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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…)

Study Sheds Light on How Heat is Transported to Greenland Glaciers

By Guest PostMarch 29, 2011Environmentarctic water, bath tub, claudia cenedese, fiamma straneo, fjords, floating ice tongue, freshwater runoff, glacier ice, greenland, gulf stream, heat, heat transport, helheim glacier, ice sheet, kjetil våge, melting the glaciers, ocean circulation, oscillation, predictions, ruth curry, sea-level rise, sermilik fjord, subtropical waters

Warmer air is only part of the story when it comes to Greenland’s rapidly melting ice sheet. New research by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) highlights the role ocean circulation plays in transporting heat to glaciers.

Greenland’s ice sheet has lost mass at an accelerated rate over the last decade, dumping more ice and fresh water into the ocean. Between 2001 and 2005, Helheim Glacier, a large glacier on Greenland’s southeast coast, retreated 5 miles (8 kilometers) and its flow speed nearly doubled. (more…)

No Evidence for Large Triggered Earthquakes Across the Globe

By Guest PostMarch 29, 2011Environmentdamaging earthquakes, global seismic hazard, large earthquakes, m5, m7, nature geosciences, seismic wave, tom parsons

MENLO PARK, Calif. — New scientific research concludes that large earthquakes do not increase the global seismic hazard for more damaging earthquakes far from the mainshock. Although large aftershocks close to the mainshock remain highly probable following an earthquake, and small earthquakes less than magnitude 5 can be triggered at great distances, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Texas at El Paso found no significant increase in the rate of large earthquakes happening farther away than two to three times the length of the ruptured fault that caused the mainshock. (more…)

Uncertain Future for Joshua Trees Projected with Climate Change

By Guest PostMarch 27, 2011Environment, Naturecalifornia, climate change, climate warming, climatic tolerances, ecologis, ecology, fossil record, jon eischeid, joshua trees, ken cole, kenneth cole, kirsten ironside, models of future climate, mojave desert, nevada, north american yucca, packrats, shasta ground sloth, southwest, squirrels, state of the art climate models, temperature

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Temperature increases resulting from climate change in the Southwest will likely eliminate Joshua trees from 90 percent of their current range in 60 to 90 years, according to a new study led by U.S. Geological Survey ecologist Ken Cole.

The research team used models of future climate, an analysis of the climatic tolerances of the species in its current range, and the fossil record to project the future distribution of Joshua trees. The study concludes that the species could be restricted to the northernmost portion of its current range as early as the end of this century. Additionally, the ability of Joshua trees to migrate via seed dispersal to more suitable climates may be severely limited. (more…)

Measurements of Winter Arctic Sea Ice Show continuing Ice Loss, says CU-Boulder Study

By Guest PostMarch 27, 2011EnvironmentArctic sea ice, climate scientists, greenhouse gas, ice extents measured, long-term record

The 2011 Arctic sea ice extent maximum that marks the beginning of the melt season appears to be tied for the lowest ever measured by satellites, say scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder’s National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The CU-Boulder research team believes the lowest annual maximum ice extent of 5,650,000 square miles occurred on March 7. The maximum ice extent was 463,000 square miles below the 1979-2000 average, an area slightly larger than the states of Texas and California combined. The 2011 measurements were tied with those from 2006 as the lowest maximum sea ice extents measured since satellite record keeping began in 1979. (more…)

Radiation Level in Seawater off Nuclear Plant “Fukushima-1” Exceeded 1250 Times

By Guest PostMarch 26, 2011Environmentfukushima daiichi nuclear plant, Japan, millisievert, radiation levels, radioactive iodine, radioactive water, reactor, seafood, seawater

Levels of radioactive iodine in seawater just offshore of the embattled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant spiked to more than 1,250 times higher than normal, Japan’s nuclear and industrial safety agency said Saturday.

Samples taken Friday morning from a monitoring station 330 meters off the coast were significantly higher than results from the previous morning, when the level was 104 times above normal, according to CNN International. (more…)

New Research Suggests Wild Birds May Play a Role in the Spread of Bird Flu

By Guest PostMarch 25, 2011Environmentavian influenza viruses, bird flu, bird flu outbreak, chicken farms, migratory birds, pathogenic avian influenza

LAUREL, Md. — Wild migratory birds may indeed play a role in the spread of bird flu, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1. (more…)

Category Archives: Environment