The First Published Map of India

click here

The First Women in Antarctica

In the spring of 1969, Terry Tickhill Terrell was 19 and an undergraduate chemistry major at Ohio State University, bored with her lab work and restless. She had never traveled more than 250 miles from the Barnesville, Ohio farm where she grew up.

One day, after reading an article in the school newspaper about a graduate student who had just returned from Antarctica, Terrell decided that that was where she wanted to go.

read it here

Deepest Explosive Eruption on Sea Floor: Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle Jason Images Discovery

Oceanographers using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason discovered and recorded the first video and still images of a deep-sea volcano actively erupting molten lava on the seafloor.
read here

BACTERIA SURVIVE MILLENNIA NIBBLING ON SALAD

click here to read

It's Getting Hot in Copenhagen

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Copenhagen today as part of a global protest to demand governments across the world agree a binding new global deal to tackle climate change.

read on 

Massive Camera Sharpens Our View of the Universe : Big Pic Gallery

click here

Increased Temperatures Turn Fish into Daredevils

As the world grows warmer, some fish may stop acting like themselves. With a small rise in temperature, a new study found, some fish become more daring and more aggressive than they would otherwise be. The finding suggests that climate change could put fish in peril in unexpected ways.

read it here 

Buses to have GPS system in Mangalore

Fitting of Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment will be made mandatory for all the buses in the district, for regulating the speed of the buses, said Dakshina Kannada district deputy commissioner, V Ponnuraj.

As the GPS makes it possible to ascertain the speed of the buses, places through which they move etc., the authorities can exercise better control over them. The GPS was implemented in the past, but many buses are still to be provided with this system. Therefore, it has been decided to make it compulsory for all the buses moving in the district, he clarified.
source

Winds drive icebergs away from New Zealand

Strong westerly winds in the southern Pacific Ocean have driven scores of icebergs originally headed toward New Zealand to the east, away from the country.

read on 

If global temperatures rise just 2 degrees Celsiuswe won't be around

For Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, the cold scientific numbers of the climate debate add up to the very survival of his tropical Indian Ocean state.
read the article here

Cassini Captures Ghostly Dance of Saturn's Northern Lights

In the first video showing the auroras above the northern latitudes of Saturn, Cassini has spotted the tallest known "northern lights" in the solar system, flickering in shape and brightness high above the ringed planet.
click here 

Maps depict effect of climate change

The Victorian Government has released maps showing the possible effects of sea level rises on vulnerable coastal regions over the next 100 years.According to these maps some townships could become submerged during extreme storm events, as water levels rise over the next century. Portland, Port Fairy, Port Phillip, Barwon Heads, Tooradin and Seaspray regions are the most risk prone areas.The study reveals that the sea levels during extreme storms could rise anywhere between 80 centimetres and 1.4 metres, over the next century. The Environment Minister, Gavin Jennings said that the study is more accurate than a similar Commonwealth study released on the weekend. More detailed reports are expected to be released by next year. 

source  

read more 

Agriculture Can Adapt to Climate Change

Better crop management, including smarter application of pesticides, can help poor farmers cope with climate change. New knowledge, technology and policy for agriculture have never been more critical, and adaptation and mitigation strategies must urgently be applied to national and regional development programmes.

read here

'Eye in the sky' to monitor irrigation projects

With some states not fully utilising the Centrally-funded scheme to create irrigation facilities, Government has decided to assign the National Remote Sensing Center to monitor 50 projects using satellite imagery.The satellite imagery will be used to confirm the progress made by states in carrying out irrigation projects under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP). The Water Resources Ministry and the Central Water Commission will also carry out field visits to monitor physical progress and financial performance of ongoing projects.Earlier also center had used remote sensing technology to monitor 53 projects. It had later provided the Ministry with assessments of 48 projects which had helped in pinpointing gaps in the network which lead to non-continuity of the network for irrigation delivery.

Source

Grow Your Own Electricity

How about a really small power plant in your basement? And your neighbors and the folks down the street. Engineers at automaker Volkswagen are getting ready to build small natural gas-powered generators intended to go into people’s basements or garages.

read it here 

Eruptions at Mayon

click here to read

World Not Ending in 2012, Says NASA

Contrary to what you may read on the Internet, the world is not going to end in 2012. A rogue planet named Nibiru is not on a collision course with Earth. And a solar flare won't toast the planet.

read the article here 

Cold days in Central India

read the article here

Glacier Retreat in Antarctica Has Unexpected Benefit

click here to read

How Saturated Fatty Acids 'Anger' The Immune System (And How To Stop Them)

Researchers have new evidence to explain how saturated fatty acids, which soar in those who are obese, can lead the immune system to respond in ways that add up to chronic, low-grade inflammation. The new results could lead to treatments designed to curb that inflammatory state, and the insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes that come with it..

read the article here

Giant Jellyfish Sink 10-Ton Fishing Boat

A 10-ton fishing boat has been sunk by gigantic jellyfish off eastern Japan. The crew of the fishing boat was thrown into the sea when the vessel capsized, but the three men were rescued by another trawler.

The trawler, called the Diasan Shinsho-maru, capsized off Chiba as its three-man crew was trying to haul in a net containing dozens of huge Nomura's jellyfish. Each of the jellyfish can weigh up to 200 kg (about 440 pounds) and waters around Japan have been inundated with the creatures this year.. ..

read the article here

Sea Slime Killing U.S. Seabirds

Hundreds of birds are washing up on the shores of the U.S. Pacific Northwest coated with a foamy sea slime, scientists say.

The slime, which comes from algae blooms in the ocean, saps the waterproofing ability of the birds' feathers, experts say. Untold hundreds have died, succumbing to hypothermia or predators such as eagles.Nearly 500 of the slimed birds have been transported to the rescue center in Fairfield, California, which was specially built to care for coastal wildlife contaminated with oil. Many of the slime victims have been released.

source

Volcanic Air Pollution Chokes Locals

On the island of Hawaii, residents living downwind of the actively erupting Kilauea volcano are at risk of a range of more subtle health problems, including bronchitis, asthma attacks, lung infections, and sore throats thanks to volcanic air pollution, according to a new study.
read more

Hydropower industry braces for glacier-free future

click to read

Space agencies, Google seek ways to save forests

Space agencies and Google Inc are helping an international project to monitor forests by satellite to fight global warming, the head of an international earth observation group said.
full story

Toyota launches new hybrid

Toyota Motor Corp is ramping up its push on gasoline-electric hybrids, launching a new model in Japan and taking on up-and-coming rival Hyundai Motor Co in its Korean home market with its flagship Prius.

Looking a step beyond hybrids, the head of Honda Motor Co said he was considering launching electric vehicles in the United States, Europe and Japan, indicating a shift in the strategy of Japan's No.2 car maker for zero-emission cars.

full story

US Pressured to Help Fight Tropical Deforestation

click here

Maldives cabinet flags climate crisis at undersea meet

The Maldives' government held an underwater cabinet meeting on Saturday in a bid to focus global attention on rising sea levels that threaten to submerge the low-lying atoll nation.

President Mohamed Nasheed plunged first into the Indian Ocean followed by his ministers, all clad in scuba gear, for the nationally televised meeting in this archipelago known as an idyllic holiday getaway for the rich.

full story

New Type Of Flying Reptile: Darwin's Pterodactyl Preyed On Flying Dinosaurs

An international group of researchers from the University of Leicester (UK), and the Geological Institute, Beijing (China) has identified a new type of flying reptile, providing the first clear evidence of an unusual and controversial type of evolution.

full story 

World needs big drive for carbon capture: IEA

The world needs to build 100 major projects for capturing and burying greenhouse gases by 2020 and thousands more by 2050 to help combat climate change, according to International Energy Agency chief Nobuo Tanaka .
click here

Solar homes go for high-tech and practicality

click here

Time to Upgrade Windows

click here

China completes 3D map of moon

China has completed a high-resolution, three-dimensional map of the entire surface of the moon, state media reported. After putting its first man into space in 2003 -- only the third nation to do so -- China is aiming to launch an unmanned rover on the moon's surface by 2012 and a manned mission to the moon by around 2020.The map was made using image data obtained by a camera on China's first lunar probe -- the Chang'e 1 -- launched in October 2007.China is one of only a few countries including the United States, Russia, Japan and India to have undertaken a mapping of the moon, according to Chen.

Source : http://www.china.org.cn

J&K in Pak, Arunachal in China on Allianz website

A city court asked Delhi police to file a report on a complaint against industrialist and Rajya Sabha MP Rahul Bajaj over his group's partner company Allianz portraying Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as part of Pakistan and China respectively on its website.The court then posted the matter for further hearing. Sanjay Sachdeva, a member of Delhi Pradesh National Panthers Party, and others have sought prosecution of Bajaj under charges of sedition on the ground that disfigurement of Indian map was an "anti-national" act.Responding to the allegations, Bajaj had earlier told that it was the portal of Bajaj's insurance venture partner, Allianz, that had carried the alleged map with the discrepancy."I have nothing to do with the case as it was Allianz which had put the map on its website. They have, in fact, corrected the discrepancy as soon as it was pointed out about a month back," Bajaj had said. 

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Poor Nations' Climate Adaptation Could Cost $100 Billion a Year

Helping developing countries adapt to climate change will cost the world between US$75 and $100 billion per year for the period 2010 to 2050, according World Bank . The figures are detailed in the most in-depth analysis of the economics of climate change adaptation published to date.

full story 

Mercury Probe Shuts Down During Key Flyby

A spacecraft en route to map the innermost planet in our solar system shut down during a key pass by Mercury on Tuesday, missing about half of its planned investigations, officials said Wednesday.
click here

Alaska Coast Eroding Fast

click here

Burning Leaves is Bad News:Mulching not burning is the new Fall ritual

click to read

Vietnam’s RS satellite model completed

Vietnamese engineers have completed the technical model of the country’s first remote sensing satellite, a local newswire reported. The Pico-Dragon satellite is expected to be launched between 2010 and 2011 along with other countries, Pham Anh Tuan – deputy head of Space Technology Institute (STI) told Vietnamnet.The launching of the satellite, whose functions include taking high-resolution photographs of natural resources, aiding weather forecasts and monitoring phenomenon like storms, will be a test of Vietnam’s ability to make its own satellites, Tuan said.Made by STI in cooperation with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Pico-Dragon weighs less than two kilograms with 10x10x10 centimeter dimensions and will have a life expectancy of around six months.

Source

Water Found on the Moon

click to read

Floodgates Might Not Save Venice

The construction of mobile floodgates aims to safeguard the 1,300-year-old island city of Venice. It's an ambitious engineering project, but some scientists say it may not be sufficient to protect Venice from rising sea levels due to climate change.

Venice rose from mudflats in the middle of a lagoon which forms the largest wetland in the Mediterranean. One of the world's most endangered cities, it has been subject to increasing flooding due to sinking land — but also to rising sea levels.

It's known as "aqua alta" — high water — and it brings city life to a standstill for several hours. Big boats can't go under low-hanging bridges, and water seeps into buildings through the sewage system. Venetians have not lived on the ground floor for decades.

click to read

Toy Trains in India

click to see more

Arctic Ice Third-smallest on Record

 The range of ocean remaining frozen over the northern polar region reached its minimum extent for 2009 on September 12, when it covered 1.97 million square miles (5.1 million square km), and now appears to be growing again as the Arctic starts its annual cool-down, the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported. ..

click here to read more

Using waste to recover waste uranium

 Using bacteria and inositol phosphate, a chemical analogue of a cheap waste material from plants, researchers at Birmingham University have recovered uranium from the polluted waters from uranium mines. The same technology can also be used to clean up nuclear waste. Professor Lynne Macaskie, , presented the group's work to the Society for General Microbiology's meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.

click here

White House Unveils Landmark Fuel Economy and Emissions Standards

click to read

Effect of Urbanization on Ground water in Ranchi city, India.

click here 

Arctic Geese Skip Migration as Planet Warms

click here

USGS to track cause of ground sinking

click to read

Jet Fuel From Seawater

click here

Dead Sea is Dying

click to read

Did early humans evolve in Europe, not Africa?

Received wisdom that modern humans emerged in Africa then dispersed across the rest of the globe is being challenged by skulls found in Dmanisi, a site in Georgia to the south of Russia.Analysis of the skulls suggests that instead, small numbers of very early ancestors of modern-day humans may have migrated to Europe, where they evolved into Homo erectus, the immediate predecessor of modern Homo sapiens.Then, Homo erectus filed back into Africa before eventually making the crucial transition to Homo sapiens.

full story

Methane Gas Could Increase From Oceanic Vents

click here

Seed variety loss seen hampering climate response

Farmers in developing countries are losing traditional varieties because of growing corporate control of the seeds they plant, hampering their ability to cope with climate change, a London-based think tank said on Monday.

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) said in a report that the diversity of traditional seed varieties is falling fast and this means valuable traits such as drought and pest resistance could be lost forever.

The report was issued ahead of the World Seed Conference which opens on Tuesday at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome.

 read on

Schwarzenegger to Obama cabinet: Water... please!

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has demanded that President Barack Obama's cabinet rethink federal policy that would divert water from parched farms and cities to threatened fish, his administration said on Wednesday.

full story

Nations Plan to Undertake Global Climate Forecasting

click to read

Dangerous Hurricane Jimena Blasts Toward Baja California

click to read

Signaling Pathway Ensures That Plants Remember To Flower

Why do some plants blossom even when days are short and gray?

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology have found the answer to this question: An endogenous mechanism allows them to flower in the absence of external influences such as long days. A small piece of RNA, a so-called microRNA, has a central role in this process, as a decline of its concentration in the shoot apex triggers flowering.

read on

Farmers Care About Trees Too

click to read

Climate Change Could Deepen Poverty In Developing Countries, Study Finds

These maps show projected changes in frequency and magnitude of climate extremes. A Purdue team found that the occurrence and magnitude of what are currently the 30-year-maximum values for wet, dry and hot extremes are projected to substantially increase for much of the world. (Credit: Diffenbaugh lab image)

Urban workers could suffer most from climate change as the cost of food drives them into poverty, according to a new study that quantifies the effects of climate on the world's poor populations.A team led by Purdue University researchers examined the potential economic influence of adverse climate events, such as heat waves, drought and heavy rains, on those in 16 developing countries. Urban workers in Bangladesh, Mexico and Zambia were found to be the most at risk.

full story

WHO official predicts swine flu ‘explosion’

click to read

How Much Water Are You Really Using?

full story

Drilling Ordeals Said to Delay Geothermal Project

click to read 

Deserts Expand Faster as Earth Brightens

As the world warms over the next century, global deserts could expand by as much as 34 percent, according to a new study, swallowing an area roughly the size of the United States.

read full story

El Nino development slows: Australia

click to read

Climate talks risk failure unless they accelerate: U.N.

 U.N. talks on a new climate treaty due to be agreed in December risk failure unless negotiations accelerate, a senior U.N. official said  after a sluggish week-long session involving 180 countries.

read on

What Mars is Really Like!

NASA has released stunning photographs of the planet Mars. Taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the views are amazing! Some show the Victoria crater which has been explored close up by a rover vehicle for two years. Another shows a dust devil in the Martian atmosphere.

The new oblique view of Victoria Crater shows layers on steep crater walls, difficult to see from straight overhead, plus wheel tracks left by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity between September 2006 and August 2008. The orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera shot it at an angle comparable to looking at landscape from an airplane window. Some of the camera's earlier, less angled images of Victoria Crater aided the rover team in choosing safe routes for Opportunity and contributed to joint scientific studies.

read on

Prehistoric humans used fire to improve tools and weapons

Prehistoric humans harnessed fire to make sharp stone blades, say archaeologists who have recreated ancient fire-hardened tools dug up in South Africa. At 47,000 to 164,000 years old, the blades may date from the dawn of modern human behaviour, involving not just complex tool use but also language and art.

read on

Smallest Known Exoplanet Has Solid Surface

read post

Can national parks be saved from global warming?

click to read

Space shuttle Endeavour lands safely after 16-day mission

The shuttle Endeavour descended safely to Earth on Friday, ending a successful 16-day assembly mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with the final piece of Japan's Kibo science laboratory.

full story

Dysnomia:Moon of Eris

 Eris I Dysnomia, is the only known moon of the dwarf planet Eris. It was discovered in 2005 by Mike Brown and the laser guide star adaptive optics team at the W. M. Keck Observatory, and carried the provisional designation of S/2005 (2003 UB313) 1 until officially named Dysnomia (from the Ancient Greek word Δυσνομία meaning "lawlessness") after the daughter of the Greek goddess Eris.

Dysnomia is about 500 times fainter than Eris, and its diameter is estimated to be 100 to 250 km. The moon is likely too small to be spherical due to self gravity. Combining Keck and Hubble observations, the satellite was used to constrain the mass of Eris, and orbital parameters were estimated. Its orbital period is calculated to be 15.774±0.002 d.These observations indicate that Dysnomia orbits Eris at a distance of 37 370 ± 150 km. This suggests that the mass of the system is approximately 1.27 times that of Pluto.

read more

NOAA Reports Record Ocean Surface Temperatures for June

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has reported  North Carolina  global ocean surface temperatures for June broke the previous record set in 2005.

read full story

Solar eclipse

click to read full post

Astronauts install new porch on lab

Astronauts working inside and out installed a porch for experiments on Japan's enormous space station lab Saturday, accomplishing the major objective despite microphone static that often drowned out the spacewalkers' voices.

full story

First Look At The Apollo Landing Sites

The imaging system on board NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) recently had its first of many opportunities to photograph the Apollo landing sites. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) imaged five of the six Apollo sites with the narrow angle cameras (NACs) between July 11 and 15, within days of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.

read on

Increasing Antarctic Sea Ice Extent Linked To Ozone Hole

Increased growth in Antarctic sea ice during the past 30 years is a result of changing weather patterns caused by the ozone hole, according to new research.Reporting in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and NASA say that while there has been a dramatic loss of Arctic sea ice, Antarctic sea ice has increased by a small amount as a result of the ozone hole delaying the impact of greenhouse gas increases on the climate of the continent.

Sea ice plays a key role in the global environment – reflecting heat from the sun and providing a habitat for marine life. At both poles sea ice cover is at its minimum during summer. However, during the winter freeze in Antarctica this ice cover expands to an area roughly twice the size of Europe. Ranging in thickness from less than a metre to several metres, the ice insulates the warm ocean from the frigid atmosphere above. Satellite images show that since the 1970s the extent of Antarctic sea ice has increased at a rate of 100,000 square kilometres a decade.The new research helps explain why observed changes in the amount of sea-ice cover are so different in both polar regions.

dig deeper

Solar Power: New SunCatcher Power System Ready For Commercial Production In 2010

Stirling Energy Systems (SES) and Tessera Solar recently unveiled four newly designed solar power collection dishes at Sandia National Laboratories’ National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF). Called SunCatchers™, the new dishes have a refined design that will be used in commercial-scale deployments of the units beginning in 2010.

read on

DubaiSat-1 reaches launch pad in Kazakhstan

The first remote sensing satellite developed by a UAE entity - the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science & Technology (EIAST) has been shipped from its development base in South Korea to the launch pad in Baikonour in Kazakhstan. DubaiSat-1 is a stepping stone in the UAE's attempt to create a sound infrastructure that enables the collection of space and earth observation data to power the comprehensive development of the nation. The satellite highlights the commitment of EIAST to create a knowledge based economy by leveraging the advances in satellite technology.The launch of DubaiSat-1 consists of three segments; space, ground and actual launch. The ground segment comprises mission control station, image receiving and processing station, and antenna and RF subsystem.

Source : http://www.zawya.com/

Beyond Carbon Dioxide: Growing Importance Of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) In Climate Warming

click to read

New Evidence That Vinegar May Be Natural Fat-fighter

Researchers in Japan are reporting new evidence that the ordinary vinegar — a staple in oil-and-vinegar salad dressings, pickles, and other foods — may live up to its age-old reputation in folk medicine as a health promoter. They are reporting new evidence that vinegar can help prevent accumulation of body fat and weight gain. 

read on

Israeli archaeologists discover ancient quarry

click to read

India’s Oceansat-2 launch in August

click to read

Astronomers Discover Pair Of Solar Systems In The Making

click to read

Rising Surface Ozone Reduces Plant Growth And Adds To Global Warming

click to read

NASA manager pitches a cheaper return-to-moon plan

click to read

CRPF to work with ISRO on sat tracking

click here

Volcano Photo Reveals Shock Wave

An amazing new picture from space reveals a volcanic eruption in its earliest stage, with a huge plume of ash and steam billowing skyward and creating a shock wave in the atmosphere.

The new photo was taken June 12 from the International Space Station. NASA says volcano researchers are excited about the picture "because it captures several phenomena that occur during the earliest stages of an explosive volcanic eruption."

read in detail

NASA Scientists Bring Light to Moon's Permanently Dark Craters

A new lunar topography map with the highest resolution of the moon's rugged south polar region provides new information on some of our natural satellite's darkest inhabitants – permanently shadowed craters. The map was created by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., who collected the data using the Deep Space Network's Goldstone Solar System Radar located in California's Mojave Desert.

read on

NASA Launches Moon Probes to Look for Water

NASA has successfully blasted two probes into space on a landmark lunar exploration mission to scout water sources and landing sites in anticipation of sending mankind back to the moon in 2020.

full story

Scientists Show Bacteria Can 'Learn' And Plan Ahead

click here

Super-computer Provides First Glimpse Of Earth's Early Magma Interior

click to read

Native grasses could destroy explosives pollution

The notion started with mounting evidence that native grasses could render harmless a common weed killer.

read more

Swine Flu Origins Revealed

The flu virus(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

A new analysis of the current swine-origin H1N1 influenza A virus suggests that transmission to humans occurred several months before recognition of the existing outbreak.The work, published online in Nature June 10, highlights the need for systematic surveillance of influenza in swine, and provides evidence that new genetic elements in swine can result in the emergence of viruses with pandemic potential in humans.

source

Food Chain of Temperate Rain Forest

source

Renewable Energy from Biomass

click to read

Hybrid Vehicles That Are Even More Efficient

click to read

Google closing in on cheap renewable energy goal

click to read

Peculiar, Junior-sized Supernova Discovered By New York Teen

According to Science Daily,in November 2008, Caroline Moore, a 14-year-old student from upstate New York, discovered a supernova in a nearby galaxy, making her the youngest person ever to do so. Additional observations determined that the object, called SN 2008ha, is a new type of stellar explosion, 1000 times more powerful than a nova but 1000 times less powerful than a supernova. Astronomers say that it may be the weakest supernova ever seen.

read on

Drinking Water From Air Humidity

 Not a plant to be seen, the desert ground is too dry. But the air contains water, and research scientists have found a way of obtaining drinking water from air humidity. The system is based completely on renewable energy and is therefore autonomous.

full story