Geophysicists in Australia think they may have solved the long-standing enigma of how the Andes mountain range was formed. Using computer simulations that model the fluid dynamics and mechanics of tectonic plates, they reckon that the Andes were formed when one tectonic plate in the Pacific slides or "subducts" under a neighbouring plate beneath South America in an uneven fashion. The existence of the Andes has baffled researchers because most other large mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas, have emerged where two plates collide head-on.
All tectonic activity on Earth is driven by subduction zones, where one plate is sucked underneath another into the Earth's mantle. Now, for the first time, a team led by Wouter Schellart at the Australian National University in Canberra has created the first genuine 3D model of how plates move at subduction zones over time.
Earth Changes
WILKES-BARRE - A one-two punch by Mother Nature will bring moderate flooding along lowlands of the Susquehanna River on Friday and anywhere from six to 12 inches of snow by Saturday afternoon.
Light snow began falling in the Wyoming Valley just before 7:30 a.m. and is expected to increase in intensity throughout the day.
Light snow began falling in the Wyoming Valley just before 7:30 a.m. and is expected to increase in intensity throughout the day.
Winter is going out with a mid-March roar.
After a few days spring temperatures, the city awoke Friday to a wintry mess of snow, icy roads, treacherous commutes and a winter storm warning with forecasts of an angry Nor'easter on the way.
After a few days spring temperatures, the city awoke Friday to a wintry mess of snow, icy roads, treacherous commutes and a winter storm warning with forecasts of an angry Nor'easter on the way.
Fears of severe flooding in Vermont have finally ebbed, but the National Weather Service in Burlington has posted the latest weather concern - another significant snow storm.
A storm warning has been issued for much of the state, beginning tonight at 6 p.m and extending through 8 p.m. on Saturday. A heavy snow warning was issued for the southern part of Vermont, just south of Rutland.
A storm warning has been issued for much of the state, beginning tonight at 6 p.m and extending through 8 p.m. on Saturday. A heavy snow warning was issued for the southern part of Vermont, just south of Rutland.
ANCHORAGE -- Perhaps instead of "Big Wild Life," Anchorage should consider the motto "Really Really Cold." The city has seen unseasonably frosty temperatures for an unusually long period, according to the National Weather Service.
The December 2006-February 2007 winter season temperature was marked by periods of unusually warm and cold conditions in the U.S., but the overall seasonal temperature was near average, according to scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Precipitation was above average in much of the center of the nation while large parts of the East, Southeast, and Southwest were drier than average. The global temperature was the warmest on record for the December-February three-month period.
WASHINGTON -- This winter was the warmest on record worldwide, the government said Thursday in the latest worrisome report focusing on changing climate.
The report comes just over a month after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said global warming is very likely caused by human actions and is so severe it will continue for centuries.
The report comes just over a month after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said global warming is very likely caused by human actions and is so severe it will continue for centuries.
Snow blanketed much of Jordan on Thursday, briefly whited out road signs in Jerusalem as freak weather created high waves in Egypt's Red Sea and forced four ports to close.
State College, PA - Proof that winter is not officially over will be provided this weekend as cold air from Canada and a storm system moving out of Texas join forces on Friday, creating a powerful late-winter snowstorm in the Northeast.
The advancing cold front that put an end to the early taste of spring in the upper Plains and Midwest has moved through the Great Lakes today.
A storm system riding along the front has spread rain and a wintry mix of precipitation from the Midwest to the Maritimes in a prelude to the main event that will begin late Friday.
The advancing cold front that put an end to the early taste of spring in the upper Plains and Midwest has moved through the Great Lakes today.
A storm system riding along the front has spread rain and a wintry mix of precipitation from the Midwest to the Maritimes in a prelude to the main event that will begin late Friday.
Australian oceanographers have discovered a giant cold water eddy off Sydney which has lowered sea levels almost one meter and impacted a major ocean current.
The eddy, which has diameter of about 200 km (120 miles) and reaches to depth of 1 km (1,100 yards), lies about 100 km (60 miles) off Sydney, said Australia's peak scientific body, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).
The CSIRO said the eddy was so powerful it had pushed out to sea the strong East Australian Current, popularised in the hit Hollywood animation "Finding Nemo" and used by sailors in the Sydney-Hobart race down the east coast of Australia.
Shipping traffic and fishing have not been affected.
The eddy, which has diameter of about 200 km (120 miles) and reaches to depth of 1 km (1,100 yards), lies about 100 km (60 miles) off Sydney, said Australia's peak scientific body, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).
The CSIRO said the eddy was so powerful it had pushed out to sea the strong East Australian Current, popularised in the hit Hollywood animation "Finding Nemo" and used by sailors in the Sydney-Hobart race down the east coast of Australia.
Shipping traffic and fishing have not been affected.
Comment: In other words, they are just playing with the statistics and prestidigitating the data.