ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News

Can cattle grazing management technique help capture and store carbon in soil? Posted: 14 Feb 2015 03:45 PM PST Can beef production help restore ecosystems? Scientists are examining the adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing management technique that involves using small-sized fields to provide short periods of grazing for livestock and long recovery periods for fields. The method mimics the migrations of wild herd animals, such as elk, bison and deer. The science team proposes a whole system science measurement approach in comparing AMP grazing with conventional, continuous grazing methods.

Iconic graph at center of climate debate Posted: 14 Feb 2015 03:45 PM PST The 'Hockey Stick' graph, a simple plot representing temperature over time, led to the center of the larger debate on climate change, and skewed the trajectory of at least one researcher.

Going negative with carbon Posted: 14 Feb 2015 03:45 PM PST A growing number of scientists warn that low-carbon technologies might not be enough to curb global warming. The solution, they say, could require a new suite of carbon-negative technologies that actually remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Bat populations in post-wildfire habitats Posted: 14 Feb 2015 06:23 AM PST Researchers are measuring bat populations in post-wildfire forests of Arizona. Bats are considered an indicator species of habitat health.

Larger area analysis needed to understand patterns in ancient prehistory Posted: 13 Feb 2015 01:48 PM PST Archaeologists need to study larger areas of land and link those studies to measurable environmental, societal and demographic changes to understand variations in prehistoric societies, according to anthropologists. The large areas are necessary to say anything meaningful about human behavioral response to social and environmental events.

World crop diversity survives in small farms from peri-urban to remote rural locations Posted: 13 Feb 2015 01:48 PM PST As much as 75 percent of global seed diversity in staple food crops is held and actively used by a wide range of small farmholders -- workers of less than three to seven acres -- with the rest in gene banks.

Finding winners and losers in global land use Posted: 13 Feb 2015 01:48 PM PST An increasingly complex, interconnected world makes it difficult to study sustainability and figure out who the winners and losers are.

Thames study: Rivers can be a major source antibiotic resistance Posted: 13 Feb 2015 08:21 AM PST Rivers and streams could be a major source of antibiotic resistance in the environment. A new study found that greater numbers of resistant bacteria exist close to some waste water treatment works, and that these plants are likely to be responsible for at least half of the increase observed.

Buildings with 'rocking' technology would be more earthquake-resilient Posted: 11 Feb 2015 09:37 AM PST Buildings that rock during an earthquake and return to plumb would withstand seismic shaking better than structural designs commonly used in vulnerable zones of California and elsewhere. A researcher's modeling suggests optimal sizes for damping devices and steel yielding devices that dissipate the energy of a quake.