Seaweed-fueled cars? Maybe one day, with help of new tech

Cars and trucks might one day run on biofuel made from seaweed with the help of two technologies being developed at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

NASA Sees Short-lived Tropical Depression 22W Make Landfall

NASA's Terra satellite captured the landfall of Tropical Depression 22W in northern Vietnam. The Depression only existed for two days before it made landfall and began dissipating.

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Gets 2 Looks at Hurricane Maria

Hurricane Maria was analyzed in visible and infrared light as NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP passed overhead over two days. NASA's GPM satellite also provided a look at Maria's rainfall rates.

Researchers take tips from 'Twister' to chase elusive storm data

Some great ideas are born out of years of painstaking research. Others are gleaned from the plotline of the movie "Twister."

Filter may be a match for fracking water

A new filter produced by Rice University scientists has proven able to remove more than 90 percent of hydrocarbons, bacteria and particulates from contaminated water produced by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations at shale oil and gas wells.

Scientists monitor Silicon Valley's underground water reserves — from space

Scientists have used satellite data to monitor underground water reserves in California’s Silicon Valley, discovering that water levels rebounded quickly after a severe drought that lasted from 2012-15.

Climate insurance is rarely well thought out in agriculture

Internationally subsidised agricultural insurance is intended to protect farmers in developing countries from the effects of climate change. However, it can also lead to undesirable ecological and social side effects, as UFZ researchers and their US colleagues at the University of Oregon have explained in a review article in the latest issue of Global Environmental Change. The article also contains recommendations for improved insurance schemes which in future should also take account of ecological and social aspects in addition to economic issues.

NASA Catches Tropical Depression Pilar Hugging and Soaking Mexico's Coast

Tropical Storm Pilar formed near the southwestern coast of Mexico on Saturday, Sept. 23 and continued hugging the coast when NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites passed overhead. Pilar weakened to a tropical depression during the late morning on Sept. 25.

Antarctic Glacier Loses Chunk of Ice Four Times the Size of Manhattan

A section of ice more than 100 square miles in size — four times as large as Manhattan — has broken off the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica. It is the fifth major calving, or ice loss, event on the glacier since 2000.

Emerging Disease Further Jeopardizes North American Frogs

A deadly amphibian disease called severe Perkinsea infections, or SPI, is the cause of many large-scale frog die-offs in the United States, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Frogs and salamanders are currently among the most threatened groups of animals on the planet. The two most common frog diseases, chytridiomycosis and ranavirus infection, are linked to frog population declines worldwide. The new study suggests that that SPI is the third most common infectious disease of frogs.