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WHOI Study Reports Microbes Consumed Oil in Gulf Slick at Unexpected Rates

By Guest PostAugust 4, 2011Environmentbacterial microbes, benjamin van mooy, bethanie edwards, breaking down the oil slick, catherine a carmichael, christopher m reddy, deepwater horizon spill, dilution, dispersion, evaporation, gulf of mexico, gulf waters, krista longnecker, largest oil spill in history, macondo well, metabolic potential, microbes, new cells, nitrogen, nutrients, oil consumption by the microbes, oxygen levels in water samples, oxygen optode, oxygen to create carbon dioxide and energy, phosphorus, richard camilli, sensor, state of the art methods, surface oil slick, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution

More than a year after the largest oil spill in history, perhaps the dominant lingering question about the Deepwater Horizon spill is, “What happened to the oil?” Now, in the first published study to explain the role of microbes in breaking down the oil slick on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers have come up with answers that represent both surprisingly good news and a head-scratching mystery.

In research scheduled to be published in the Aug. 2 online edition of Environmental Research Letters, the WHOI team studied samples from the surface oil slick and surrounding Gulf waters. They found that bacterial microbes inside the slick degraded the oil at a rate five times faster than microbes outside the slick—accounting in large part for the disappearance of the slick some three weeks after Deepwater Horizon’s Macondo well was shut off. (more…)

Exeter Scientists Grow Plants with Friendly Fungi

By Guest PostAugust 1, 2011Environmentclimate change, drought tolerance, friendly fungi, higher food prices, plant growth, strain of trichoderma

The lack of rainfall and higher-than-average temperatures in spring 2011 were predicted to hit harvests, leading to higher food prices.

Climate change may mean that these dry and hot conditions will become more common in the UK, so researchers are looking at ways to make plants more tolerant of dry spells. (more…)

UF Study Shows Tundra Fires Could Accelerate Climate Warming

By Guest PostJuly 31, 2011Environmentanaktuvuk river fire, arctic carbon cycle, arctic fires, arctic tundra, atmosphere, atmospheric carbon dioxide, canada, carbon, city of miami, ecologist, ecosystem ecology, global climate, global climate warming, greenhouse gases, michelle mack, Nature, north slope of alaska brooks range, organic matter, permafrost, radiocarbon dating, russia, smoke, soil bound carbon, ted schuur, terry chapin, tundra, university of alaska, university of florida, wildfires

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After a 10,000-year absence, wildfires have returned to the Arctic tundra, and a University of Florida study shows that their impact could extend far beyond the areas blackened by flames.

In a study published in the July 28 issue of the journal Nature, UF ecologist Michelle Mack and a team of scientists including fellow UF ecologist Ted Schuur quantified the amount of soil-bound carbon released into the atmosphere in the 2007 Anaktuvuk River fire, which covered more than 400 square miles on the North Slope of Alaska’s Brooks Range. The 2.1 million metric tons of carbon released in the fire — roughly twice the amount of greenhouse gases put out by the city of Miami in a year — is significant enough to suggest that Arctic fires could impact the global climate, said Mack, an associate professor of ecosystem ecology in UF’s department of biology. (more…)

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Advanced Imaging Lab Assists in Location of Thunder Bay Shipwrecks

By Guest PostJuly 30, 2011Environment, Scienceadvanced imaging and visualization lab, aivl, bill lange, evan kovacs, expedition, exploration of historic wrecks, lake huron, marine archaeologists, national oceanic and atmospheric association, noaa, project shiphunt, remotely operated vehicles, rov, shipwrecks, sony 3d hd stereoscopic imaging systems, sony vaio computers, steel freighter etruria, the brittanic, the interseas explorer, the laurentian, the schooner m f merrick, the titanic, thunder bay wrecks, underwater led and hid lighting systems, uss arizona, woods hole oceanographic institution

When a group of five high school students embarked on Project Shiphunt, an expedition in search of lost shipwrecks, in May in Lake Huron, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab (AIVL) was there, surveying and capturing 3D footage of the finds. The work was conducted as part of Project Shiphunt, an initiative developed by Sony and Intel Corp and led by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).

“It was gratifying to be a part of a project that engages kids in the excitement of exploration and discovery,” said Bill Lange, director of AIVL. Lange led a crew of videographers, divers and pilots of two remotely operated vehicles (ROV) during the expedition. “Our Sony cameras gave the students the ability to have that experience in real time and in some cases to direct the cameras to investigate specific features of the wreck. The high-definition footage we collected will be invaluable to scientists and marine archaeologists working to learn from the wrecks.” (more…)

WHOI Announces 2011 Ocean Science Journalism Fellows

By Guest PostJuly 28, 2011Environmentcoastline change, fellowship program, ice sheet dynamics, ocean engineering, ocean science journalism, science journalists, seafloor earthquakes

Ten writers and multimedia science journalists from the U.S., Canada, France, Great Britain and South Korea have been selected to participate in the competitive Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Ocean Science Journalism Fellowship program. (more…)

Farmers More Likely to be Green if They Talk to Their Neighbors

By Guest PostJuly 28, 2011Environmentenvironmental behavior, global environmental sustainability, grain-to-green program, harvard university, journal ecological modeling, michigan state university, NASA, plant and harvest, reenroll their land, rural chinese neighbors, san diego state university, southwestern china, systems integration and sustainability, wolong nature reserve, xiaodong chen

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Besides helping each other plant and harvest, rural Chinese neighbors also influence each other’s environmental behavior – farmers are more likely to reenroll their land in a conservation program if they talk to their neighbors about it.

Scientists from Michigan State University’s Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability used a simulation model to study the amount of land farmers in the Wolong Nature Reserve in southwestern China re-enrolled in the Grain-to-Green Program, which aims to reduce soil erosion by converting sloping cropland to forest or grassland. Farmers receive an annual payment of either 5,000 pounds of grain or $498 for each 2.5 acres enrolled in the program. In 2005, this was about 8 percent of the farmers’ income. (more…)

Researchers Find Potential Key for Unlocking Biomass Energy

By Guest PostJuly 24, 2011Environment, Sciencebiofuel, bruce dale, cellulose, corn leaves, economically viable, energy potential, enzymes, ethanol, great lakes bioenergy research center, michigan state university, non edible biomass, plant cells, ratio of ammonia, renewable energy, shishir chundawat, stalks, switch grass, toxic chemicals

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Pretreating non-edible biomass – corn leaves, stalks or switch grass – holds the keys for unlocking its energy potential and making it economically viable, according to a team of researchers led by Michigan State University.

Shishir Chundawat, a postdoctoral researcher, and Bruce Dale, professor of chemical engineering and materials science, of MSU led a team of researchers in identifying a potential pretreatment method that can make plant cellulose five times more digestible by enzymes that convert it into ethanol, a useful biofuel. The research was supported by the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, a partnership between the University of Wisconsin and MSU and published in the current issue of Journal of the American Chemical Society. (more…)

Identical Virus, Host Populations Can Prevail for Centuries, WHOI Researcher Reports

By Guest PostJuly 23, 2011Environmentalgal host cells, ancient plankton, black sea sediments, dna of viruses, dna signatures, geological records, host dynamics

A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientist, analyzing ancient plankton DNA signatures in sediments of the Black Sea, has found for the first time that the same genetic populations of a virus and its algal host can persist and coexist for centuries. The findings have implications for the ecological significance of viruses in shaping algae ecosystems in the ocean, and perhaps fresh water as well. (more…)

Category Archives: Environment