EarthScape

Children who routinely eat their meals together with their family are more likely to experience long-term physical and mental health benefits, a new study shows.

Near the top of Cheat Mountain in West Virginia, bulldozer operator Bill Moore gazes down a steep slope littered with toppled conifers. Tangled roots and angled boulders protrude from the slate-colored soil, and the earth is crisscrossed with deep gouges.

Residents in some areas of the developing world are currently coping with dangerous levels of air pollution. Recent research, co-led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, is leading to a new understanding of a key chemical able to break down some major air pollutants.

The world’s largest ice sheet may be less stable than previously thought, posing an even greater threat to Florida’s coastline. The first-ever marine geologic survey of East Antarctica’s Sabrina Coast, published this week in Nature, concludes that some regions of the massive East Antarctic Ice Sheet have been sensitive to climate change for millions of years. Much like…

When cattle arrive at a slaughterhouse on a Friday but are held for processing until Monday, they have an increased incidence of producing tough, low-grade meat, new research shows.“It can happen if there are too many cattle and there’s a backup, or if there’s a plant breakdown,” said Heather Bruce, an associate professor of carcass…

What are crows saying when their loud cawing fills a dark winter’s evening? Despite the inescapable ruckus, nobody knows for sure. Birds congregate daily before and after sleep, and they make some noise, but what might be happening in those brains is a mystery.Curious about these raucous exchanges, researchers at the University of Washington Bothell…

Research led by the University of Liverpool has revisited a study carried out 175 years ago which compared the health and life expectancy of people in different parts of the country, including Liverpool, to see if its findings still held true. They found that stark differences still exist and that people living in Liverpool still had…

New research shows human-induced climate change increased the amount and intensity of Hurricane Harvey’s unprecedented rainfall. The new findings are being published in two separate studies and being presented in a press conference today at the 2017 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, along with additional new findings about recent Atlantic Ocean hurricanes.

It may take until the 2060s to know how much the sea level will rise by the end of this century, according to a new Rutgers University–New Brunswick-led analysis. The study is the first to link global and local sea-level rise projections with simulations of two major mechanisms by which climate change can affect the vast…

A NOAA-sponsored report shows that the warming trend transforming the Arctic persisted in 2017, resulting in the second warmest air temperatures, above average ocean temperatures, loss of sea ice, and a range of human, ocean and ecosystem effects.Now in its 12th year, the Arctic Report Card, released today at the annual American Geophysical Union fall…