand how it mitigates noise to apply that information conventional aircraft design.