Environment – Page 125 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

New Study Reveals How Sensitive U.S. East Coast Regions May Be to Ocean Acidification

By Guest PostApril 1, 2013Environmentacidic, acidic environment, bicarbonate, buffer capacity, carbon dioxide, carbon in ocean, carbonate, carbonic acid, changes in acidity, chemical survey, CO2, co2 levels, coastal ocean acidification, continental scale, coral, corpus christi, dic, dissolved co2, dissolved inorganic carbon, florida strait, galveston, georgia, glaciers, gulf of maine, gulf of mexico, influx of co2, labrador sea, melting sea ice, middle atlantic bight, Mississippi, ocean acidification, offshore, oysters, pteropods, rik wanninkhof, robert h byrne, ronald h brown, snails, texas, total alkalinity, tsung hung peng, university of georgia, us east coast, water ph, whoi, wie jen huang, wie jun cai, xinping hu, zhaohui aleck wang

A continental-scale chemical survey in the waters of the eastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico is helping researchers determine how distinct bodies of water will resist changes in acidity. The study, which measures varying levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other forms of carbon in the ocean, was conducted by scientists from 11 institutions across the U.S. and was published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography.

“Before now, we haven’t had a very clear picture of acidification status on the east coast of the U.S.,” says Zhaohui ‘Aleck’ Wang, the study’s lead author and a chemical oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). “It’s important that we start to understand it, because increase in ocean acidity could deeply affect marine life along the coast and has important implications for people who rely on aquaculture and fisheries both commercially and recreationally.” (more…)

Proximity to Coal-Tar-Sealed Pavement Raises Risk of Cancer, Study Finds

By Guest PostMarch 28, 2013Environment, Healtharizona, asphalt pavement, barbara mahler, baylor university, benzoapyrene, california, canada, cancer, Chicago, coal tar, continental divide, csa, elevated risk, higher rates, hydrologis, pahs, peter van metre, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, sealant, sealcoat, spencer williams, texas, university in waco, usgs, volatilization

People living near asphalt pavement sealed with coal tar have an elevated risk of cancer, according to a study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. Much of this calculated excess risk results from exposures in children, age six or younger, to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the sealant.

“The increased cancer risk associated with coal-tar-sealed asphalt (CSA) likely affects a large number of people in the U.S. Our results indicate that the presence of coal-tar-based pavement sealants is associated with significant increases in estimated excess lifetime cancer risk for nearby residents,” said E. Spencer Williams, Ph.D., principal author of the study and Baylor University assistant research scientist at the Center for Reservoir and Aquatic Systems Research in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences. (more…)

Dead Forests Release Less Carbon Into Atmosphere Than Expected

By Guest PostMarch 25, 2013Environmentcarbon emission, carbon releasing respiration, dead forests, dead trees

Billions of trees killed in the wake of mountain pine beetle infestations, ranging from Mexico to Alaska, have not resulted in a large spike in carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, contrary to predictions, a UA-led study has found

Massive tree die-offs release less carbon into the atmosphere than previously thought, new research led by the University of Arizona suggests. (more…)

Protected areas successfully prevent deforestation in Amazon rainforest

By Guest PostMarch 22, 2013EnvironmentAmazon, amazon deforestation rates, Amazon rainforest, arun agrawal, betty moore foundation, brazilian amazon, christoph nolte, datasets, deforestation pressure, deforestation rates, human settlements, indigenous groups, kirsten m silvius, prevent deforestation, protected areas, reducing carbon emissions, reducing deforestation, remote sensing, snre, statistical analysis, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR — Strictly protected areas such as national parks and biological reserves have been more effective at reducing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest than protected zones that allow for controlled removal of trees and other natural resources.

In addition, protected areas established primarily to safeguard the rights and livelihoods of indigenous people performed especially well in places where deforestation pressures are high, two University of Michigan researchers and their colleagues determined. (more…)

UW students create, harvest fog in campus ‘hoop house’

By Guest PostMarch 20, 2013Education, Environmentben spencer, botany greenhouse, canadian, Chile, doug ewing, economic systems, fog, fog chamber, fog collectors, green space, greenhouse, harvesting water, hoop house, irrigation, low cost materials, mike schwindeller, non profit fogquest, peru, plant vineyards, plants, power washer, rain falls, shu kuei, spanish colonizer, susan bolton, university of washington, vines, water condenses

In the fog chamber, a thick cool mist rolls from one end to the other blurring glasses, wetting caps and coats and sending water dripping down the latest test panel.

University of Washington students have been testing low-cost materials capable of harvesting water from fog in a temporary “hoop house” next to the Botany Greenhouse. They create the fog with a specially adapted power washer and record how much water condenses and drips off various panels of low-cost materials, such as shade cloth. (more…)

Mending the Minnesota

By Guest PostMarch 16, 2013Environmentbasin, behavior, catastrophic flood, clean water, climate change, data, earth surface dynamics, ecology, efi foufoula georgiou, evolution, glacial deposits, jacques finlay, mending the minnesota, minnesota river, riverine systems, surface water runoff, thresholds, university of minnesota, utah state university, watershed, wsc

A study of its basin paves the way for cleaner water everywhere

The Minnesota River’s usually placid surface belies its status as a river —and a watershed—in need of help.

The river is naturally prone to heavy sediment loads. It runs through rich glacial deposits, in a channel carved by a catastrophic flood at the end of the last ice age, when a large lake formed by glacial meltwater gave way. (more…)

Remote Clouds Responsible for Climate Models’ Glitch in Tropical Rainfall

By Guest PostMarch 14, 2013EnvironmentAntarctica, atmospheric scientists, clouds, dargan frierson, equatorial africa, future pattern, global climate models, global climate predictions, Java, modern climate models, prediction, rain in zambia, rainfall, rainfall forecasts, rainfall patterns, shift, simulation of cloud, southern hemisphere, Southern Ocean, tropical island, tropical rainfall, university of washington, warmer ocean temperatures, yen ting hwang

It seems counterintuitive that clouds over the Southern Ocean, which circles Antarctica, would cause rain in Zambia or the tropical island of Java. But new research finds that one of the most persistent biases in global climate models – a phantom band of rainfall just south of the equator that does not occur in reality – is caused by poor simulation of the cloud cover thousands of miles farther to the south.

University of Washington atmospheric scientists hope their results help explain why global climate models mistakenly duplicate the inter-tropical convergence zone, a band of heavy rainfall in the northern tropics, on the other side of the equator. The study appears this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)

Antarctic and Arctic Insects Use Different Genetic Mechanisms to Cope With Lack of Water

By Guest PostMarch 13, 2013Environment, NatureAntarctic, antarctic midge, antarctic midge larvae, antarctic peninsula, anvers island, arctic circle, arctic insects, arctic springtail, belgica antarctica, coastal margins, collembola, cope, david denlinger, dry conditions, ecological niche, entomology, environmental ice, extreme ecosystems, folsomia candida, genetic mechanisms, genetics, genomic era, genomic revolution, genomic techniques, lack of water, liquid water, megaphorura arctica, national science foundation, nsf, oceans, ohio state university, peninsula region, polar arthropods, polar desert, polar environments, polar regions, risk of dehydration, sterile environments

Genomic techniques facilitate discovery that gene expression causes disparity

Although they live in similarly extreme ecosystems at opposite ends of the world, Antarctic insects appear to employ entirely different methods at the genetic level to cope with extremely dry conditions than their counterparts that live north of the Arctic Circle, according to National Science Foundation- (NSF) funded researchers.

Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers concluded, “Polar arthropods have developed distinct… mechanisms to cope with similar desiccating conditions.” (more…)

Category Archives: Environment