Deep in cracks of hot undersea volcanoes, microbes inhale hydrogen and carbon dioxide and exhale methane. They might help scientists understand life beyond Earth.

Undersea vehicle Alvin extends its mechanical arm to a high-temperature black smoker in the ocean depths. This image is from what scientists call the Endeavor Segment, at the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the Pacific Ocean Image via Bruce Strickrott/WHOI.

Image Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Satellite images show big changes happening to Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., where freshwater meets the sea. EarthSky spoke about it with Peter Claggett, a research geographer with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Eastern Geographic Science Center. Claggett’s team tracks changes in Chesapeake Bay using data from the Landsat program of Earth-observing satellites.

Photo credit: epSos.de

Our mix of energy choices today is in a state of transition, from a system based on cheap oil and coal to a broader energy spectrum. Science and technology have a big role to play in our energy future by addressing inefficiencies in the ways we find, process and use energy, and by finding innovative ways of scaling up successful energy systems.

Scott Tinker is the Director of the Bureau of Economic Geology at the Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas, Austin. He worked in the oil and gas industry for 17 years in research, exploration, and development, prior to coming to The University of Texas in 2000. He told EarthSky that future energy choices will likely be based on both economic realities and environmental concerns.

A simple model of CO₂ injection. Image courtesy Susan Hovorka

In a world that is getting warmer, scientists are studying a technique known as carbon capture and storage to prevent the release of the greenhouse gas CO₂ into Earth’s atmosphere from coal-burning power plants and other industries. The idea is to capture the CO₂ (carbon dixoide), and pump it underground.

But where on Earth can CO₂ from power plants be stored underground? And is the process safe and effective? Researcher Susan Hovorka of the University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology has studied many sites on Earth for their potential for carbon storage. She talked with EarthSky about the latest science on this emerging technology.

Image courtesy Emily Bernhardt.

Surface mining for coal – which can include including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining – has been widely scrutinized for its potential impacts on water quality, animal development and the health of plants along rivers and streams. Duke University’s Emily Bernhardt and her colleagues have recently published several high-profile papers that are providing cutting-edge science to help inform the debate about mountaintop mining for coal. EarthSky blogger Benjamin D. Duval had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Bernhardt to understand how mining impacts river ecosystems, the policy implications of this research, and about what can be done to restore Appalachian landscapes degraded by coal mining.