Iron 'fertilization' causes plankton bloom - On an oceanographic research cruise called "IronEx II," scientists "fertilized" with iron a patch of ocean waters some 800 miles west of the Galapagos Islands. Iron-starved plant plankton, called phytoplankton, native to the region responded rapidly; the amount of plankton began to nearly double each day. Within one week phytoplankton had grown thirty-fold increase. The rapid growth of these plankton began to 'draw down' carbon dioxide in surface waters. Read more...

Dust transported around the world in the atmosphere is an important source of nutrients for plants, even where its contribution isn't obvious. Dust-derived nutrients can be vital to mountain ecosystems, even when nutrient supply from bedrock is substantial. Find out more...

Cities with 40% and above tree canopy cover in an urban area can dramatically reduce the temperature of the immediate environs -- enough to make a significant difference even within a few city blocks. Study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Sahara Desert has expanded by about 10 percent since 1920, according to a new study by National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded scientists at the University of Maryland (UMD).

When it comes to improving habitat for beleaguered native bee species, doing less may accomplish more. New research by the USDA Forest Service and partners funded by the National Science Foundation found that mowing the lawn less frequently can significantly improve pollinator habitat.

Across North America, streams and rivers are becoming saltier, thanks to road deicers, fertilizers and other salty compounds that humans indirectly release into waterways. At the same time, freshwater supplies are becoming more alkaline or basic, the "opposite" of acidic. Salty, alkaline freshwater can create big problems for drinking water supplies, urban infrastructure and natural ecosystems.

The term "aeronautics" originated in France, and was derived from the Greek words for "air" and "to sail."

Cumulonimbus clouds, or rain producing clouds, may stretch from their base near the Earth's surface to an altitude of 10 kilometers (33,000 feet) or higher.

Armalcolite is a mineral that was discovered at Tranquility Base by the Apollo 11 crew. It was named for ARMstrong, ALdrin and COLlins, the three Apollo 11 astronauts.

A mile, also called a "statute mile," is the unit of distance most U.S. citizens are familiar with. To convert statute miles into kilometers multiply the statute miles by 1.609347.

Wilderness areas are major storehouses of biodiversity and provide critical ecosystem services to our planet, including watershed maintenance, pollination and carbon sequestration. To qualify as "wilderness," an area has to have 70 percent or more of its original vegetation intact, and should cover at least 10,000 square kilometers (3,861 square miles). Earth's wilderness areas still cover close to half the Earth's land ( 46% of the world's land mass is wilderness). Most wilderness areas have fewer than five people per square kilometer.

Drylands represent more than 41 percent of the global landmass and are extremely vulnerable to human impacts, such as moving cattle from place to place.

On May 8th 1886, American pharmacist John S. Pemberton developed Coca-Cola, a drink he originally billed as a cure-all tonic.

The modern parachute was invented in the late 18th century by Louis-Sébastien Lenormand in France, who made the first recorded public jump in 1783. Lenormand also sketched his device beforehand. Two years later, in 1785, Lenormand coined the word "parachute" by hybridizing an Italian prefix para and chute, the French word for fall, to describe the aeronautical device's real function.