Phys.org news

Unlike conventional glaciers, rock glaciers appear as piles of rock that obscure large masses of unaccounted-for ice. Rock glaciers are common in the Wasatch and Uinta ranges, even appearing on the Colorado Plateau in the ...

Imagine the Western Plains of North America, from Texas to Alaska, submerged under a broad, shallow seaway. To the west lay the ancestral Rocky Mountains. To the east were low-lying plains traversed by large, sluggish rivers.

Efficiently controlling heat generation has become a major challenge as the semiconductors used in smartphones, computers and similar devices have become higher-performing and more miniaturized. The way heat is transmitted ...

A new study that combines paleoclimate data and climate models suggests that large volcanic eruptions can disrupt the relationship between atmospheric circulation patterns over the tropical Indian and Pacific oceans. In addition, ...

Scientists have been hard at work for more than 20 years to instruct biological systems, such as E. coli cells, to produce proteins they don't naturally produce. Success could mean faster, cheaper, more innovative solutions ...

An international study led by researchers at the George Washington University indicates clear global evidence that permafrost is thawing across much of the planet. Using more than two decades of field observations from 156 ...

The majority of plant seeds have the special ability to almost completely dry out and yet remain viable. While most living cells die with a 90% loss of water, cells in seeds enter a biological state of dormancy. With a moisture ...

For decades, light has been used to understand the molecular structures of matter. A sample is irradiated with light, and measurements determine the wavelengths at which it is absorbed. Since each molecule absorbs light at ...

Saturn's moon Enceladus sports a thick shell of ice surrounding a liquid water ocean. As though scraped by an enormous claw, four parallel cracks slash across its south pole. Each about 500 meters (1,600 feet) deep, 2 kilometers ...

Electrically charged raindrops, a naturally occurring phenomenon, can break down surfaces treated with protective coatings, according to new research published in Nature. This previously overlooked corrosion mechanism highlights ...

Spreading finely crushed basalt across farmland has been promoted as a relatively simple way to remove large quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But a new study led by Cornell researchers suggests the real-world ...

Stanford researchers have offered an explanation for why some sizzling, lava-covered worlds nestled tightly around their stars can retain their atmospheres. At such close quarters, intense stellar radiation should strip away ...