Earth News from the Chronicles

plane over Gulf of Mexico

Use of dispersants in oil spills

The complexity of what happened in the Deepwater Horizon/BP drilling platform explosion and resulting sea-floor oil gusher that flowed for 87 days is only dwarfed by what has happened in the time since. The clean-up, which began immediately, has been a Herculean effort that continues to this day.…
storm on radar

Shepherd in WAPO

Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and Geography J. Marshall Shepherd addressed the debate (and political gamesmanship) surrounding cuts to NASA's earth science budget in the Washington Post last week: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, one of the few people that…
chem formula with sand

Chemists trap molecular species of silicon oxides

In an inspiring breakthrough, chemistry researchers have stablized one of the most abundant silicon oxides in the universe: Using a technique they developed in 2008, the UGA team succeeded in isolating silicon oxide fragments for the first time, at room temperature, by trapping them between…
grass and planet

Earth Week 2015

What can I do? It's always the question, arriving custom built with the pre-supposition that our individual efforts won't go very far to change anything, to make a difference. Especially where protecting the Earth is involved. It's so big and complex, and after all, you're just one person. One…
earth graphic

Athens Science Café

Special treat from the folks at the Athens Science Cafe tonight beginning at 6 pm at the Foundry: Marshall Shepherd talks about communicating weather and climate: "Zombies, Sports, and Cola: What does it mean for communicating weather and climate?" led by Dr. Marshall Shepherd from…