Researchers seek to deflect asteroids, preventing their collision with Earth
An international project, led by Spain's National Research Council, (CSIC) provides information on the effects a projectile impact would have on an asteroid. The aim of the project is to work out how...
View ArticleVideo: Terraformer wind tunnel takes hazards engineering research to a new level
Wind engineer and 13th generation Floridian Forrest Masters knows how to ride out a hurricane. In fact, hurricanes have become his life's work. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF),...
View ArticleExperiments may help assess risks posed by falling space rocks
Four years ago, a brilliant fireball streaked across the dawn sky over Russia, then fractured with the force of about 500,000 tons of TNT. The shock wave blew out windows and damaged thousands of...
View ArticleTaxi rides on business trips are more expensive than on private trips
Who has never experienced this situation: Arriving in another city, you are completely dependent on taxi drivers, who know their way around, to take you where you want to go. However, sometimes you may...
View ArticleKaikoura quake may prompt rethink of earthquake hazard models internationally
Last November's magnitude 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake was so complex and unusual that it is likely to lead to changes in the way scientists think about earthquake hazards in plate boundary zones worldwide,...
View ArticleHundreds evacuated after deadly Sri Lanka dump collapse
Sri Lanka has moved over 400 families to temporary shelters after tonnes of rotting garbage collapsed onto a slum on Friday, killing 26 people.
View ArticleHazardous chemicals go unregulated in routine oil and gas operations
California and more than two dozen other states require oil and gas producers to disclose the chemicals they use during hydraulic fracturing activities, enabling scientific and public scrutiny of the...
View ArticleClose call: When asteroids whisk past Earth
A peanut-shaped asteroid 1.3 kilometres (3,280 feet) across streaked past Earth on Wednesday, giving astronomers a rare chance to check out a big space rock up close.
View ArticleWhen Nature vents her wrath on grapes
Making wine is a tough job in most places, what with frost, hail, drought and bushfires to contend with.
View ArticleAtlas of the Human Planet 2017—how exposed are we to natural hazards?
One out of three people in the world is exposed to earthquakes, a number which almost doubled in the past 40 years. Around 1 billion in 155 countries are exposed to floods and 414 million live near one...
View ArticleNASA's asteroid-hunting spacecraft a discovery machine
NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission has released its third year of survey data, with the spacecraft discovering 97 previously unknown celestial objects in the...
View ArticleNASA plans to test asteroid deflection technique designed to prevent Earth...
NASA is moving forward with a plan to develop a refrigerator-sized spacecraft capable of deflecting asteroids and preventing them from colliding with Earth.
View ArticleMountain forests don't need humans – but we need them
Forests in the mountain regions of our planet are fragile ecosystems, suffering from the impact of climate change. However, to survive in the long-term, these ecosystems do not need human intervention....
View ArticleNASA-supported search programs that detect and track near-Earth objects
A few NASA-funded astronomer teams are always on the hunt for potentially hazardous near-Earth objects, asteroids and comets whose orbits periodically bring them within 30 million miles of Earth's...
View ArticleAsteroid Apophis has one in 100,000 chance of hitting Earth, expert estimates
The huge, nearly 400-meter-wide asteroid Apophis is still on a list of hazardous near-Earth objects (NEOs), regarded as a potential threat to the planet. However, new calculations made by NASA's Jet...
View ArticleThe scent of adhesives
It is a known fact that adhesives may smell unpleasant. However, as Fraunhofer researchers have recently discovered, this doesn't need to be the case. Through extensive research on acrylic adhesives...
View ArticleHurricanes, flood insurance and the dangers of 'business as usual'
In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, it was reported that up to 80% of home damages were not insured. Insurance schemes are widely advocated as a means of...
View ArticleNew study analyses volcanic fatalities in more detail than ever before
Building on existing information and databases relating to volcanic fatalities, scientists from the University of Bristol have, for the first time, been able to classify victims by activity or...
View ArticleCities taking narrow approach to start adapting to climate change see benefits
As U.S. cities begin to plan to adapt to impacts from climate change, local decision makers face difficult choices about how to even get started.
View ArticleNumber of undiscovered near-Earth asteroids revised downward
Fewer large near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) remain to be discovered than astronomers thought, according to a new analysis by planetary scientist Alan W. Harris of MoreData! in La Canada, California. Harris...
View ArticleZircon as Earth's timekeeper: Are we reading the clock right?
Zircon crystals in igneous rocks must be carefully examined and not relied upon solely to predict future volcanic eruptions and other tectonic events, QUT researchers have shown.
View ArticleAgricultural groups challenge California weed-killer warning
A coalition of a dozen national and Midwestern agricultural groups sued on Wednesday to overturn a California decision that could force the popular weed-killer Roundup to carry warning labels that it...
View ArticleBrittle stars inspire new generation robots able to adapt to physical damage
Researchers at Tohoku University and Hokkaido University have, for the first time, succeeded in developing a robot capable of immediately adapting to unexpected physical damage. This is a significant...
View ArticleFracking and earthquakes—weighing up the dangers in South Africa
The South African government is looking into fracking to reduce the country's huge reliance on coal for energy. Fracking involves pumping high pressured fluids into rock formations to release reserves...
View ArticleArecibo radar returns with asteroid phaethon images
After several months of downtime after Hurricane Maria blew through, the Arecibo Observatory Planetary Radar has returned to normal operation, providing the highest-resolution images to date of...
View Article'Sniffing' out counterfeit liquors
Watered-down or fake liquors can reap financial rewards for nefarious individuals, but the adulteration of liquor cheats consumers and can even lead to health hazards from added contaminants....
View Article1.5 C climate goal 'very unlikely' but doable: draft UN report
The Paris Agreement goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius will slip beyond reach unless nations act now to slash carbon pollution, curb energy demand, and suck CO2 from the air,...
View ArticleDeadly California mudslides show the need for maps and zoning that better...
Scenic hill slopes can be inspiring – or deadly, as we are seeing after the disastrous debris flows that have ravaged the community of Montecito, California in the wake of heavy rains on Tuesday, Jan....
View ArticleAustralia's 'deadliest natural hazard'—what's your heatwave plan?
Heatwaves are Australia's deadliest natural hazard, but a recent survey has found that many vulnerable people do not have plans to cope with extreme heat.
View ArticleGlobal toll from landslides is heaviest in developing countries
This month's tragic mudslides in Montecito, California are a reminder that natural hazards lurk on the doorsteps of many U.S. homes, even in affluent communities. Similar events occur every year around...
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