Earth Science
The Avenging Narwhal Play Set
My colleague Abigail Tucker, who wrote a story on narwhal biologist Kristin Laidre, “In Search of the Mysterious Narwhal” for the May issue of Smithsonian, just got the most hilarious gift—The Avenging Narwhal Play Set.The set is complete with a plastic narwhal; four interchangeable tusks, each wit...
April 30, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Connected Even on a Ship in the Arctic
Not that long ago, going on a research cruise would have meant being out of contact with the world for weeks, maybe months, at a time. Today, though, satellite connections mean that you can easily keep up with the world—and the world can keep up with you—even on a remote ship in the Arctic.The iceb...
April 28, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Picture of the Week—Afghanistan’s First National Park
Afghanistan got its first national park this week—Band-e-Amir, which will protect a series of six turquoise lakes separated by natural travertine dams. The area is in the eastern part of the country, near the Bamiyan Valley where the Taliban destroyed the 1,500-year-old Buddha statues. Band-e-Amir ...
April 24, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
97 Ideas for Earth Day
1. Plant a garden.2. Plant a tree.3. Plant native plants.4. Plant a meadow instead of a lawn.5. Compost.6. Mulch.7. Water in the morning.8. Use drip irrigation.9. Use a water timer.10. Use grey water.11. Don’t use pesticides.12. Use an electric mower.13. Use a...
April 22, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Picture of the Week—Pygmy Seahorse
The pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti) evolved its knobby body and rosy color to blend in with gorgonians (sea fans) of the genus Muricella, where the seahorse makes its home among the coral reefs of the Western Pacific. These fish are so tiny (only two centimeters in height) and so well camou...
April 17, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Vote for NASA’s Greatest Achievement in Earth Observation
Astronauts might get the most public attention, but some of NASA’s most important achievements have come from the satellites that have orbited the earth over the past 50 years. Now, in preparation for Earth Day in two weeks, NASA is asking the public to vote for which earth observation achievement ...
April 15, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Civil War Geology
What underlies the Civil War’s 25 bloodiest battles? Two geologists investigate why certain terrain proved so hazardous
April 14, 2009 |
By David Zax
Picture of the Week—Lightning in a Volcanic Plume
When a volcano erupts, the volcanic plume full of gas and dust rises and then spreads into the shape of an umbrella. Scientists recently discovered that the plume then begins to rotate. This “volcanic mesocyclone” can spawn waterspouts, dust devils or even lightning.Mount Redoubt in Alaska rumbled ...
April 10, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Karijini National Park in HD
If you know what park this continent is on, you’re ahead of me. I was browsing through videos on Vimeo’s HD Nature channel (they are all amazing!) and came across the one below. The gorges and waterfalls are spectacular. So where are these photographers?Karijini National Park is in northwestern Wes...
April 09, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
What's So Hot About Chili Peppers?
An American ecologist travels through the Bolivian forest to answer burning questions about the spice
April 2009 |
By Brendan Borrell
Environmental Film Festival Review: Who Killed Crassostrea Virginica?
A mass grave lies on the seafloor of the Chesapeake Bay. What was once a living reef of oysters is now hundreds of thousands of shelled caskets, battered by sediment and tides.It’s been nearly 30 years since the collapse of the Chesapeake Bay oyster fishery, once a main source of commerce for commu...
March 25, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Review: Dust, the Movie
German movie + subtitles + art museum venue = ack. I should have known what I was getting myself into when I attended this selection from the Environmental Film Festival.Dust as a topic can be interesting (I’ve been fascinated with it since I first read about the theory that Britain’s outbreak of f...
March 23, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Underwater Volcano Erupts Near Tonga
There are several reports today that an underwater volcano near Tonga has been erupting for days. The pictures, admittedly, are spectacular. But this isn’t rare.There are dozens of volcanoes around Tonga. The last one known to have erupted was Home Reef in August 2006. Only passengers on a yacht sa...
March 19, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Environmental Film Festival Review: RiverWebs
Monday evening I saw another film from the Environmental Film Festival, a screening of RiverWebs at the Japan Information and Culture Center. On its surface, RiverWebs is a touching tribute to Japanese river ecologist Shigeru Nakano, who died in 2000 in a boating accident off of Baja at the age of ...
March 18, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Review: The State of the Planet's Oceans
On Friday I saw The State of the Planet's Oceans as part of the Environmental Film Festival. This one-hour film is the 11th part of the PBS series Journey to Planet Earth.It starts off in the Portuguese town of Aveiro, which for centuries thrived by sending its men to the waters off Newfoundland to...
March 16, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Too Many Choices at the Environmental Film Festival
The Environmental Film Festival kicks off tomorrow here in Washington, D.C., and I’ve been trying to figure out which movies I should take in. With 130 films being shown over the next week and a half, most of them free, I’m overwhelmed. I’ve narrowed my choices down to 14, but I need some help. Are...
March 10, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Picture of the Week—Lake Disappointment
The colors in this picture remind me of Vincent van Gogh, but it’s not a painting. This is a satellite photo of Lake Disappointment in Western Australia. The ephemeral lake was discovered in 1897 by a thirsty man searching for fresh water. He must have been incredibly disappointed to find that the ...
March 06, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Picture of the Week—the Atmospheric Phenomenon Sprite
This may look like a flying saucer of movie fame, but it's really an atmospheric phenomenon called a "sprite." Sprites appear 35 to 80 miles above the earth's surface; they can be set off when the lightning from a thunderstorm (only 7 to 10 miles high) excites the electric field farther up in the a...
February 27, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Picture of the Week—Giant Kelp
Back in the day, when I was studying ecology as an undergrad, I learned about the giant kelp forests off the coast of California because they are home to a keystone species, the ever adorable sea otter. The sea otters like to feast on sea urchins. But when there aren’t enough of the cute little mar...
February 20, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Drought + Spark = Australia Burning
I’ve been paying grim attention to the bushfires now ravaging the country outside Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria, in part because I have a friend who volunteers with the rural fire service near Sydney. When I visited last year, he played guide during a hike in Ku-ring-gai Chase Nati...
February 10, 2009 |
By Sarah Zielinski
