Jump to Content
View Cart
Facebook
Twitter
rss
E-mail alert
Down to Earth
Science news about Earth and its planetary relatives
Our Down to Earth correspondent, Rachel Berkowitz, provides news
and updates on the latest research from the Earth sciences community. Besides
writing about Earth science for Physics
Today, Berkowitz also develops volcanic eruption models at Cambridge
University, where she's working on her PhD. Rachel grew up in Richland,
Washington; received her BA in physics at Yale University; and likes to climb
mountains and play violin.
|
 |
Latest articles
Growth, but no seismicity
Despite appearances, the Turkish–Iranian plateau did not attain its current height by seismic faulting—at least according to a new theory.
When continents collide
A new rheological model characterizes the ways Earth's crust can slide over and into its mantle.
Adapting to climate change: International organizations
What the world is doing to bridge the gap between science, policy, and x-factors in adapting to climate change.
Adapting to climate change: Reindeer herders in arctic Russia
How an Arctic people are coping with the combined effects of warming temperatures and increased industrial presence.
What do you get if you cross a geophysicist with a particle physicist?
Physicistgeo Physicistparticle sinθ.* Or, an experiment using polarized electrons and Earth’s magnetic field that probes the existence of a new force predicted by particle physics.
Exporting coal: questions and uncertainty
Proposed coal export terminal in Washington State fuels debate regarding economic growth and environmental health.
Dirty water
A new program demonstrates that comprehensive monitoring of pollution sources and sinks is both effective and affordable.
Preserving the natural environment while sustaining a way of life
Traditional knowledge and contemporary natural resource management work together on Block Island and elsewhere.
Fossils don't lie ... Do they?
Lizard evolution shows discrepancy between molecular data and fossil record.
With a grain of salt
Ocean surface layer captures influence of human activity.
When you can't see the volcano for the clouds
Infrasound monitoring detects volcanic eruptions and contributes to public warning system.
Q&A with Andreas Münchow, seafaring physical oceanographer
The University of Delaware associate professor discusses his ventures in the Arctic and wonders whether the future of his research area may be heading away from field work.
Flying high on biomass
Jet fuel must be free of oxygen and remain liquid at −45°C. Making it from plant matter is difficult.
It's not easy being green (but it used to be)
After the Triassic–Jurassic mass extinction, green algae proliferated in seawater conditions that delayed the recovery of other species.
Plant-inspired catalysts smooth the route to cleaner energy
When it comes to generating energy from sunlight, Mother Nature knows best—and scientists are taking clues from her.
The notorious E15 in pictures
Physics Today's Earth sciences correspondent took her camera on a field trip to the scourge of transatlantic air travelers in 2010, the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull.
The old Maya and the sea
Maya civilization survived and thrived in a changing environment. Still, scientists speculate on why it ceased to thrive in the presence of climatic and social change.
Two columns of air, two seasons, and two aircraft
Airborne and ground-based atmospheric research facilities measure aerosol chemical and radiative properties over land and sea.
AGU Chapman Conference 2012: Of ash and airplanes
Scientists share ideas about how to model and forecast volcanic ash concentrations and how to pronounce Icelandic names.
A drying water source in the Western US
Evidence from tree rings suggests that the recent decline in snowpack throughout the Rockies so extensive that climate change is the likely cause.
Where has all the flora gone?
Diversity of European alpine plant life may be shrinking.
Mind the gap
Shells, bones, and teeth evolved in response to seawater chemistry changes triggered by the Great Unconformity.
EGU 2012: Potential ecosystem effects of offshore wind farms
Large offshore wind farms could affect ocean circulation patterns, temperature structures, and nutrient cycling.
EGU 2012: Life and weather away from home
Conference participants discuss water stops and weather warnings for the galactic hitchhiker.
EGU 2012: The latest dirt on reducing carbon emissions
Scientists gather to discuss permafrost ecosystem recovery and the use of charcoal for counteracting carbon loss from soil.
Food for thought on greenhouse gas emissions
Reducing humans’ meat consumption by at least 50% will be necessary to stabilize discharge of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, by 2050.
The other Gutenberg
DOWN TO EARTH: Seismologist's legacy includes discontinuities in Earth's mantle and beyond.
Measuring multifault rupture with differential lidar
Imaging of Baja California before and after the El Mayor-Cucapah earthquake reveals details of surface deformation.
Will she blow? Magma chamber inflation at Santorini caldera
Recent geodetic unrest at Santorini caldera in the Aegean Sea may or may not foreshadow an eruption.
Building sea-floor features in the lab
Researchers in Canada investigate overpressures needed to form ocean-floor domes.
Burgess Shale-type fossil preservation
Extraordinary soft-tissue preservation is due to early inhibition of microbial activity.
A Dionysian indicator of climate change
Drier soil and warmer temperatures are causing wine grapes to ripen earlier in Australia.
Explaining sheeting joints on Yosemite's Half Dome
The fractures that lead to rockfall on Yosemite National Park's Half Dome are best explained by curvature and forces parallel to the rock surface.
A seismic story told by turbidites
Sediment deposits off the coast of Washington and Oregon reveal periodic tsunami and earthquakes of similar magnitude to the ones that struck Japan's Tohoku region in March 2011.
Two recent events (geologically speaking)
Two past events—one recorded in the Old Testament, the other in the diary of an 18th-century missionary—have left evidence of geophysical processes that are relevant today.
Geophysics yesterday and today
DOWN TO EARTH: To celebrate the 2011 December AGU meeting, Rachel Berkowitz takes a look at the first paper published in Journal of Geophysical Research.
It's becoming a smaller world, after all
DOWN TO EARTH: Climate change may cause both animal and plant species to shrink in size, which in turn could impact soil productivity.
Keepers of the wind in the Pacific Northwest
By taking advantage of some unusual geological formations, scientists in Washington and Oregon are finding ways to make wind energy viable.
A sustainable house in Tlemcen, Algeria
A team from Abou-Bekr Belkaid University in Algeria has designed an environmentally friendly house that is cheap to build, cool, and heat.
Why go offshore?
A conference this summer examined the financial, technical, and political issues that must be addressed before offshore wind farms can become a viable source of renewable energy.
Wind energy: why go offshore?
A conference this summer examined the financial, technical, and political issues that must be addressed before offshore wind farms can become a viable source of renewable energy.
Discontinuity under the Aloha State
An advanced seismic imaging technique has provided a more detailed picture of mantle structure beneath the Hawaii islands, but it hasn't resolved how the islands formed.
Io's magma ocean provides a view into Earth's past
Magnetic field data collected by NASA's Galileo contains evidence of the magma sea.
EGU 2011: Effects of aerosols on the East Asia summer monsoon
When it rains, it pours. But where and how much it pours over China, North and South Korea, and Japan during the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) is changing.
EGU 2011: The slippery slope of alpine glaciers, permafrost, and newly formed lakes
At the general assembly of the European Geosciences Union, several experts spoke about climate change in alpine regions.
EGU 2011: Geodetic and inundation models of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami
At the European Geosciences Union meeting in Vienna, Don Dingwell, the EGU president, introduced the session on the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake as the geoscientific community's way of paying respect and expressing condolences to the victims of March's seismic events.
EGU 2011: An outdoor volcano laboratory; lots of questions, and a few answers
Surface activity at Mount Stromboli has been recorded in detail for a thousand years. The resulting wealth of data provided ample material for a discussion at the general assembly of the European Geosciences Union in Vienna.
This Publication
Scitation
SPIN
Scitopia
Google Scholar
PubMed