News by Subject Earth Science

Following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in March 2011, the Japanese authorities decided to carry out major decontamination works in the affected area, which covers more than 9,000 km2. On Dec. 12, 2019, with most of this work having been completed, the scientific journal SOIL of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) is publishing a synthesis of approximately 60 scientific publications that provide an overview of the decontamination strategies used and their effectiveness.

By measuring the chemistry of fossilized seashells collected in Antarctica, researchers discovered that Earth was already experiencing carbon cycle instability before the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.

David Weindorf collaborated with Florida teenager Julia Kagiliery to determine the sulfur content of lignite coal using portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and an optical color sensor.

Underground fiber-optic cables, like those that connect the world through phone and internet service, hold untapped potential for monitoring severe weather, according to scientists at Penn State.

An analysis of sediment carried by glaciers in both South America and East Africa indicates that tropical glaciers not just in South America but across the tropics began to melt earlier than expected at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (26,000-19,000 years ago), before atmospheric carbon dioxide levels began to rise. The study's authors suggest that the early melting.

Some of the Earth's building material was stardust from red giants, researchers from ETH Zurich have established. They can also explain why the Earth contains more of this stardust than the asteroids or the planet Mars, which are farther from the sun.