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Most River Flows across the U.S. are Altered by Land and Water Management, Leading to Ecological Degradation

By Guest PostNovember 4, 2010Environment, Natureaquatic organisms, bill werkheiser, daren carlisle, degraded river ecosystems, ecological effects, flow alterations, jeff ostermiller, lake, loss of native species, pond habitats, rivers, specific flow conditions, sport fish populations, stream flow alteration, streams, water

The amount of water flowing in streams and rivers has been significantly altered in nearly 90 percent of waters that were assessed in a new nationwide USGS study. Flow alterations are a primary contributor to degraded river ecosystems and loss of native species.

“This USGS assessment provides the most geographically extensive analysis to date of stream flow alteration,” said Bill Werkheiser, USGS Associate Director for Water. “Findings show the pervasiveness of stream flow alteration resulting from land and water management, the significant impact of altered stream flow on aquatic organisms, and the importance of considering this factor for sustaining and restoring the health of the Nation’s streams and ecosystems.” (more…)

Study Improves Accuracy of Models for Predicting Ozone Levels in Urban Areas

By Guest PostNovember 3, 2010Environmentanne mccoy, aos angeles basin, chemical reaction, computer models, formation of nitric acid, ground-level ozone, health hazards, hydroxyl radical, mitchio okumura, nitric acid, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, poor air quality, smoggy days, urban areas

*Current computer models may underestimate levels of ground-level ozone*

A team of scientists has, for the first time, completely characterized an important chemical reaction that is critical to the formation of ground-level ozone in urban areas. The team’s results indicate that computer models may be underestimating ozone levels in urban areas during episodes of poor air quality (smoggy days) by as much as five to 10 percent.

Ground level ozone poses significant health hazards to people, animals and plants; is the primary ingredient of smog; and gives polluted air its characteristic odor. It is known that even small increases in ozone concentrations can lead to increases in death from respiratory problems. Because of the health hazards caused by ozone exposure, the research team’s results may have regulatory implications. (more…)

Haiti Quake Risk May Still be High

By Guest PostNovember 1, 2010Environment, Sciencecalifornia, carol prentice, earthquake, enriquillo plantain garden fault, epg fault, fault, geology, haiti, haiti earthquake, january, loma prieta quake, paleoseismology, ruptures, san andreas fault, seismic hazard, strain, U.S. Geological Survey

The fault initially thought to have triggered January’s devastating earthquake in Haiti is likely still under considerable strain and continues to pose a significant seismic hazard, according to a study published online in Nature Geoscience Sunday.

U.S. Geological Survey geologist Carol Prentice led a team of scientists to Haiti immediately after the earthquake to search for traces of ground rupture and to investigate the geology and paleoseismology of the area. (more…)

A Wiki for the Biofuels Research Community

By Guest PostOctober 31, 20101 commentEnvironmentbiofuels, biorefinery, blake simmons, carbon neutral, daniel klein marcuschamer, gasoline, global warming, green, harvey blanch, jbei, joint bioenergy institute, lignocellulosic biorefineries, parameters, piotr oleskowicz popiel, sustainable fashion, technoeconomic model, wiki based platform

Blake Simmons (left) and Harvey Blanch of the Joint BioEnergy Institute led the development of a technoeconomic model for optimizing biorefinery operations. Image cedit: Roy Kaltschmidt, Berkeley Lab Public Affairs

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have created a technoeconomic model that should help accelerate the development of a next generation of clean, green biofuels that can compete with gasoline in economics and well as performance. This on-line, wiki-based model enables researchers to pursue the most promising strategies for cost-efficient biorefinery operations by simulating such critical factors as production costs and energy balances under different processing scenarios.

“The high production cost of biofuels has been the main factor limiting their widespread adoption,” says JBEI’s Daniel Klein-Marcuschamer. “We felt that a model of the biorefinery operation that was open, transparent about the assumptions it uses, and updatable by the community of users could aid in guiding research in the direction where it is most likely to reduce the production cost of biofuels.” (more…)

Whales Help Researchers Take Winter Temperature of Greenland’s Coastal Waters

By Guest PostOctober 29, 2010Environmentarctic flow, arctic whale, baffin bay, ecosystem, greenland, kristin laidre, north atlantic current, ocean temperatures, polar science center, unicorn horn, university of washington

WASHINGTON — Scientists using sensors attached to a type of Arctic whale known for its unicorn-horn-like tooth have detected continued warming of the southern Baffin Bay off West Greenland. The temperatures of the waters have continued to rise since wintertime ocean temperatures were last effectively measured there in the early 2000s, the researchers reported October 23 in the Journal of Geophysical Research – Oceans, a publication of the American Geological Union (AGU).

Temperatures in the study were collected by narwhals, a medium-sized whale species, during missions in 2006 and 2007. The animals were tagged with sensors that recorded ocean depths and temperatures during feeding dives from the surface pack ice to the seafloor, as deep as 1,773 meters, or more than a mile. (more…)

Climate Change: Cultural Shift Needed Similar to Smoking, Slavery

By Guest PostOctober 28, 2010Culture, Environmentandy hoffman, attitudes, cigarette smoking, climate change, cultural attitudes, cultural shift, earth, ecological systems, erb institute, fossil fuels, holcim professor, moral problem, planetary scale, scientific evidence, slavery, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Despite scientific evidence of climate change, it will take a significant cultural shift in attitudes to address the situation, says a University of Michigan researcher.

The shift would be much like what has happened with recent cigarette smoking bans and even similar to the abolition of slavery in the 19th century.

“The present reality is that we tend to overlook the social dimensions of environmental issues and focus strictly on their technological and economic aspects,” said Andy Hoffman, the Holcim (U.S.) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the Ross School of Business and School of Natural Resources and Environment. “To properly address climate change, we must change the way we structure our organizations and the way we think as individuals. (more…)

The Next Carbon Capture Tool Could be New, Improved Grass

By Guest PostOctober 27, 2010Environmentbioenergy crops, bioenergy plant, carbon capture tool, genetically engineered plants, grass miscanthus

Berkeley Lab scientist analyzes role of bioenergy crops to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (more…)

Mountain Vegetation Impacted by Climate Change

By Guest PostOctober 26, 2010Environmentclimate change, ecological systems, ecosystems, forests, herbaceous, low elevations, mountain vegetation, oregon, siskiyou mountains, species, stress-adapted, stresses, U.S. Geological Survey

Climate change has had a significant effect on mountain vegetation at low elevations in the past 60 years, according to a study done by the University of California at Davis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and U.S. Geological Survey.

This information may guide future conservation efforts in helping decision makers develop regional landscape predictions about biological responses to climate changes. (more…)

Category Archives: Environment