Tag Archives: Britain

Blanket Bogs Need Protection from Climate Change

By Guest PostSeptember 7, 2012Environmentalaska, amphibians, angela gallego sala, archaeological material, birds, blanket bogs, Britain, british countryside, canada, climate change, coastal area, devon, ecosystem, emission, exeter, flooding, future temperature, greenhouse gas, habitat, high latitude, norway, outer hebrides, plants, rainfall, reptiles, risk, russia, shetland, small mammals, sssi, uk, university, vegetation, wildlife

Blanket bogs, which provide vital habitats for a unique range of plants, birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians, are at risk of declining as a result of climate change.

Research by the Universities of Exeter and Bristol in the UK and Macquarie University in Australia, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows for the first time how rising temperatures will threaten these sensitive ecosystems.

The study highlights the urgency of developing a plan to protect these important habitats.

Found in wet, coastal areas of high latitude regions, blanket bogs cover around 700,000 hectares of land in the UK, much of it designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Blanket bogs are found in the north and west of the UK, extending from Devon in the south to Shetland in the north, and it has been estimated that 10 to15 per cent of the world’s blanket bog occurs in Britain. As well as being crucial in supporting wildlife, blanket bogs also capture and store large amounts of carbon, helping to mitigate against climate change, and reduce the risk of flooding, by slowing down water flow. With some blanket peat being over 9,000 years old, they also hold historically-significant archaeological material. (more…)

Ancient Story of Dartmoor Tors Has an Ice-Cold Twist

By Guest PostJune 16, 2012Environmentaerial photography, ancient story, Britain, british isles, dartmoor, dartmoor tors, david evans, drumlins, durham, exeter, glacial features, glacier ice, hummocky landforms, ice age, ice cap, ice cold twist, landscape, moraines, mounds, national parks, periods of glaciation, quaternary science, south west england, stephan harrison, stockton riverside college, stone outcrops, ten tors, tors, uk, valley glaciers, weathered rock, weathering

Ice extended further across the UK than previously thought and played a part in sculpting the rocky landscape of Dartmoor in South West England during the last Ice Age, according to new research which challenges previously held theories.

A study of the National Park area of Dartmoor, UK, shows for the first time that an ice cap and valley glaciers were present in its centre and that the naturally castellated stone outcrops, known as tors, were survivors.

The new research by the Universities of Durham and Exeter, and Stockton Riverside College, is published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.

Researchers, who carried out detailed observations on the ground and using aerial photography, say the evidence includes glacial features such as elongated rounded mounds or drumlins and hummocky landforms or moraines. Similar features may also exist in other upland areas of southwest England, indicating that small upland glaciers were regularly hosted in the region during periods of glaciation. (more…)

Britain’s Wildlife Will Benefit from Better Coastal Structures

By Guest PostOctober 1, 2011Environmentanimals, australia, breakwaters, Britain, climate change, coastal structures, coasts, david baxter, ecological enhancement, environment agency, ilfracombe in devon, jetties, larissa naylor, newlyn in cornwall, plants, plymouth and treweek environmental consultants, plymouth university, richard thompson, rock armour, seattle harbour, seawalls, south west coast, sydney harbour, universities of exeter, usa

*Plants and animals that live on Britain’s coasts could benefit from changes to the way coastal structures such as seawalls, breakwaters, rock armour and jetties are designed and built.*

*Research by the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth and Treweek Environmental Consultants, supported by the Environment Agency, has led to the development of recommendations for the design and construction of coastal defence structures.*

The team has produced guidance on how the ‘ecological enhancement’ of hard coastal structures can be embedded in the design and planning process, from conception through to construction.

Past research has found that hard structures are poor ecological substitutes for natural rocky shores, often supporting only a few dominant, opportunistic species such as green algae. The research team assessed the suitability of different materials, surface roughness, positioning and height for coastal habitats. They examined structures across the South West coast, including Ilfracombe in Devon and Newlyn in Cornwall, as well as looking further afield to work from Sydney Harbour in Australia and Seattle Harbour in the USA. They focused on organisms such as barnacles and limpets as these dominate many rocky shore environments and rapidly colonise hard surfaces placed in the sea, including harbour walls. Once these organisms have established themselves, other plants and animals typically follow, to the benefit of species such as salmon. (more…)

Exhibit: She Was an Archaeologist, Arabist, Diplomat and Spy

By Guest PostSeptember 26, 2011Culturearabic, arabist, archaeologist, baghdad, Britain, diplomat, european arabist, gallery at the whitney, gertrude bell, gertrude bell in mesopotamia, Iraq, iraq museum, lawrence of arabia, middle east, oriental secretary of iraq, oxford, persian, robert myers, spy, syria, t e lawrence, throne of king faisal, whitney humanities center

Gertrude Bell, a colleague of T.E. Lawrence (a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia) and the diplomat who drew the borders of modern-day Iraq, is the focus of a new exhibition opening Monday, Sept. 26, in the Gallery at the Whitney, located within the Whitney Humanities Center, 53 Wall St.

The exhibit, titled “Gertrude Bell in Mesopotamia: Archaeologist, Arabist, Diplomat, Spy,” will be on view through Dec. 16. (more…)

Re-emergence of Salmon in The Thames ‘Not From Restocking’ Say Exeter Academics

By Guest PostSeptember 4, 2011Environmentatlantic salmon, Britain, early 19th century, England, english chalk stream environment, fish, indicator species, industrial revolution, jamie stevens, magna carta, oviedo university, pollution, riparian habitat, river, river system, river thames, rivers across the uk, scottish rivers, spain, thames, university of exeter, urbanisation of london

*The recent returns of Atlantic salmon in the Thames are more likely to be a result of fish straying from nearby rivers rather than a consequence of expensive restocking efforts, according to new research by the University of Exeter.*

A team of University of Exeter bio-scientists, in collaboration with the Environment Agency, Westcountry Rivers Trust and Oviedo University, Spain, have been collecting genetic data from returning fish, which suggests that habitat restoration was more effective than re-introductions. The findings will be published in the journal ‘Biological Conservation’.

Lessons from the study could be applied to other rivers across the UK according to the co-author of the paper Dr Jamie Stevens, Associate Professor of Molecular Systematics at the University of Exeter. Dr Stevens says: “Traditionally, people – such as river owners and anglers – have wanted big fish swimming up their rivers. The easiest way to ensure this quickly has been to restock those rivers with exogenous fish (from outside the river system).” (more…)

Astronomer Tom Gehrels, 1925-2011

By Guest PostJuly 14, 2011Scienceasteroids and comets, astronomer, astronomy, Britain, Chicago, dutch resistance, earth, England, gerard p kuiper, haarlemmermeer, harold masursky award, imaging photopolarimetry, jupiter, kitt peak, leiden university, nobel astrophysicist, saturn, saturn mysterious f ring, special operations executive, study of wavelength dependence of polarization of stars and planets, subrahmanyan chandrasekhar, the netherlands, tom gehrels, universal evolution, university of arizona, university of chicago

*In a career that spanned more than half a century, Gehrels fostered new research on asteroids and comets, including those that pose a threat to Earth.*

Tom Gehrels, an internationally noted planetary scientist and astronomer at the University of Arizona, as well as a hero of the Dutch Resistance during WWII, died Monday. He was 86.

Gehrels was among the first members of the fledgling Lunar and Planetary Laboratory when he joined the UA in 1961. During a long and distinguished career Gehrels pioneered new research on asteroids and comets, especially those that pose a collision threat to Earth. He also developed and taught introductory astronomy courses that were popular with non-science undergraduates. (more…)

Beautiful People Are Happier, Economists Find

By Guest PostApril 3, 2011CultureBritain, canada, daniel hamermesh, economic benefits, Germany, good looking people, happier, impact on economic outcomes, iza, jason abrevaya, personal beauty, society, study of labor, u s, unattractive

AUSTIN, Texas — Good-looking people are generally happier than their plain looking or unattractive counterparts, largely because of the higher salaries, other economic benefits and more successful spouses that come with beauty, according to new research from economists at The University of Texas at Austin.

This holds true for both men and women and across different cultures, authors Daniel Hamermesh and Jason Abrevaya report in their paper “‘Beauty is the Promise of Happiness’?,” [PDF] which they are releasing to economists this week. The paper is posted at https://ftp.iza.org/dp5600.pdf [PDF], the Web site for the German-based Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). (more…)

Research Indicates Green Tea Protects Against Alzheimer’s and Cancer

By PravdaJanuary 10, 2011Health, Sciencealzheimer, ancient chinese remedy, beta amyloid, brain, Britain, cancer, dementia, development of alzheimer, diseases, ed okello, green tea, hydrogen peroxide, intestinal enzymes, models, newcastle university, polyphenols, protein, tea, tumor cells

A study by Newcastle University in Britain, indicates that green tea may protect the brain from diseases such as Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. The research, published in the journal Phytomedicine, also suggests that the ancient Chinese remedy that has been popularized throughout the world may also have an important role in protecting the body against cancer.

In the study, scientists investigated whether the beneficial properties of green tea, which had already been proven in newly prepared and undigested tea, were still active once the tea was digested. (more…)