December 10th, 2019
Gulf Coast Corals Face Catastrophe

If coral reefs are the canary to the ocean’s coal mine, it’s getting awfully bleak in the Gulf of Mexico. A new study by Rice University Earth scientists asserts: Without a rapid and dramatic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, fragile coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico, like those around the world, face catastrophe.  That

December 3rd, 2019
New Maps of Salinity Reveal the Impact of Climate Variability on Oceans

The salinity of the ocean surface can be monitored from space using satellites to give a global view of the variable patterns of sea-surface salinity across the oceans. Unusual salinity levels may indicate the onset of extreme climate events, such as El Niño. Global maps of sea-surface salinity are particularly helpful for studying the water

November 25th, 2019
U.S. Cities Might Release More Methane Than Previously Thought

Major U.S. cities may be leaking far more methane into the atmosphere than government estimates suggest. New measurements found that up to twice as much gas is being released from six cities on the East Coast—Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Boston; New York; Providence, R.I.; and Baltimore—than estimates recorded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Their combined

November 19th, 2019
Archaeologist Gains Unexpected Insights into Social Integration in 19th Century Mining Town

A historical archaeologist made a surprising discovery about daily life in an 1800s gold mining town by mapping artifacts in the Surfer scientific modeling package from Golden Software. Artifact distribution maps indicate Highland City, Mont., may have been a well-integrated town for its time. “Overseas Chinese immigrants worked in the mines of the American West