Environment – Page 169 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

HIMB Scientists Develop Website to Aid with Climate Change Research

By Guest PostNovember 5, 2011Environment, Nature, Scienceanemones, climate change, coral reef ecosystems, corals, erik franklin, flagellate protozoa, genbank, geographic details of the symbiodinium records, geospatial visualization, geosymbio, geosymbio application, google apps, google sites, hawaii institute of marine biology, himb, hollie putnam, hybrid web application, interactive global map of corals, jellyfish, marine organisms, michael stat, national center for ecological analysis and synthesis, nceas, photosynthetic dinoflagellates, ruth gates, symbiodinium, symbiodinium ecology, symbiotic zooxanthellae, taxonomic description, tim mcclanahan, tropical coral reefs, uh manoa, uni cellular, xavier pochon, zooxanthellae

A team of researchers from UH Mānoa’s Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) has developed an interactive global map of corals and zooxanthellae, commonly known as flagellate protozoa, as part of a hybrid web application titled GeoSymbio. This application provides global-scale biological and ecosystem information on symbiotic zooxanthellae called Symbiodinium, which are uni-cellular, photosynthetic dinoflagellates that live inside the cells of other marine organisms like anemones, jellyfish and corals.

The GeoSymbio application provides the genetic identification and taxonomic description of over 400 distinct Symbiodinium subclades or genetic lineages in invertebrate hosts that have been sampled from a variety of marine habitats, thereby providing a wealth of information for symbiosis researchers in a single online location. By utilizing Google Apps, the team was able to develop this web-based tool to discover, explore, visualize and share data in a rapid, cost-effective and engaging manner. (more…)

Link Between Air Pollution and Cyclone Intensity in Arabian Sea

By Guest PostNovember 5, 2011Environmentabcs, aerosol, air pollution, amato evan, anjuli bamzai, arabian sea, arabian sea cyclones, atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns, atmospheric brown clouds, atmospheric concentrations of pollutants, biomass, chul eddy chung, climate, climatological vertical wind shear, cyclone gonu, cyclone phet, diesel emissions, gujarat, gulf of oman, gwangju institute of science and technology, himalayan glacial melting, India, iran, james p kossin, lpg fuel, monsoon season, national science foundation, oman, Pakistan, pollution, rainfall patterns in south asia, scripps institution of oceanography, sea surface temperatures, south korea, storms, university of virginia, veerabhadran ramanathan, wind shear patterns

*Disruption of wind shear enables stronger storms*

Pollution is making Arabian Sea cyclones more intense, according to a study in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.

Traditionally, prevailing wind shear patterns prohibit cyclones in the Arabian Sea from becoming major storms.

The Nature paper suggests that weakening winds have enabled the formation of stronger cyclones in recent years–including storms in 2007 and 2010 that were the first recorded storms to enter the Gulf of Oman. (more…)

Flash Forward 100 Years: Climate Change Scenarios in California’s Bay-Delta

By Guest PostNovember 3, 2011Environmentchinook salmon, climate change, ecosystem, endangered delta smelt, farmland, fish and wildlife service, francis parchaso, frequency of winter flooding, global climate change, irrigation water, james cloern, marcia mcnutt, native species, noaa, rising sea level, salinity, sea-level rise, state of california, temperature, the delta, warming scenarios

USGS scientists and academic colleagues investigated how California’s interconnected San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (the Bay-Delta system) is expected to change from 2010 to 2099 in response to both fast and moderate climate warming scenarios. Results indicate that this area will feel impacts of global climate change in the next century with shifts in its biological communities, rising sea level, and modified water supplies.

“The protection of California’s Bay-Delta system will continue to be a top priority for maintaining the state’s agricultural economy, water security to tens of millions of users, and essential habitat to a valuable ecosystem,” said USGS Director Marcia McNutt. “This new USGS research complements ongoing initiatives to conserve the Bay-Delta by providing sound scientific understanding for managing this valuable system such that it continues to provide the services we need in the face of climate uncertainty.” (more…)

Prehistoric Greenhouse Data from Ocean Floor Could Predict Earth’s Future, MU Study Finds

By Guest PostOctober 29, 2011Environmenta jimenez berrocoso, atlantic ocean temperatures, atmosphere, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, biosphere, c basak, circulation in the deep ocean, circulation patterns, climate, e e martin, element, fish teeth and bones, geological climate cycles, greenhouse climate, greenhouse climate on earth, isaza londono, kenneth macleod, late cretaceous epoch, late cretaceous greenhouse interval, modern increases in greenhouse gases, natural tracking system for water masses, neodymium, ocean floor, oceans, salty water mass, south atlantic, tropical atlantic, university of missouri

*Evidence of water mass moving south 70 million years ago shows how warmth was distributed*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – New research from the University of Missouri indicates that Atlantic Ocean temperatures during the greenhouse climate of the Late Cretaceous Epoch were influenced by circulation in the deep ocean. These changes in circulation patterns 70 million years ago could help scientists understand the consequences of modern increases in greenhouse gases.

“We are examining ocean conditions from several past greenhouse climate intervals so that we can understand better the interactions among the atmosphere, the oceans, the biosphere, and climate,” said Kenneth MacLeod, professor of geological sciences in the College of Arts and Science. “The Late Cretaceous Epoch is a textbook example of a greenhouse climate on earth, and we have evidence that a northern water mass expanded southwards while the climate was cooling. At the same time, a warm, salty water mass that had been present throughout the greenhouse interval disappeared from the tropical Atlantic.” (more…)

Suggested Explanation for Glowing Seas–Including Currently Glowing California Seas

By Guest PostOctober 20, 2011Environment, Scienceabundance of protons, bioluminescence, blue flashes, california waters, channels in membranes, coastal california waters, dinoflagellates, electrical events, electrical impulses, Environment, j woodland hastings, luciferase, marine environments, mechanical stimulation, organism, potential mechanism for bioluminescence, produce toxins, protein, scintillons, unicellular plankton, vacuole, voltage gated proton channels

*Potential mechanism for dazzling blue flashes of light in oceans identified*

It has long been known that spectacular blue flashes–a type of bioluminescence–that are visible at night in some marine environments (currently including coastal California waters) are caused by tiny, unicellular plankton known as dinoflagellates. However, a new study has, for the first time, detailed the potential mechanism for this bioluminescence.

The study, which was partially funded by the National Science Foundation, is reported by Susan Smith of Emory School of Medicine, Thomas DeCoursey of Rush University Medical Center and colleagues in the Oct. 17, 2011 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). (more…)

Poll: Americans Believe U.S. Headed in Wrong Direction on Energy

By Guest PostOctober 19, 2011Environmentenergy management, energy producers, energy saving alternatives, energy users

AUSTIN, Texas — A poll released today by The University of Texas at Austin found less than 14 percent of Americans think the country is headed in the right direction on energy. Of more than 3,400 consumers surveyed, 84 percent were worried about U.S. consumption of oil from foreign sources and 76 percent about a lack of progress in developing better ways to use energy efficiently and develop renewable sources. (more…)

U.S. Rivers and Streams Saturated With Carbon

By Guest PostOctober 19, 2011Environmentatmosphere, carbon cycling, carbon dioxide, climate, coastal waterways, david butman, efflux of carbon dioxide, gasoline, global scales, henry gholz, national science foundation, nsf, peter raymond, rivers and streams in the united states, source of atmospheric carbon dioxide

*Significant amount of carbon in land is leaking into streams and rivers, then to the atmosphere*

Rivers and streams in the United States are releasing substantially more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than previously thought.

This according to researchers publishing their results in the current issue of the journal Nature Geoscience. (more…)

Links in the Chain: Global Carbon Emissions and Consumption

By Guest PostOctober 19, 2011Environmentburning fuels, carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon-based fuels, carnegie institution for science, earth’s atmosphere, fossil energy resources, gross domestic product, ken caldeira, national academy of sciences, natural gas, steven davis

Washington, D.C. — It is difficult to measure accurately each nation’s contribution of carbon dioxide to the Earth’s atmosphere. Carbon is extracted out of the ground as coal, gas, and oil, and these fuels are often exported to other countries where they are burned to generate the energy that is used to make products. In turn, these products may be traded to still other countries where they are consumed. A team led by Carnegie’s Steven Davis, and including Ken Caldeira, tracked and quantified this supply chain of global carbon dioxide emissions. Their work will be published online by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of October 17. (more…)

Category Archives: Environment