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Global Extinction: Gradual Doom as Bad as Abrupt

By Guest PostFebruary 8, 2012Environment, Sciencebrooks ellwood, canadian arctic, carbon dioxide, charles henderson, coal deposit, dead zone, earth, ellesmere island, extinction, factor, fossil, geologic history, geology, global extinction, greenhouse, greenhouse gas, h richard lane, harry rowe, indian ocean, katherine freeman, marine life, mass extinction, national science foundation, ocean, permian period, permian triassic boundary, sedimentary rock, siberian traps, siberian volcanic activity, south china, steven bates, tethys, the great dying, thomas algeo, timothy lyons, united states, university of calgary, university of cincinnati, volcanic deposit, volcanic rock, volcanism in siberia, warming, west blind fiord

*In “The Great Dying” 250 million years ago, the end came slowly*

The deadliest mass extinction of all took a long time to kill 90 percent of Earth’s marine life–and it killed in stages–according to a newly published report.

It shows that mass extinctions need not be sudden events.

Thomas Algeo, a geologist at the University of Cincinnati, and 13 colleagues have produced a high-resolution look at the geology of a Permian-Triassic boundary section on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic. (more…)

Scientists Probe Indian Ocean for Clues to Worldwide Weather Patterns

By Guest PostSeptember 28, 2011Environmentaddu atoll, amie project, asian and australian monsoons, chidong zhang, chuck long, diego garcia, disturbance of the tropics, dual wavelength doppler radar, dynamics of the madden julian oscillation, dynamo, equator, hurricane activity in the northeast pacific and gulf of mexico, indian ocean, japan agency for marine earth science and technology, madden julian oscillation or mjo, maldives, manus island, mitchell moncrieff, national science foundation, numerical models, onset of el niño, s polka, source of atmospheric variability, super site, tropical weather, university of miami, west coast of north america, worldwide weather patterns

*Study how tropical weather brews in the Indian Ocean and moves eastward along the equator*

An international team of researchers will begin gathering in the Indian Ocean next month, using aircraft, ships, moorings, radars, numerical models and other tools to study how tropical weather brews there and moves eastward along the equator, with reverberating effects around the globe.

The six-month field campaign, known as DYNAMO or Dynamics of the Madden-Julian Oscillation, will help improve long-range weather forecasts and seasonal outlooks and enable scientists to further refine computer models of global climate. (more…)

UF Researchers Link Oceanic Land Crab Extinction to Colonization of Hawaii

By Guest PostMay 16, 2011Nature, Sciencecarnivorous, christmas island, crab, crab extinction, ecological conditions, Garden of Eden, geograpsus grayi, geograpsus severnsi, gustav paulay, hawaiian islands, helen james, human era, indian ocean, john starmer, kauai, lizards, maui, new species of land crab, oahu, pacific islands, polynesians, university of florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers have described a new species of land crab that documents the first crab extinction during the human era.

The loss of the crab likely greatly impacted the ecology of the Hawaiian Islands, as land crabs are major predators, control litter decomposition and help in nutrient cycling and seed dispersal. Their disappearance was caused by the arrival of humans to the islands and resulted in large-scale changes in the state’s ecosystem. Researchers said the full impact of the extinction on Hawaii is unknown, but they are certain it led to changes in the diversity of the food web, a continuing concern to conservationists studying species loss in other habitats. The study will be published online May 16 in PLoS ONE. (more…)

Threading the Climate Needle: The Agulhas Current System

By Guest PostApril 28, 20111 commentEnvironmentagulhas current, agulhas retroflection, amoc, atlantic, atlantic meridional overturning circulation, atlantic ocean, climate change, climate modeling, east coast of africa, glacial cycles, global climate, gulf stream, indian ocean, lisa beal, national science foundation, northern hemisphere, paleoceanographic data

*Increased Agulhas “leakage” significant player in global climate variability*

The Agulhas Current which runs along the east coast of Africa may not be as well known as its counterpart in the Atlantic, the Gulf Stream. But now researchers are taking a closer look at this current and its “leakage” from the Indian Ocean into the Atlantic Ocean–and what that may mean for climate change.

In results of a study published in this week’s issue of the journal Nature, a team of scientists led by University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science Oceanographer Lisa Beal, suggests that Agulhas leakage could be a significant player in global climate variability. (more…)

‘Sea Levels Rising in Parts of Indian Ocean’

By Guest PostJuly 15, 20102 commentsEnvironmentafrica, Antarctica, arabian sea, atmospheric, balaji rajagopalan, Bangladesh, bay of bengal, global climate, greenhouse gases, India, indian ocean, indo-pacific, Java, mascarenhas archipelago, naval research laboratory in Mississippi, ncar, sea levels, seychelles Islands, sri lanka, sumatra, Tanzania, university of colorado at boulder, weiqing han, Zanzibar

*Greenhouse gases are playing a role in changes, say scientists*

Newly detected rising sea levels in parts of the Indian Ocean, including the coastlines of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java, appear to be at least partly a result of human-induced increases of atmospheric greenhouse gases, says a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

(more…)

Tag Archives: indian ocean

Global Extinction: Gradual Doom as Bad as Abrupt

Scientists Probe Indian Ocean for Clues to Worldwide Weather Patterns

UF Researchers Link Oceanic Land Crab Extinction to Colonization of Hawaii

Threading the Climate Needle: The Agulhas Current System

‘Sea Levels Rising in Parts of Indian Ocean’