Michele Kearney's Environmental Blog - Environmental degradation and waning natural resources including energy resources threaten U.S. security. And the loss of renewable natural resources, including forests, fresh water, fish and fertile soils, can drive political instability and conflict in the developing world, and around the globe. In short, natural resoures, energy and the environment are national security issues.
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Saturday, September 4, 2010
Death of the seas from CO2 acidification
http://fabiusmaximus.wordpress.com/
4 September 2010
Summary: The lastest scary stories from scientists. Real data, reliable projections, but does that make the story plausible? Part 1 of a series.
An introduction to the problem
Read more…
An introduction to the problem
Atmospheric CO2 concentrations oscillated between 200 and 280 parts per million (ppm) over the 400,000 years before the industrial period. Current atmospheric concentrations are now approaching 380 ppm as a result of the industrial and land use activities of humankind. In the past few decades, only half of the CO2 released by human activity has remained in the atmosphere; of the remainder, about 30% has been taken up by the ocean and 20% by the terrestrial biosphere. {Science, 2004}A description of the threat: “Rapid Acidification of the Ocean During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum“, James C. Zachos et al, Science, 10 June 2005 — Conclusion (red emphasis added);
Excessive carbonate undersaturation of the deep ocean would likely impede calcification by marine organisms and therefore is a potential contributing factor to the mass extinction of benthic foraminifera at the P-E boundary. Although most plankton species survived, carbonate ion changes in the surface ocean might have contributed to the brief appearance of weakly calcified planktonic foraminifera and the dominance of heavily calcified forms of calcareous algae .OK, that looks like logical cause and effect. The commonly stated case:
What, if any, implications might this have for the future? If combustion of the entire fossil fuel reservoir (~4500 gigatons of Carbon) is assumed, the impacts on deep-sea pH and biota will likely be similar to those in the PETM. However, because the anthropogenic carbon input will occur within just 300 years, which is less than the mixing time of the ocean, the impacts on surface ocean pH and biota will probably be more severe.
- The atmosphere holds roughly 750 gigatonnes of carbon in the form of CO2. The ocean holds about 35-40 thousand gigatons.
- During the past 2 centuries CO2 levels have levels have increased from 280 to nearly 400 ppm. (However, this is misleading. Warming in the 19th C had other causes, as almost all the CO2 rise is post-WWII. See the Mauna Loa graph.)
- Extrapolations of current industrial activity suggest CO2 levels of 600 ppm in 100 years, and 900 ppm in 200 years.
Read more…
Friday, September 3, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Amazon at lowest level in over 40 years in Peru: experts
Amazon at lowest level in over 40 years in Peru: expertshttp://www.terradaily.com/reports/Amazon_at_lowest_level_in_over_40_years_in_Peru_experts_999.html
Lima (AFP) Sept 1, 2010 - The Amazon, the world's biggest river, is at its lowest level in over 40 years near its source in northeastern Peru, causing havoc in a region where it is used as the only form of travel, authorities said. According to officials in Loreto province, the Amazon on Tuesday in the northeast city of Iquitos fell to 105.97 meters (347.67 feet) above sea level, 50 cm (1.6 feet) lower than it was in ... mo
Lima (AFP) Sept 1, 2010 - The Amazon, the world's biggest river, is at its lowest level in over 40 years near its source in northeastern Peru, causing havoc in a region where it is used as the only form of travel, authorities said. According to officials in Loreto province, the Amazon on Tuesday in the northeast city of Iquitos fell to 105.97 meters (347.67 feet) above sea level, 50 cm (1.6 feet) lower than it was in ... mo
Disasters show 'screaming' need for action - climate chief
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Disasters_show_screaming_need_for_action_climate_chief_999.html
Geneva (AFP) Sept 2, 2010 - UN climate chief Christiana Figueres on Thursday warned that a string of weather calamities showed the deepening urgency to forge a breakthrough deal on global warming this year. Speaking before some 40 countries were to address finance, an issue that has helped hamstring UN climate talks, Figueres said floods in Pakistan, fires in Russia and other weather disasters had been a shocking wakeu ... mo
Global Warming Deniers Aren't "Experts" At All: It's Time for a New View of Science by Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway / Bloomsbury USA
Image via Wikipedia Global Warming Deniers Aren't "Experts" At All: It's Time for a New View of Science
Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway / Bloomsbury USA
http://www.alternet.org/books/147668/global_warming_deniers_aren%27t_%22experts%22_at_all%3A_it%27s_time_for_a_new_view_of_science/
Guest Post: Scientists Say Dispersants May Delay Recovery of the Gulf By Years … Or Decades → Washington’s Blog
Guest Post: Scientists Say Dispersants May Delay Recovery of the Gulf By Years … Or Decades
→ Washington’s BlogThe government and BP claim that the combination of Corexit and crude oil is less toxic than crude oil by itself.
Is that true?
Well, scientists have found that when Corexit is applied to the actual crude oil from BP’s well, it releases 35 times more toxic chemicals into the water column than would be released with crude alone.
And the tests conducted by the EPA which purport to show that dispersant plus crude is less toxic than oil alone used a combination of Corexit with Louisiana light crude oil. However, the oil coming out of BP’s leaking well contains an unusually high concentration of methane. As CBS notes:
The oil emanating from the seafloor contains about 40 percent methane, compared with about 5 percent found in typical oil deposits, said John Kessler, a Texas A&M University oceanographer who is studying the impact of methane from the spill.It is doubtful that the EPA used such unusually methane-rich oil in their testing.
More importantly, EPA toxicity tests on the dispersant-oil mixture were conducted at sea level pressures (in other words, the pressure at the surface of the ocean). But enormous quantities of Corexit have been applied 5,000 feet under the ocean at the leaking wellhead.
As the New York Times noted in May:
There has been significant research in response to spills over the past few decades, especially the Exxon-Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989 and the Prestige spill in 2002 off the coast of Spain.Marine biologist and toxicologist Dr. Chris Pincetich – who has an extensive background in testing the effects of chemicals on fish – told me yesterday that scientists have no idea what compounds will be formed when Corexit dispersant and oil interact under the high pressures present at BP’s deepwater spill site (Dr. Pincetich directed environmental toxicity testing as a consultant and lab supervisor for many years, and now works to protect endangered sea turtles at the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, http://www.seaturtles.org).
But all of the scientific precedent is from spills from tankers or near shore.
“We are working with reliable knowledge from that science,” Plumb said, “but it is limited and not across the scale or scope of the ecosystem we are in now.”
Scientists and responders are prepared to deal with oiled birds and shoreline effects, because those are the usual problems. An ongoing oil spill a mile under water is unchartered ground.
“We’ve never dealt with this kind of deep water, we’ve never dealt with this amount of dispersants, we’ve never dealt with the Gulf,” [Roger Helm, chief of the contaminants division of the Fish and Wildlife Service] said. “We’re in a very early phase of the science here; there is not a lot of experimental work or practical work upon which to base the work we’re doing.”
And as Scientific American notes, breakdown products from the dispersant might be toxic as well:
For example, more testing will be needed to determine if the breakdown of Corexit 9500 – either into other chemicals or when metabolized by animals – produces toxic products of its own. “In toxicology, it’s quite often not the original compound that’s the toxic entity,” [toxicologist Cary Mitchelmore of the University of Maryland, who co-authored a National Research Council report on dispersants in 2005] notes.Indeed, even Sergio Alex Villalobos, toxicologist for Nalco – maker of the Corexit dispersant – says:
Once it’s mixed with oil, that’s where you get the most impact, that’s where you see most of the toxicity.Government Testing is “Embarrassing”
Dr. Pincetich says that he’s “embarrassed” that the government is using inadequate tests regarding the toxicity of Corexit. For example, when I asked whether he thought the EPA’s screening level for Corexit in the Gulf of 750 parts per million is based on sound science, Dr. Pincetich said no. He pointed me to a 1996 study which found that exposures of less than 20 ppm can adversely affect abalone.
Dr. Pincetich also noted that the tests being used in the Gulf are not the standard type of tests used to measure toxicity of long-term chronic exposure, but are typically only used for initial screening of effluent from coastal dischargers. There is no scientific evidence to support using only such a short-term, acute exposure test. The EPA training manual contains dozens of better testing protocols, and toxicity tests are usually run on 7 different species when there is a screening of unknown toxic chemicals involved (and even basic national pollution discharge standards require testing for 3 species), but – in the Gulf – the EPA has only been testing using 2 species.
Dr. Pincetich has also noted that EPA toxicity testing for Corexit is woefully inadequate, since EPA testing was only for mortality and only used a 48- and 96-hour time frame. His doctoral research found that fish that were alive at 96 hours after exposure to pesticide were dead at two weeks, so the chemicals were considered non-lethal for the purposes of the test:
Dr. Pincetich explained that many standardized EPA bioassay toxicity testing protocols exist to measure growth and reproduction in marine early life stage organisms, but EPA is just using the cheapest possible tests. He says that standard tests should be run, and BP should pick up the tab.
Corexit May Delay Recovery of the Gulf for Years … Or Even Decades
Dr. Pincetich told me that he believes that use of dispersant may – in certain circumstances – delay recovery of the ecosystem for years.
Indeed, PhD toxicologist Ricki Ott noted in a New York Times Op Ed that dispersants like Corexit can persist in the ocean for decades:
[Dispersants] can linger in the water for decades, especially when used in deep water, where low temperatures can inhibit biodegradation.Some experts have also said that the use of Corexit has prolonged by decades the presence of toxic crude oil, because the dispersant sinks the oil beneath the ocean surface, where it cannot be quickly broken down by sun, waves and microbes.
And the head of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Ecology Department – Terry Hazen – argues that the use of dispersants can delay recovery of ocean ecosystems by decades:
Hazen has more than 30 years experience studying the effects of oil spills. He says the oil will be damaging enough; toxic dispersants will just make it worse. He points to the 1978 Amoco Cadiz Spill off the coast of Normandy as an example. He says areas where dispersants were used still have not fully recovered, while areas where there was no human intervention are now fine.As Hazen has noted:
“The untreated coastal areas were fully recovered within five years of the Amoco Cadiz spill,” says Hazen. “As for the treated areas, ecological studies show that 30 years later, those areas still have not recovered.”Admittedly, chemicals other than Corexit were used in the Amoco Cadiz spill. But the precautionary tale still holds: chemicals should not be applied to oil spills unless scientists are positive that they will provide a net long-term benefit.
Disturbingly, Corexit is apparently still being sprayed in the Gulf. See this, this and this.
NASA/NOAA Study Finds El Ninos Are Growing Stronger
http://www.spacemart.com/reports/NASA_NOAA_Study_Finds_El_Ninos_Are_Growing_Stronger_999.html
Image via WikipediaNASA/NOAA Study Finds El Ninos Are Growing Stronger
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 27, 2010 A relatively new type of El Nino, which has its warmest waters in the central-equatorial Pacific Ocean, rather than in the eastern-equatorial Pacific, is becoming more common and progressively stronger, according to a new study by NASA and NOAA. The research may improve our understanding of the relationship between El Ninos and climate change, and has potentially significant implications for long-term weather forecasting.
Image via WikipediaNASA/NOAA Study Finds El Ninos Are Growing Stronger  Deviations from normal sea surface temperatures (left) and sea surface heights (right) at the peak of the 2009-2010 central Pacific El Ninos, as measured by NOAA polar orbiting satellites and NASA's Jason-1 spacecraft, respectively. The warmest temperatures and highest sea levels were located in the central equatorial Pacific. Image credit: NASA/JPL-NOAA |
Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 27, 2010 A relatively new type of El Nino, which has its warmest waters in the central-equatorial Pacific Ocean, rather than in the eastern-equatorial Pacific, is becoming more common and progressively stronger, according to a new study by NASA and NOAA. The research may improve our understanding of the relationship between El Ninos and climate change, and has potentially significant implications for long-term weather forecasting.
Center For Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI) Gets New Web Portal
Center For Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI) Gets New Web Portal
http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Center_For_Satellite_Based_Crisis_Information_ZKI_Gets_New_Web_Portal_999.html Bonn, Germany (SPX) Aug 30, 2010 The Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information (ZKI) of DLR has celebrated the relaunch of it's web-portal. The old portal, that existed since the very beginning of this DLR service, has been fundamentally overhauled, both in visual and technical respect. It is offering now contemporary and comfortable access to the products of ZKI and to the information about recent activities and projects.
Ever since 2003 the ZKI offers to users via its web-portal fast, cost-free, and public access to its products.
Numerous relief organizations, decision makers and situation rooms have made use of the opportunity to download overall maps, damage maps, and reference material, derived and cartographically pre-processed from satellite- or aerial imagery, and to integrate this information into their aid- or prevention measures.
Since 2006 the portal has also granted free access to data from the ZKI fireservice, offering maps, satellite images and statistics about recent fire events in Europe, derived by automatic data processing from MODIS data, received at DLR.
The new portal will facilitate the access to both data and value added products, and built up the technological base for advanced services.
From there, by the end of this year, registered users will have the opportunity to use a web-mapping component, supporting accelerated access to recent satellite images for situation assessment, interactive determination of image crop and scale, and the overlay of available supplementary layers of geo-information.
 All mapping activities of ZKI at a glance: Activations world map |
Ever since 2003 the ZKI offers to users via its web-portal fast, cost-free, and public access to its products.
Numerous relief organizations, decision makers and situation rooms have made use of the opportunity to download overall maps, damage maps, and reference material, derived and cartographically pre-processed from satellite- or aerial imagery, and to integrate this information into their aid- or prevention measures.
Since 2006 the portal has also granted free access to data from the ZKI fireservice, offering maps, satellite images and statistics about recent fire events in Europe, derived by automatic data processing from MODIS data, received at DLR.
The new portal will facilitate the access to both data and value added products, and built up the technological base for advanced services.
From there, by the end of this year, registered users will have the opportunity to use a web-mapping component, supporting accelerated access to recent satellite images for situation assessment, interactive determination of image crop and scale, and the overlay of available supplementary layers of geo-information.
UN climate panel ordered to make fundamental reforms
UN climate panel ordered to make fundamental reforms
United Nations (AFP) Aug 30, 2010 An international review panel on Monday called on the UN global climate change body to carry out fundamental reforms after embarrassing errors in a landmark report dented its credibility. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was caught in an international storm after it admitted its landmark 2007 report exaggerated the speed at which Himalayas glaciers were melting.
The review panel said the IPCC has been "successful overall" but called for leadership changes, stricter guidelines on source material and a check on conflicts of interest.
The five-month probe ordered by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the IPCC should have a stronger scientific basis for making its predictions and recommended an overhaul of the position of IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri.
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United Nations (AFP) Aug 30, 2010 An international review panel on Monday called on the UN global climate change body to carry out fundamental reforms after embarrassing errors in a landmark report dented its credibility. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was caught in an international storm after it admitted its landmark 2007 report exaggerated the speed at which Himalayas glaciers were melting.
The review panel said the IPCC has been "successful overall" but called for leadership changes, stricter guidelines on source material and a check on conflicts of interest.
The five-month probe ordered by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the IPCC should have a stronger scientific basis for making its predictions and recommended an overhaul of the position of IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri.
Climate: Risks loom for China: study
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Climate_Risks_loom_for_China_study_999.htmlClimate: Risks loom for China: study
by Staff Writers Paris (AFP) Sept 1, 2010 Climate change could reduce key harvests in China by a fifth if the gloomiest scenarios prove true, according to a study on Wednesday. Publishing in the journal Nature, a team of Chinese scientists say China's climate "has clearly warmed" over the past half century, gaining 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1960.
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The Atlantic And Pacific Climate Connection The Bering Straight during the last glacial maximum. Credit: Ehlers and Gibbard, 2004. by Alison Hawkes
Image via Wikipediafor Hot Zone blog Moffett Field CA (SPX) Sep 02, 2010
 The Bering Straight during the last glacial maximum. Credit: Ehlers and Gibbard, 2004. |
Mention Arctic ice melt and the first image to come to mind is the northern Atlantic. Mostly Greenland. Sometimes the far reaches of Canada or Iceland. Maybe it's because the northern Atlantic is the same ocean that researchers from major institutions dip their toes in in 100-plus degree heat waves.
But way out in the Pacific, researchers at the University of Hawaii are taking a different look at the climate. In a paper published this week in the journal Science, oceanographer Axel Timmermann and colleagues explained what they found out by looking at sediment cores from the northern Pacific.
As the last major ice age ended 17,500 years ago, massive north Atlantic ice sheets melted and all the added fresh water caused the collapse of the Atlantic Ocean conveyor belt. That should have plunged the northern Hemisphere into a deep freeze.
But it didn't quite do that. Timmermann et. al found that the northern Pacific may have been a moderating force on the climate, helping it warm a bit. It did this by creating its own conveyor belt.
"Basically the Atlantic and the Pacific swapped their roles for about 2,000 years," said Timmermann.
Activists shut down Scots rig
Activists shut down Scots rig
Dean Herbert
The Express
September 1, 2010
ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners yesterday shut down a controversial Scots oil drilling operation off Greenland.
Four Greenpeace activists clambered board the Stena Don rig, operated by Edinburghbased Cairn Energy. They had dodged commandos in Danish naval boats guarding the rig.
The campaigners hung from the rig 49ft above the Arctic Ocean in tents suspended from ropes.
Cairn believes Greenland could have billions of barrels of reserves but the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has raised fears about the risks of offshore drilling.
Greenpeace said its activists had enough supplies to occupy the tents for several days.
It comes just a week after eco-warriors caused chaos in Edinburgh protesting against Royal Bank of Scotland, which financed Cairns Arctic drilling operations.
Four Greenpeace activists clambered board the Stena Don rig, operated by Edinburghbased Cairn Energy. They had dodged commandos in Danish naval boats guarding the rig.
The campaigners hung from the rig 49ft above the Arctic Ocean in tents suspended from ropes.
Cairn believes Greenland could have billions of barrels of reserves but the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has raised fears about the risks of offshore drilling.
Greenpeace said its activists had enough supplies to occupy the tents for several days.
It comes just a week after eco-warriors caused chaos in Edinburgh protesting against Royal Bank of Scotland, which financed Cairns Arctic drilling operations.
The Worst Impact Of Climate Change May Be How Humanity Reacts To It
The Worst Impact Of Climate Change May Be How Humanity Reacts To It
Arlington VA (SPX) Aug 12, 2010http://www.terradaily.com/reports/The_Worst_Impact_Of_Climate_Change_May_Be_How_Humanity_Reacts_To_It_999.html The way that humanity reacts to climate change may do more damage to many areas of the planet than climate change itself unless we plan properly, an important new study published in Conservation Letters by Conservation International's Will Turner and a group of other leading scientists has concluded. The paper Climate change: helping nature survive the human response, looks at efforts to both reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and potential action that could be taken by people to adapt to a changed climate and assesses the potential impact that these could have on global ecosystems.
 File image. |
Arlington VA (SPX) Aug 12, 2010http://www.terradaily.com/reports/The_Worst_Impact_Of_Climate_Change_May_Be_How_Humanity_Reacts_To_It_999.html The way that humanity reacts to climate change may do more damage to many areas of the planet than climate change itself unless we plan properly, an important new study published in Conservation Letters by Conservation International's Will Turner and a group of other leading scientists has concluded. The paper Climate change: helping nature survive the human response, looks at efforts to both reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and potential action that could be taken by people to adapt to a changed climate and assesses the potential impact that these could have on global ecosystems.
Giant Greenland iceberg a climate 'warning sign'
Giant Greenland iceberg a climate 'warning sign'
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Giant_Greenland_iceberg_a_climate_warning_sign_999.html Paris (AFP) Aug 13, 2010 A giant iceberg that snapped away from Greenland last week is a signal that global warming is causing the island's continent-sized ice cap to melt faster than expected, scientists say. The 250-square-kilometre (100-square-mile) chunk, four times the size of Manhattan, broke away from the Petermann ice shelf on Greenland's northwestern tip.
The breakoff -- the largest in the Arctic in half a century -- points to Greenland's worrying potential to stoke sea levels in the coming decades and centuries, climate experts say.
"It is a warning sign that we are seeing changes," said University of Colorado glaciologist Konrad Steffen, who is overseeing the Greenland section of a major report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), due in 2013.
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The breakoff -- the largest in the Arctic in half a century -- points to Greenland's worrying potential to stoke sea levels in the coming decades and centuries, climate experts say.
"It is a warning sign that we are seeing changes," said University of Colorado glaciologist Konrad Steffen, who is overseeing the Greenland section of a major report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), due in 2013.
Indonesian Ice Field May Be Gone In A Matter Of Years
Image via WikipediaIndonesian Ice Field May Be Gone In A Matter Of Years  One of the drill camps perched precariously between cravasses in the ice field. Photo courtesy of Lonnie Thompson, Ohio State University. |
Resolving The Paradox Of The Antarctic Sea Ice
Resolving The Paradox Of The Antarctic Sea Icehttp://www.terradaily.com/reports/Resolving_The_Paradox_Of_The_Antarctic_Sea_Ice_999.html
Atlanta GA (SPX) Aug 20, 2010 While Arctic sea ice has been diminishing in recent decades, the Antarctic sea ice extent has been increasing slightly. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology provide an explanation for the seeming paradox of increasing Antarctic sea ice in a warming climate. The paper appears in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science the week of August 16, 2010.
 File image. |
Atlanta GA (SPX) Aug 20, 2010 While Arctic sea ice has been diminishing in recent decades, the Antarctic sea ice extent has been increasing slightly. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology provide an explanation for the seeming paradox of increasing Antarctic sea ice in a warming climate. The paper appears in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science the week of August 16, 2010.
Is The Ice In The Arctic Ocean Getting Thinner And Thinner
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeIs The Ice In The Arctic Ocean Getting Thinner And Thinner  Propeller of Polar 5, the scientific aircraft of Alfred Wegener Institute, on its flight across Svalbard. Photo: Ralf Rochert, Alfred Wegener Institute. |
Geo-Engineering And Sea-Level Rise Over The 21st Century
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Geo_Engineering_And_Sea_Level_Rise_Over_The_21st_Century_999.html
Image via Wikipedia
Image via Wikipedia
Southampton, UK (SPX) Aug 31, 2010 Scientific findings by international research group of scientists from England, China and Denmark just published suggest that sea level will likely be 30-70 centimetres higher by 2100 than at the start of the century even if all but the most aggressive geo-engineering schemes are undertaken to mitigate the effects of global warming and greenhouse gas emissions are stringently controlled. "Rising sea levels caused by global warming are likely to affect around 150 million people living in low-lying coastal areas, including some of the world's largest cities," explained Dr Svetlana Jevrejeva of the National Oceanography Centre. |
Japan endures hottest summer on record
Japan endures hottest summer on record
Tokyo (AFP) Sept 1, 2010 - http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Japan_endures_hottest_summer_on_record_999.html
Japan has endured its hottest summer since records began in 1898, the meteorological agency said Wednesday, during a heatwave that saw thousands of people taken to hospital suffering heatstroke. The average temperature nationwide between June and August was 1.64 degrees Celsius above average for the period, forecasters said. The previous record margin was 1.36 degrees C set in 1994. ... more
Tokyo (AFP) Sept 1, 2010 - http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Japan_endures_hottest_summer_on_record_999.htmlJapan has endured its hottest summer since records began in 1898, the meteorological agency said Wednesday, during a heatwave that saw thousands of people taken to hospital suffering heatstroke. The average temperature nationwide between June and August was 1.64 degrees Celsius above average for the period, forecasters said. The previous record margin was 1.36 degrees C set in 1994. ... more
New View Of Tectonic Plates
New View Of Tectonic Plates
Pasadena CA (SPX) Sep 02, 2010 -
Computational scientists and geophysicists at the University of Texas at Austin and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have developed new computer algorithms that for the first time allow for the simultaneous modeling of the earth's Earth's mantle flow, large-scale tectonic plate motions, and the behavior of individual fault zones, to produce an unprecedented view of plate tectonic ... more
Pasadena CA (SPX) Sep 02, 2010 - Computational scientists and geophysicists at the University of Texas at Austin and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have developed new computer algorithms that for the first time allow for the simultaneous modeling of the earth's Earth's mantle flow, large-scale tectonic plate motions, and the behavior of individual fault zones, to produce an unprecedented view of plate tectonic ... more
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Cold snap decimates Amazon aquatic life
Millions of aquatic animals in land-locked Bolivia's river systems have perished in unusually cold weather during the ongoing winter.http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Cold_snap_decimates_Amazon_aquatic_life_999.html The casualties include at least 6 million fish, thousands of alligators, turtles and river dolphins, scientific reports cited by Nature News said.
Losses of penguins were reported in Brazil and cattle deaths, affected by a cold snap from the Antarctic, hit farmers in Paraguay.
The scientists' version of how the aquatic animals were decimated was hotly contested by visitors to Nature News Web site, while official Bolivian reports on the aquatic deaths were still awaited.
Bolivia is no stranger to extreme weather conditions as its geography interacts with humid tropical conditions but the aquatic deaths took scientists by surprise.
Tens of thousands of Bolivians who depend on the river resources face a bleak future as officials try to work out how to deal with a developing ecological crisis and its impact on the communities and national economy.
The deaths came to light after a sudden cold spell during the Southern Hemisphere's winter, which begins in late June and lasts to the third week of September.
The region around the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in the eastern part of Bolivia, usually experiences warm subtropical climate. Temperatures average 74 degrees Fahrenheit with 68 percent humidity.
Scientists who visited the affected rivers said Bolivia could be facing its worst ecological disaster in recent history. They reported river waters dotted with tens of thousands of dead fish, denying nearby communities access to safe drinking water.
The trouble began after cold Antarctic air settled over the southern cone of South America for most of July.
Water temperature in Bolivian rivers, normally about 59 degrees Fahrenheit, dropped to about 39 degrees Fahrenheit and was matched by the air temperature -- coldest since 36.5 degrees recorded in 1955.
Other experts cited by Nature News said shock caused by extreme cold could cause the mass deaths among fish. "When fish die, it's usually not a single stressor, but multiple stressors interacting," said Steven Cooke, an aquatic ecologist at Carleton University in Ottawa. "So, if cold shock or cooler temperatures are being implicated in mortality, there's probably something else going on as well."
Other experts said pollution from the large-scale burning of of farmland around Santa Cruz could also be responsible for aquatic deaths.
Officials said funding was awaited to conduct detailed research into the aquatic deaths. Meanwhile, Bolivians in the affected areas are hoping for government help with the cleaning of the river waters before disease sets in.
Losses of penguins were reported in Brazil and cattle deaths, affected by a cold snap from the Antarctic, hit farmers in Paraguay.
The scientists' version of how the aquatic animals were decimated was hotly contested by visitors to Nature News Web site, while official Bolivian reports on the aquatic deaths were still awaited.
Bolivia is no stranger to extreme weather conditions as its geography interacts with humid tropical conditions but the aquatic deaths took scientists by surprise.
Tens of thousands of Bolivians who depend on the river resources face a bleak future as officials try to work out how to deal with a developing ecological crisis and its impact on the communities and national economy.
The deaths came to light after a sudden cold spell during the Southern Hemisphere's winter, which begins in late June and lasts to the third week of September.
The region around the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in the eastern part of Bolivia, usually experiences warm subtropical climate. Temperatures average 74 degrees Fahrenheit with 68 percent humidity.
Scientists who visited the affected rivers said Bolivia could be facing its worst ecological disaster in recent history. They reported river waters dotted with tens of thousands of dead fish, denying nearby communities access to safe drinking water.
The trouble began after cold Antarctic air settled over the southern cone of South America for most of July.
Water temperature in Bolivian rivers, normally about 59 degrees Fahrenheit, dropped to about 39 degrees Fahrenheit and was matched by the air temperature -- coldest since 36.5 degrees recorded in 1955.
Other experts cited by Nature News said shock caused by extreme cold could cause the mass deaths among fish. "When fish die, it's usually not a single stressor, but multiple stressors interacting," said Steven Cooke, an aquatic ecologist at Carleton University in Ottawa. "So, if cold shock or cooler temperatures are being implicated in mortality, there's probably something else going on as well."
Other experts said pollution from the large-scale burning of of farmland around Santa Cruz could also be responsible for aquatic deaths.
Officials said funding was awaited to conduct detailed research into the aquatic deaths. Meanwhile, Bolivians in the affected areas are hoping for government help with the cleaning of the river waters before disease sets in.
In Asia's mountains, most glaciers are shrinking
In Asia's mountains, most glaciers are shrinking
The U.S. Geological Survey has collaborated with Asian glaciologists for a new report on what's happening to the glaciers of Asia. Many are shrinking as a result of climate change.
"This retreat impacts water supplies to millions of people, increases the likelihood of outburst floods that threaten life and property in nearby areas, and contributes to sea-level rise," USGS said in a release.
"As glaciers become smaller, water runoff decreases, which is especially important during the dry season when other water sources are limited. Climate change also brings warmer temperatures and earlier water runoff from glaciers, and this combined with spring and summer rains can result in flood conditions. The overall glacier retreat and additional melt can increase the amount of water dammed in the vicinity of a glacier, and the added pressure enhances the likelihood of disastrous outburst flooding."
"This retreat impacts water supplies to millions of people, increases the likelihood of outburst floods that threaten life and property in nearby areas, and contributes to sea-level rise," USGS said in a release.
"As glaciers become smaller, water runoff decreases, which is especially important during the dry season when other water sources are limited. Climate change also brings warmer temperatures and earlier water runoff from glaciers, and this combined with spring and summer rains can result in flood conditions. The overall glacier retreat and additional melt can increase the amount of water dammed in the vicinity of a glacier, and the added pressure enhances the likelihood of disastrous outburst flooding."
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