(University of Calgary) Researchers have discovered a new culprit likely involved in Earth’s greatest extinction event: an influx of mercury into the ecosystem.

(University of Calgary) Researchers have discovered a new culprit likely involved in Earth’s greatest extinction event: an influx of mercury into the ecosystem.

(University of Calgary) Researchers have discovered a new culprit likely involved in Earth’s greatest extinction event: an influx of mercury into the ecosystem.

(Geological Society of America) Where on Earth is it like Mars? How were the Apollo astronauts trained to be geologists on the Moon? Are volcanoes on Earth just like the ones on other planets? The exploration of our solar system begins in our own backyard. Discoveries on other planetary bodies cannot always be easily explained. Therefore, geologic sites on this planet are used to better understand the extraterrestrial worlds we explore with humans, robots, and satellites.

(Iowa State University) NASA’s Kepler Mission has helped astronomers discover two Earth-sized planets that survived their star’s red-giant expansion. The discovery is published in the Dec. 22 edition of the journal Nature.

(University of Arizona) Two Earth-sized planets have been discovered around a dying star that has passed the red giant stage. The discovery, published in Nature, marks the first known case of planets surviving being engulfed by their parent star and may shed new light on the destiny of stellar and planetary systems, including our solar system.

(NOAA Headquarters) NOAA scientists plumbed the deep ocean, probed the heights of the stratosphere, and surveyed some of the fiercest storm systems on Earth in meeting 2011′s scientific challenges. Their discoveries are paying off in longer storm warning lead times, better understanding of our climate, and new knowledge about environmental disasters.

(Geological Society of America) Where on Earth is it like Mars? How were the Apollo astronauts trained to be geologists on the Moon? Are volcanoes on Earth just like the ones on other planets? The exploration of our solar system begins in our own backyard. Discoveries on other planetary bodies cannot always be easily explained. Therefore, geologic sites on this planet are used to better understand the extraterrestrial worlds we explore with humans, robots, and satellites.

(NOAA Headquarters) NOAA scientists plumbed the deep ocean, probed the heights of the stratosphere, and surveyed some of the fiercest storm systems on Earth in meeting 2011′s scientific challenges. Their discoveries are paying off in longer storm warning lead times, better understanding of our climate, and new knowledge about environmental disasters.

(American Geophysical Union) Featured in this release are research papers on the following topics: “Cassini data shows Saturn moon may affect planet’s magnetosphere,” “Using Loch Ness to track the tilt of the world,” “Alaskan lake bed cores show expanding Arctic shrubs may slow erosion,” “Evaluating the energy balance of Saturn’s moon Titan,” “A new way to measure Earth’s magnetosphere,” and “Waves triggered by lightning leak out of Earth’s atmosphere.”