NEWS NOTES

February 2000

News and trends in the geosciences for February 2000:

• Bacteria in Lake Vostok Beneath Antarctica's Vostok Station lies one of the last oases for life on Earth still unexplored: subglacial Lake Vostok.
• Freeze-fry from the snowball Earth  The theory that  Earth experienced Neoproterozoic glaciations that covered the planet from the poles to the tropics finds renewed support.
• Evidence for a methane burp Could an undersea landslide have resulted in the release of enough methane to significantly contribute to the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum warming event?
• HELP for water resources A new research intitiative led by the United Nations will establish a worldwide, remote-sensing monitoring system to help prepare areas that could experience droughts.
• Killer snores of sleeping giants  A steep-sided stratovolcano standing a mile above it's surroundings that has never collapsed is a rare find -- should man heed warning signs of collapse more seriously?
• Mountain winds take off  Coastal weather can be strongly affected by high, broad mountains with steep windward slopes, according to scientists at the national Center for Atmospheric Research.
• New Waves in the Digital Future  NSF and NASA will fund the Digital Library for Earth System Education.
• Field NotesBrief notes about ongoing research in the geosciences.