Although Mars is known for being a dry and desolate desert, its landscape hasn’t always been so hostile. Rivers and lakes were once present on the Red Planet before it began to dry up somewhere around 3 billion years ago. The latest research has explored evidence from this distant chapter of Mars’ past, revealing ancient sources of water in the Gale crater region that evaporated and left behind wave ripples. Researchers have investigated these geological clues in a recent study published in ...read more
According to a recent study published in Science Advances, a greasy hair day keeps the ice away — for polar bears, that is. After examining polar bear fur, an international research team identified what helped keep polar bears ice-free, even in sub-zero temperatures. It all comes down to their greasy fur. “This work not only represents the first study of the composition of polar bear fur sebum, but it also resolves the question of why polar bears don’t suffer from ice accumulation,” sa ...read more
Tropical lowlands that flood during the rainy season and scorch during the sunny season don’t exactly sound ideal for agriculture. But the people who lived in what is now Bolivia between 500 A.D. and 1400 A.D. turned those conditions to their advantage by engineering a system of canals to divert excess water and ponds to save it for later. By building a sophisticated irrigation network, the pre-Hispanic Casarabe society of the Llanos de Moxos produced maize year-round — ushering in a Neolith ...read more
Climate change is wreaking havoc across the globe, upending weather patterns and the Earth’s hydrological cycle with often dramatic effects on some of the largest water bodies. 2024 was the hottest year on record, and there are concerns that these pressures on the Earth’s water system are likely to increase as the climate crisis continues.One classic example is the Aral Sea. Once one of the largest lakes in the world, it has shrunk to only a fraction of its size. “In 2016, this lake was le ...read more
A sleeping giant of a volcano is stirring in its underwater bed.The volcano, tucked underneath a submerged peak called Axial Seamount, is the most active volcano in the Pacific Northwest. Seismic activity, including hundreds of small earthquakes a day, indicate an eruption may be forthcoming — perhaps by the end of 2025, according to a blog kept by Bill Chadwick, a volcanologist who’s been closely monitoring activity associated with Axial Seamount, for years.Volcano Wake-up TimeThat seismic ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine