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<DIV><FONT size=4>The current issue of <EM>Discover</EM> Magazine
contain a list of what they consider the 100 most important science
discoveries of 2006.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Below are two. The photos of the Muir
Glacier retreat are very sobering.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>W.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Top 8 Earth Science Stories of 2006</DIV></TD></TR>
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<TD class=arialBrown12><B></B></TD></TR>
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<TD class=arialBrown12>Global warming as hot topic, water worlds
under Antarctic ice, King Tut's alien heat source, and more</TD></TR>
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<TD class=arialBlack>DISCOVER Vol. 28 No. 01 | January 2007</TD></TR>
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<P align=left><B>4</B> <A
href="http://www.discover.com/issues/jan-07/features/earth-science/#4"><B>The
World Melts and the Masses Mobilize</B></A><BR><SPAN><SPAN>"Oops, something is
happening now, climate is changing really fast"...</SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P align=left><SPAN><B>20</B> <A
href="http://www.discover.com/issues/jan-07/features/earth-science/#20"><B>Global
Warming Leaves Its Marks</B></A><BR><SPAN><SPAN>Sixteen places where global
warming is apparent...</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN><SPAN><B><A
href="http://www.discover.com/issues/jan-07/features/earth-science/?page=2#21"></A></B></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P align=left><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><B>35</B> <A
href="http://www.discover.com/issues/jan-07/features/earth-science/?page=2#35"><B>Melting
Permafrost May Rev Up Global
Warming</B></A><BR><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN>Defrosting
could release nearly 1,000 gigatons of carbon and hasten global
warming...</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P align=left><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><B>52</B> <A
href="http://www.discover.com/issues/jan-07/features/earth-science/?page=2#52"><B>Storms
May Be Getting
Worse</B></A><BR><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN>Is
global warming leading to more extreme
weather?</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P align=left><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><B>61</B> <A
href="http://www.discover.com/issues/jan-07/features/earth-science/?page=2#61"><B>Ancient
Rain Settles Sierra's
Age</B></A><BR><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN>Geologists
settled a dispute over the age of the Sierra Nevada range by studying gravel
that was soaked with ancient
rainwater...</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P align=left><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><B>81</B> <A
href="http://www.discover.com/issues/jan-07/features/earth-science/?page=3#81"><B>Tut
Jewel Formed by Asteroid
Impact</B></A><BR><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN>The
central jewel in King Tutankhamen's pectoral gear may have been literally out of
this
world...</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P align=left><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><B>82</B> <A
href="http://www.discover.com/issues/jan-07/features/earth-science/?page=3#82"><B>Secret
Lakes Lie Under Polar
Ice</B></A><BR><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN>Scientists
have found evidence of subglacial lakes and rivers far under the surface of
Antarctica...</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P align=left><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><B>90</B> <A
href="http://www.discover.com/issues/jan-07/features/earth-science/?page=3#90"><B>Drillers
Tap into Foundation of Earth's
Crust</B></A><BR><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN><SPAN>Geologists
successfully drilled into the bottom layer of the ocean's crust for the first
time...</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<HR noShade SIZE=1>
<P><A name=4></A><B>4 The World Melts and the Masses Mobilize</B></P>
<P>
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<TD><IMG height=117 alt=""
src="http://www.discover.com/images/issues/jan-07/muirglacierbefore210.jpg"
width=210 border=0></TD></TR>
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<TD><IMG height=117 alt=""
src="http://www.discover.com/images/issues/jan-07/muirglaciernow211.jpg"
width=210 border=0><BR><I>When Muir Glacier in Alaska was photographed by
William Field in 1941 (top), parts of it were more than 200 feet thick.
Since then it has retreated more than 12 miles. A photograph taken at the
same spot by Bruce Molnia in 2004 (below) shows that the melted glacier's
once-barren banks are now covered with trees and other
vegetation.</I></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>With an almighty crash, a mass of rock
half the size of the Empire State Building dropped off the side of the Eiger
Mountain in Switzerland last July 13. Thousands of tourists had flocked to see
it fall, toasting its collapse with beer and cheers. Geologists had predicted
the plunge for weeks, citing the retreat of an underlying glacier that had held
the rock in place. Two days later, glaciologists at the University of Zurich
reported that the area covered by alpine glaciers had shrunk by 50 percent in
the past 150 years. They also predicted that if Earth's temperature rises by 5
degrees Fahrenheit, 80 percent of alpine glaciers will be gone by 2100. The loss
is more than cosmetic: The Alps supply a crucial source of water for irrigating
crops across Europe. "If they disappear," says study author Martin Hoelzle of
the University of Zurich, "a lot of people will realize, oops, something is
happening now, climate is changing really fast."</P>
<P>In 2006 signs of warming amassed so quickly that it was scarcely possible to
keep track of them. A major study of Greenland showed that the landmass lost 100
billion metric tons of ice between 2003 and 2005, a melt rate three times faster
than that seen five years ago and one that could be contributing to sea-level
rise. A separate report indicated that the rate of global sea-level rise had
accelerated during the 20th century; if it continues as predicted, by 2100 seas
will lap shores 12 inches higher than they did in 1990.</P>
<P>"Should we be worried about this? By all means," says geoscientist <A
href="http://www.princeton.edu/~step/people/oppenheimer.html"
target=_blank>Michael Oppenheimer</A> of Princeton University. "Partly because
you can't put the ice back once you lose it. The amount of warming that's
already built in the system would bring Earth's temperature close to what it was
when the sea level was 13 to 20 feet higher. If we don't act to cut emissions,
there may not be time left to avoid this outcome. It may be that we're very
close to the point where an irreversible and relatively rapid rise in sea level
will occur that's enough to obliterate coastal civilization as we know it."</P>
<P>There is little doubt these changes are human induced, as the Bush
administration-appointed federal Climate Change Science Program conceded in May.
The panel reported that the world is warming throughout the lower atmosphere, as
climate models had predicted, and acknowledged "clear evidence of human
influences on the climate system." A study in February reported that
heat-trapping greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, are being
released at a rate 30 times faster than they were during a well-studied climate
shift 55 million years ago that triggered an extreme period of warming. "It is
as clear as a bell that the rapid warming of the past 30 years is due to
increasing human-made greenhouse gases," says physicist James Hansen, director
of <A href="http://www.giss.nasa.gov/" target=_blank>NASA's Goddard Institute
for Space Studies</A> in New York and a leading authority on climate change.</P>
<P>Hansen has been warning about global warming since 1988, when he testified
before Congress on the cause-and-effect relationship between atmospheric
temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions. Nearly 20 years later, though, Hansen
faces challenges in being heard: Last January, in The New York Times, he accused
NASA of trying to censor his calls for reductions in heat-trapping gases. Since
then, he says he's had no problems speaking out. "However, that does not mean
that the [Bush] administration is paying attention to the implications of our
research," he says. "Indeed, they seem almost oblivious to it." </P>
<P>Given the overwhelming evidence, a few big names sounded the battle cry. Most
prominent was former Vice President Al Gore, whose documentary on climate
change, An Inconvenient Truth, grossed $24 million. Another movie, The Great
Warming, focused on evangelical Christian environmentalists, among them 86
church leaders who began urging Christians to fight global warming. Richard
Branson, the owner of Virgin Atlantic airlines, pledged $3 billion to combat
global warming by investing the money in the development of biofuels. And
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has overseen legislation that will
require the state to cut greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2020. </P>
<P>Perhaps the most telling sign that global warming has gone mainstream came in
October with the Weather Channel's launch of One Degree, a Web site whose
mission is "to present an open, balanced dialogue around the scientific facts
concerning global climate change." The site's name is drawn from the 1 degree
Fahrenheit the world has warmed in the past 30 years; as the Web site states,
"something so seemingly small as a single degree can change the world."</P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: right" align=right><I>Josie Glausiusz</I></P>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center>
<HR align=center width="100%" color=#9d9da1 noShade SIZE=1>
</DIV>
<P><B><A name=20><B></B></A>20 Global Warming Leaves Its Marks</B> </P>
<P>1. Africa: Ice fields on the mountains near the equator are shrinking and
could vanish within 20 years. </P>
<P>2. Alpine glaciers: The Alps could lose between 80 and 100 percent of their
glaciers by the end of this century. </P>
<P>3. Antarctica: Winter air temperatures over Antarctica have risen by more
than 2 degrees Celsius since the 1970s. </P>
<P>4. Greenland and Antarctica: 20 billion tons of water flows into oceans every
year because of runoff from ice sheets in these two polar areas. Greenland's ice
is now melting three times as quickly as it was just five years ago. </P>
<P>5. The Arctic: Giant cracks larger in total area than the British Isles
appeared in August in the Arctic sea ice. </P>
<P>6. Western United States: Large forest fires have occurred more frequently as
spring temperatures have increased. The dry season grew longer, and summers got
hotter. </P>
<P>7. Northern Bering Sea: Whales are moving farther north as temperatures warm.
</P>
<P>8. Sweden: The country plans to be the world's first oil-free economy within
15 years. </P>
<P>9. Britain: Scientists report that 80 percent of more than 300 animals
studied have extended the northern boundary of their habitats. Also, episodes of
extreme rain have become more frequent in parts of the United Kingdom over a
40-year period. </P>
<P>10. Europe: Spring arrives an average of six to eight days earlier than in
the 1970s. Seventy-eight percent of 542 plant species studied flowered and
fruited earlier in the year. Migratory birds were flying home to Northern Europe
earlier in time for the beginning of spring. </P>
<P>11. Northern Siberia: As lakes in the permafrost zone of northern Siberia
thaw, they are releasing methane—a potent greenhouse gas. The carbon in the
methane had been sequestered in the permafrost for more than 40,000 years. </P>
<P>12. Atlantic and Pacific oceans: Average sea surface temperatures in the
tropical Atlantic and Pacific oceans have risen by 1.2 and 0.58 degrees
Fahrenheit in the 20th century; the number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes
worldwide has nearly doubled over the past 35 years. </P>
<P>13. Pacific: The flow of air currents that fuels Pacific trade winds and
modulates the weather from South America to Southeast Asia may be weakening.
</P>
<P>14. South America: Glaciers in the region are melting so fast that some are
expected to disappear within 15–25 years. The resulting water shortage would
jeopardize people and food supplies in Colombia, Peru, Chile, Venezuela,
Ecuador, Argentina, and Bolivia. </P>
<P>15. Himalayas: Snow and ice cover in the eastern Himalayas has shrunk by
about 30 percent since the 1970s. The melt-off could cause flooding. </P>
<P>16. China: A November report predicts that the coal-powered, populous country
will surpass the United States in 2009 as the world's biggest emitter of
climate-warming carbon dioxide.</P></SPAN></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>