ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News

Farmers can better prevent nutrient runoff based on land characteristics Posted: 18 Feb 2015 01:58 PM PST Doing more to keep farm runoff out of the country's waterways can start with a few key questions about what the land looks like, researchers say after creating a comprehensive nutrient runoff mitigation guide for farmland in both the Ohio and Upper Mississippi River Basins.

Feasibility of tracking parrots with GPS telemetry confirmed Posted: 18 Feb 2015 01:58 PM PST Yes, it is possible to study parrots with GPS trackers -- you just have to make them beak-proof. Researchers sealed GPS devices in tough polymer before attaching them to captured Keas (Nestor notabilis) using backpack harnesses. They successfully tracked 10 birds for a week and identified where and when they foraged, roosted, and interacted with tourists.

Switchgrass removes PCBs from soils, engineers find Posted: 18 Feb 2015 11:14 AM PST A type of grass that was once a staple of the American prairie can remove soil laden with PCBs, toxic chemicals once used for cooling and other industrial purposes, a study has found.

Urbanization may affect the initiation of thunderstorms Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:36 AM PST A study that assessed the impact of urban land use on the initiation of thunderstorms from 1997 to 2013 in the humid subtropical region of the southeast United States found that so-called isolated convective initiation events occur more often over the urban area of Atlanta compared with its surrounding rural counterparts. The findings confirm that human-induced changes in land cover in tropical environments lead to more thunderstorm initiation events.

Tropical fire ants traveled the world on 16th century ships Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:29 AM PST Thanks to a bit of genetic sleuthing, researchers now know the invasion history of the tropical fire ant (Solenopsis geminata), the first ant species known to travel the globe by sea.

In a warmer world, ticks that spread disease are arriving earlier, expanding their ranges Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:29 AM PST In the northeastern United States, warmer spring temperatures are leading to shifts in the emergence of the blacklegged ticks that carry Lyme disease and other tick-borne pathogens. At the same time, milder weather is allowing ticks to spread into new geographic regions.

Study recommends better EPA labels on cost of traditional vs. hybrid, electric cars Posted: 18 Feb 2015 07:18 AM PST Small to mid-sized car consumers would be more likely to choose a hybrid or plug-in electric vehicle over a gasoline vehicle if they know the total cost of ownership instead of simply looking at five-year fuel cost comparison, researchers conclude.

Size matters in the battle to adapt to diverse environments, avoid extinction Posted: 18 Feb 2015 07:16 AM PST By examining research on global patterns of amphibian diversification over hundreds of millions of years, researchers have discovered that 'sexually dimorphic' species -- those in which males and females differ in size, for example -- are at lower risk of extinction and better able to adapt to diverse environments.

Global warming to increase ocean upwelling, but fisheries impact uncertain Posted: 18 Feb 2015 06:30 AM PST A new report suggests that global warming may increase upwelling in several ocean current systems around the world by the end of this century, especially at high latitudes, and will cause major changes in marine biodiversity.

Igniting the air for atmospheric research Posted: 18 Feb 2015 04:30 AM PST Scientists have created a high-energy mid-infrared laser powerful enough to create shining filaments in the air. Such devices could be used to detect chemical substances in the atmosphere.

Bee disease reduced by nature's 'medicine cabinet' Posted: 17 Feb 2015 05:29 PM PST Nicotine isn't healthy for people, but such naturally occurring chemicals found in flowers of tobacco and other plants could be just the right prescription for ailing bees, according to a new study.