News
In layers of melting glacier ice, scientists find a story of pre-industrial pollution
1+ week, 5+ hour ago (360+ words) A glacier in Europe holds clues about the activities of pre-industrial people, but it's melting fast. If you want to learn more about human history, you can turn to written records or archaeological artifacts or huge chunks of ice. That's…...
The method for estimating a dinosaurs' age at death may be off, research suggests
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (59+ words) The method for estimating a dinosaurs' age at death may be off, research suggests'NPR The method for estimating a dinosaurs' age at death may be off, research suggests A growing body of research on dinosaurs' closest living relatives suggests the…...
How did these species survive mass extinction events? : Short Wave
4+ mon, 2+ week ago (243+ words) Around 250 million years ago, one of Earth's largest known volcanic events set off The Great Dying: the planet's worst mass extinction event. The eruptions spewed large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, temperatures rose globally and oxygen in the…...
Fire-making materials at 400,000-year-old site are the oldest evidence of humans making fire
3+ mon, 1+ week ago (703+ words) Fragments of iron pyrite, a rock that can be used with flint to make sparks, were found by a 400,000-year-old hearth in eastern Britain. Jordan Mansfield/Courtesy Pathways to Ancient Britain Project hide caption It's easy to take for granted…...
From 400-year-old globes to cosmic shrouds: A Maine library brings maps to life
3+ mon, 1+ week ago (834+ words) Students from the class Geography 370: Maps, Territory, and Power explore the gallery exhibition Founding Memories: America at 250 on view through June 2016. Greta Rybus/for NPR hide caption Yaggy's Geographical Study was published in Chicago in 1887 and used teaching aids for…...
When are we due for a giant earthquake? Scientists weigh in : Short Wave
3+ mon, 3+ week ago (315+ words) Their whole life, producer Hannah Chinn has known about the Big One: a massive earthquake forecasted to hit the West Coast. Scientists say it'll destroy buildings, collapse bridges, flood coastal towns and permanently shift the landscape. But how exactly do…...
What secrets everyday rocks share about human history : Short Wave
4+ mon, 2+ week ago (208+ words) Why does the New York City skyline look the way it does? In part, because of what happened there 500 million years ago, says geologist Anjana Khatwa, author of the new book Whispers of Rocks. In it, she traces how geology…...
Why mapping the entire seafloor is a daunting task, but key to improving human life : Short Wave
7+ mon, 2+ day ago (274+ words) Scientists have mapped less than 30% of the world's seafloor. Experts say that getting that number up to 100% would improve everything from tsunami warnings to the Internet and renewable energy. That's why there's currently a global effort to create a full,…...
How the Rhone and other rivers were used in ancient times
6+ mon, 1+ week ago (324+ words) They developed a computer model that estimates how easily Roman and Celtic travelers navigated rivers thousands of years ago. SUMMERS: Professor, first of all, why are rivers so important to understanding ancient people? And also, we have a certain idea…...
Warming waters are shifting the diversity of American river fish
5+ mon, 3+ week ago (54+ words) A pair of studies show that American rivers are getting hotter, posing a risk for many fish species. Environment Story Of The Day NPR hide caption Warming waters are shifting the diversity of American river fish A pair of studies…...