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Ocean Acidification Changes Nitrogen Cycling in World Seas

By Guest PostDecember 22, 20101 commentEnvironmentacidity, ammonia oxidizers, blue whales, carbon dioxide, cheryl emiliane chow, cycle, david garrison, marine ecosystems, michael beman, microbes, nitrification, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, nutrients, ocean acidification, oceanic nitrification, oceans, organisms, proteins, sea water

*New results indicate potential to reduce certain greenhouse gas emissions from oceans to atmosphere*

Increasing acidity in the sea’s waters may fundamentally change how nitrogen is cycled in them, say marine scientists who published their findings in this week’s issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients in the oceans. All organisms, from tiny microbes to blue whales, use nitrogen to make proteins and other important compounds. (more…)

Recycling Waste Heat into Energy: Researchers Take a Step Toward More Efficient Conversion

By Guest PostDecember 22, 2010Environmentcatalytic converter, energy conversion, recycling waste heat, thermoelectric materials

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— The right material wrapped around your car’s exhaust system could one day scavenge heat that would otherwise be wasted, turning it into energy to warm the cabin or recharge the battery. (more…)

Global Rivers Emit Three Times IPCC Estimates of Greenhouse Gas Nitrous Oxide

By Guest PostDecember 21, 20103 commentsEnvironmentagriculture, atmosphere, atmospheric ozone layer, chelsea crenshaw, denitrification, dinitrogen, global, greenhouse gas, henry gholz, human activities, inert gas, ipcc, jake beaulieu, microbes, microbial process, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, oxide emissions, ozone, river networks, stratospheric, waterways

*Waterways receiving nitrogen from human activities are significant source*

What goes in must come out, a truism that now may be applied to global river networks.

Human-caused nitrogen loading to river networks is a potentially important source of nitrous oxide emission to the atmosphere. Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change and stratospheric ozone destruction. (more…)

Study Shows Wind Turbines on Farmlands May Benefit Crops

By Guest PostDecember 19, 20101 commentEnvironmentatmosphere, carbon dioxide, corn, crop, crops, domestic source of energy, earth surface, electricity, fungal infestations, gene takle, generate, laser, lidar, midwestern farm, moisture levels, photosynthesis, renewable energy, research, soybean, takle, turbine blades, wind turbines

Wind turbines in Midwestern farm fields may be doing more than churning out electricity. The giant turbine blades that generate renewable energy might also help corn and soybean crops stay cooler and drier, help them fend off fungal infestations and improve their ability to extract growth-enhancing carbon dioxide from the air and soil.

The preliminary findings of a months-long study that examines how wind turbines on farmlands interact with surrounding crops were presented on December 16 at the annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. The presentation was made by researcher Gene Takle of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and Julie Lundquist, assistant professor in the University of Colorado at Boulder’s atmospheric and oceanic studies department. (more…)

Ancient Forest Emerges Mummified From the Arctic

By Guest PostDecember 17, 2010Environmentarctic biodiversity, common trees, cooling climate, global cooling, mummified forest, mummified plants

SAN FRANCISCO — The northernmost mummified forest ever found in Canada is revealing how plants struggled to endure a long-ago global cooling. (more…)

Elevated Zinc Concentrations in Colorado Waterway Likely a Result of Climate Change

By Guest PostDecember 17, 2010Environmentacid rock drainage, ard sources, colorado waterway, groundwater conditions, hard water, snake river watershed, water quality, zinc concentration

Rising concentrations of zinc in a waterway on Colorado’s Western Slope may be the result of climate change that is affecting the timing of annual snowmelt, says a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. (more…)

Projected Losses of Arctic Sea-Ice and Polar Bear Habitat may be Reduced if Greenhouse Gas Emissions are Stabilized

By Guest PostDecember 16, 2010Environment, NatureArctic, arctic ocean, Arctic sea ice, atmospheric co2, average global temperature, current co2 levels, emissions, global, greenhouse gas, jessica k robertson, linear, modeling, modeling study, patrick Kelley, polar bears, sea ice habitats, sea ice loss, steve amstrup, usgs

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Sea-ice habitats essential to polar bears would likely respond positively should more curbs be placed on global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new modeling study published in the journal, Nature.

The study, led by the U.S. Geological Survey, included university and other federal agency scientists. The research broke new ground in the “tipping point” debate in the scientific community by providing evidence that during this century there does not seem to be a tipping point at which sea-ice loss would become irreversible. (more…)

High-Tech Software and Unmanned Planes Allow Scientists to Keep Tabs on Arctic Seals

By Guest PostDecember 15, 2010Environment, Natureaerial photos, aircraft, Arctic, arctic ringed seal, atmosphere, bearded, bering sea, cameras, climate scientists, earth, elizabeth weatherhead, four species of arctic seals, greenhouse gases, ice floes, marine, noaa, novel project, peter boveng, polar ecosystems, ribbon seals, ringed, scan eagle, sea ice, seal populations, seals, spotted, temperatures, terrestrial mammals

A novel project using cameras mounted on unmanned aircraft flying over the Arctic is serving double duty by assessing the characteristics of declining sea ice and using the same aerial photos to pinpoint seals that have hauled up on ice floes.

The project is the first to use aircraft to monitor ice and seals in remote areas without putting pilots and observers at risk, said Elizabeth Weatherhead of the University of Colorado at Boulder, who is leading the study team. Weatherhead is a senior scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, a joint venture of CU-Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (more…)

Category Archives: Environment