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"Greenland's Melting Ice One of the world's frigid landscapes is losing a lot of its ice. "

Science 8 July 2011: Vol. 333 no. 6039 pp. 173-175 Galaxy Zoo Volunteers Share Pain and Glory of Research 1. Daniel Clery A project to "crowdsource" galactic classifications has paid off in ways the astronomers who started it never expected. Figure View larger version: * In this page * In a new window Space oddity. Greenish "voorwerp" spotted by a Dutch volunteer still intrigues scientists. "CREDIT: NASA, ESA, W. KEEL (UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA), AND THE GALAXY ZOO TEAM" The automated surveys that are becoming increasingly common in astronomy are producing an embarrassment of riches for researchers. Projects such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) are generating so much data that, in some cases, astronomers don't know what to do with them all. SDSS has compiled a list of more than 1 million galaxies. To glean information about galaxy evolution, however, astronomers need to know what type of galaxy each one is: spiral, barred spiral, elliptical, or something else. At present, the only reliable way to classify galaxies is to look at each one. But the SDSS list is so long that all the world's astronomers working together couldn't muster enough eyeballs for the task. Enter the "wisdom of crowds." An online effort called Galaxy Zoo, launched in 2007, set a standard for citizen-scientist participation projects. Zealous volunteers astonished the project's organizers by classifying the entire catalog years ahead of schedule. The results have brought real statistical rigor to a field used to samples too small to support firm conclusions. But that's not all. Buoyed by the curiosity and dedication of the volunteers, the Galaxy Zoo team went on to ask more-complicated classification questions that led to studies they hadn't thought possible. And in an online discussion forum on the Galaxy Zoo Web site, volunteers have pointed to anomalies that on closer inspection have turned out to be genuinely new astronomical objects. "I'm incredibly impres

search for "sea level rise"

"Fleeting Beaches The famous beaches of Southern California could disappear if sea levels continue to rise."

"Arctic Meltdown A new report says the Arctic is warming faster than previously thought, and the entire world will feel the heat."

"Saltwater Intrusion at the Shore Rising sea levels might leave coastal residents with a salty taste in their mouth."

"An Accelerating Problem A glacier speeds up unexpectedly and scientists pay attention to it. "

"Ice-Cold Sheets A warmer climate could put one of the world's biggest ice cubes in the drink. "

"On the Rise A new report from the United Nations says the Earth is getting warmer faster than people once thought, and that sea levels are expected to rise. "

"Rising Waters Scientists worry as huge glaciers melt into the sea."