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Yellowstone’s Electrical Conductivity Hints Volcano Plume is Bigger Than Thought

By Guest PostApril 11, 2011Environmentcataclysmic caldera, central processing unit, cpu, ct scan, earthquake waves, electrical conductivity, geoelectric image, geophysicists, giant crater, hotspot, michael zhdanov, molten rock, plume, robert smith, salt lake city, seismic waves, volcanic ash, volcanically active area, yellowstone, yellowstone plume, yellowstone supervolcano, yellowstone volcano, yellowstone volcano observatory

WASHINGTON — Geophysicists have made the first large-scale picture of the electrical conductivity of the gigantic underground plume of hot and partly molten rock that feeds the Yellowstone supervolcano. The image suggests that the plume beneath the volcanically active area—renowned today for geysers and hot springs—is even bigger than it appears in earlier images made with earthquake waves.

“It’s like comparing ultrasound and MRI in the human body; they are different imaging technologies,” says geophysics Professor Michael Zhdanov of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Zhdanov is principal author of the new study and an expert on measuring magnetic and electrical fields on Earth’s surface to find oil, gas, minerals and geologic structures underground. (more…)

Researchers Report Potential for a Moderate New England ‘Red Tide’ in 2011

By Guest PostApril 10, 2011Environmentalexandrium fundyense, alexandrium germination, cyst, darcie couture, dennis mcgillicuddy, don anderson, ecomon, ecosystem monitoring program, gomtox, gulf of maine, gulf of maine toxicity, jane lubchenco, new england shellfish industry, new hampshire coasts, noaa, paralytic shellfish poisoning, psp, psp toxicity, red tides, ruoying he, shellfish beds, stacy knapp, toxic alga, toxicity

*Bloom could be suppressed by changes in ocean conditions in the Gulf of Maine*

Scientists from the NOAA-funded Gulf of Maine Toxicity (GOMTOX) project issued an outlook for a moderate regional bloom of a toxic alga that can cause ‘red tides’ in the spring and summer of this year, potentially threatening the New England shellfish industry. However, there are signs this year’s bloom could be suppressed by recent changes in ocean conditions in the Gulf of Maine.

An abundant seed population in bottom sediments has set the stage for a moderate bloom of the toxic alga Alexandrium fundyense. This organism swims in the water, and divides again and again to form a “bloom” or red tide, but it also produces dormant cells or cysts that fall to the ocean bottom at the end of these blooms where they remain until they germinate the next year to restart the process. (more…)

Glaciers Contributing To Faster Sea-Level Rise

By Guest PostApril 9, 2011Environmentglaciers, industrial revolution, little ice age, mountain glaciers, neil glasser, outlet glaciers, patagonian icefields, sea-level rise, south america, stephan harrison

Melting mountain glaciers are contributing to sea-level rise faster than at any time in the last 350 years, according to new research published in Nature Geoscience.

A research team from the University of Exeter, Aberystwyth University, and Stockholm University undertook a survey of the 270 largest outlet glaciers of the South and North Patagonian Icefields of South America. (more…)

Some People’s Climate Beliefs Shift with Weather

By Guest PostApril 8, 2011Culture, Environmentatmospheric mechanisms, australia, clean air, climate, conservatives, cool planet, day, democrats, earth science, global warming, human influenced climate change, manmade global warming, political belief, political liberals, public opinion, republicans, social scientists, temperature, united states, weather, ye li

*Study shows daily malleability on a long-term question*

Social scientists are struggling with a perplexing earth-science question: as the power of evidence showing manmade global warming is rising, why do opinion polls suggest public belief in the findings is wavering? Part of the answer may be that some people are too easily swayed by the easiest, most irrational piece of evidence at hand: their own estimation of the day’s temperature.

In three separate studies, researchers affiliated with Columbia University’s Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED) surveyed about 1,200 people in the United States and Australia, and found that those who thought the current day was warmer than usual were more likely to believe in and feel concern about global warming than those who thought the day was unusually cold. A new paper describing the studies appears in the current issue of the journal Psychological Science. (more…)

Biodiversity improves water quality in streams through a division of labor

By Guest PostApril 7, 2011Environmentbiodiversity, biologically diverse streams, bradley cardinal, chesapeake bay, darwin, Environment, flow conditions, great lakes, model streams, molded plastic, natural streams, nitrate, nutrient pollutant, pollutant filters, pollutants

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Biologically diverse streams are better at cleaning up pollutants than less rich waterways, and a University of Michigan ecologist says he has uncovered the long-sought mechanism that explains why this is so.

Bradley Cardinale used 150 miniature model streams, which use recirculating water in flumes to mimic the variety of flow conditions found in natural streams. He grew between one and eight species of algae in each of the mini-streams, then measured each algae community’s ability to soak up nitrate, a nitrogen compound that is a nutrient pollutant of global concern. (more…)

‘Wicked Weed of The West’ Waning With Effect of Weevils, Other Nontoxic Remedies, Cu Finds

By Guest PostApril 4, 2011Environmentalfalfa, biocontrols, david knochel, eurasia, floral wmd, knapweed, parcel of land, plants, species, spotted knapweed, spruce gulch, tim seastedt, united states, weed of mass destruction, weevils, wicked weed of the west

It’s not often that plants are described as diabolical, but spotted knapweed has that rare distinction. A 2004 issue of Smithsonian magazine, for instance, dubbed it the “wicked weed of the West,” a “national menace” and a “weed of mass destruction.”

Such reports were overstated and incorrect, but the press wasn’t making this stuff up. It was summarizing research results published in leading academic journals. (more…)

2,000 Year-old Deep-sea Black Corals call Gulf of Mexico Home

By Guest PostApril 1, 2011Environmentagainst suffering, anthoza, antipatharia, black coral trees, black corals, coral reefs, corals, deep sea black corals, deep sea coral reef ecosystems, delaware, discover expedition, ecosystem, environmental change, glabberima, greek roots, gulf of mexico, hawaii, johnson sea link, leiopathes, marine ecology, maryland, nancy prouty, organic matter, sea floor, skeletons, symbiotic algae

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — For the first time, scientists have been able to validate the age of deep-sea black corals in the Gulf of Mexico. They found the Gulf is home to 2,000 year-old deep-sea black corals, many of which are only a few feet tall.

These slow-growing, long-living animals thrive in very deep waters—300 meters (984 feet) and deeper—yet scientists say they are sensitive to what is happening in the surface ocean as well as on the sea floor. (more…)

Bats Worth Billions to Agriculture: Pest-control Services at Risk

By Guest PostMarch 31, 2011Environmentagriculture, bat populations, bats, costs of pesticide applications, ecological systems, economic consequences, gary mccracken, insect eating bats, justin boyles, lung damage, migratory bats, new york, paul cryan, pest control, pressure changes, the great plains, tom kunz, united states, university of pretoria, university of tennessee, white nose syndrome, wind turbines

Pest-control services provided by insect-eating bats in the United States likely save the U.S. agricultural industry at least $3 billion a year, and yet insectivorous bats are among the most overlooked economically important, non-domesticated animals in North America, according to an analysis published in this week’s Science magazine Policy Forum.

“People often ask why we should care about bats,” said Paul Cryan, a U.S. Geological Survey research scientist and one of the study’s authors. “This analysis suggests that bats are saving us big bucks by gobbling up insects that eat or damage our crops. It is obviously beneficial that insectivorous bats are patrolling the skies at night above our fields and forests — these bats deserve help.” (more…)

Category Archives: Environment