NSF's public investment in science, engineering, education and technology helps to create knowledge and sustain prosperity. Read here about the Internet, microbursts, Web browsers, extrasolar planets, and more... a panoply of discoveries and innovations that began with NSF support.

Page: Previous | Next (Showing: 1-30 of 41) | Search Discoveries

		Trail of Fire Leads to Less Snow, Threatened Water Resources Scientists study New Mexico's Rabbit Mountain, where forests burned in the 2011 Las Conchas fire Released  April 25, 2013
		Earth Week: The Search for White Gold--Snowmelt Thin snowpack puts ecosystems and water resources in critical condition Released  April 16, 2013
		Advances in Computational Research Transform Scientific Process and Discovery NSF-supported supercomputers enhance union between technology and the human mind Released  March 25, 2013
		El Yunque, Majestic Rocky Icon of Puerto Rico: Impervious to the Ravages of Time? Anvil-shaped promontory formed inside an ancient supervolcano Released  February 27, 2013
		High-Peak Creeks, Forest Fires and Landscape Erosion: Could They Be Linked? Colorado's Boulder Creek watershed: where rushing streams, raging blazes and the Rockies meet Released  January 14, 2013
		Science on the Graveyard Shift Discovering what gets buried and how Released  October 31, 2012
		A Tree Stands in the Sierra Nevada A coniferous view of the link between snowmelt and water supplies in the U.S. West Released  August 7, 2012
		Cry Me a River: Following a Watershed's Winding Path to Sustainability National Science Foundation "Water, Sustainability and Climate" award fosters new view of urban rivers, lakes Released  March 9, 2012
		The Snows of Mount Washington Climate and environmental change in the U.S. northeast corridor Released  March 2, 2012
		Biodiversity of Earth's Richest Plant Kingdom Under Fire In response to climate change, will a postage-sized-domain move uphill--and ultimately out of room? Released  January 27, 2012
		Can Marcellus Shale Gas Development and Healthy Waterways Sustainably Coexist? National Science Foundation Sustainability Research Coordination Network is Providing Answers Released  December 9, 2011
		The Earth Exploration Toolbook Wins SPORE Award Online resource for teachers and students provides data and data analysis tools related to the Earth sciences Released  October 3, 2011
		Relationship Found Between Ancient Climate Change and Mass Extinction Researchers use a ground-breaking technique that reveals a relationship between cooler temperatures and Earth's second largest mass extinction, which occurred about 450 million years ago Released  February 17, 2011
		Superorganisms Are More Than the Sum of Their Parts Studying ants to find out how colony size affects patterns of behavior and energy use Released  January 25, 2011
		Mystery Behind Weak Earthquake Faults Solved Chris Marone and Cristiano Collettini on their research team's work to find out why low-angle, normal faults slip Released  April 9, 2010
		When Glaciers Melt, What's in the Water? Measuring the movement of nutrients in Alaska's glacial streams is a "hot topic" for an NSF-supported research team Released  March 17, 2010
		Better Prediction Sought for Devastating Floods Research on the geophysical aspects of flooding could be key to developing new, real-time flood warning and forecasting systems Released  September 3, 2009
		Permafrost Could Be Climate's Ticking Time Bomb Researchers conduct fieldwork to track permafrost melting in Alaska and gain insight about the release of carbon into the atmosphere Released  August 5, 2009
		Life Underground Critical to Earth's Ecosystems Scientists travel 'down the rabbit hole' for new view of subterranean biodiversity Released  July 29, 2009
		Caves Reveal Evolution of Ancient Microbes Jenn Macalady's geomicrobiology group is discovering the rules that enable microbes living in dark, oxygen-free environments to adapt and evolve Released  March 27, 2009
		Taking the Pulse of the Forest Michael Loranty describes 'wiring' a forest for research to determine how much water the trees use Released  March 18, 2009
		2008: Year in Review A look back at some of the NSF-supported advances and activities that made news last year Released  March 13, 2009
		Volcanoes, Not Asteroid, May Have Taken Out the Dinosaurs New theory of dinosaurs’ demise looks to India Released  December 8, 2008
		The Bizarre Creatures of Madagascar Paleontologist David Krause describes his search for the ancestors of mammals that live in Madagascar today Released  September 24, 2008
		Crumbling Walls of Ancient Chesapeake Bay Crater Threaten Regional Groundwater Supplies Saltwater intrusion into collapsing crater also allows microbes to flourish Released  August 12, 2008
		Long Wait Before Next China Quake? May 12 earthquake rare and unexpected, geologists discover Released  July 10, 2008
		Fossil Feathers Preserve Evidence of Color Organic material reveals remnants of color pigments Released  July 10, 2008
		Hunt for Fossils Finds Warning for Warming Earth Graduate student Ellen Currano provides a glimpse of paleontological fieldwork, describing how she collects fossil leaves for research studying the effects of climate change on plants and insect herbivores Released  May 27, 2008
		2007: Year in Review A look back at some of the NSF-supported advances and activities reported last year Released  January 30, 2008
		Risky Science at the Top of the World Geology Professor Anne Sheehan recounts obstacles faced doing research in Nepal in September 2001 Released  January 2, 2008