ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News

Blue blood on ice: How an Antarctic octopus survives the cold Posted: 10 Mar 2015 05:57 PM PDT An Antarctic octopus that lives in ice-cold water uses an unique strategy to transport oxygen in its blood, according to new research. The study suggests that the octopus's specialized blood pigments could help to make it more resilient to climate change than Antarctic fish and other species of octopus.

NASA's Soil Moisture Mapper takes first 'SMAPshots' Posted: 10 Mar 2015 02:50 PM PDT Fresh off the recent successful deployment of its 20-foot (6-meter) reflector antenna and associated boom arm, NASA's new Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory has successfully completed a two-day test of its science instruments.

New long-term earthquake forecast for California Posted: 10 Mar 2015 02:45 PM PDT A new California earthquake forecast by the U.S. Geological Survey and partners revises scientific estimates for the chances of having large earthquakes over the next several decades.

Microbial soil cleanup at Fukushima Posted: 10 Mar 2015 09:33 AM PDT Proteins from salt-loving, halophilic, microbes could be the key to cleaning up leaked radioactive strontium and caesium ions from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant incident in Japan.

Same forces as today caused climate changes 1.4 billion years ago Posted: 10 Mar 2015 09:33 AM PDT Natural forces have always caused the climate on Earth to fluctuate. Now researchers have found geological evidence that some of the same forces as today were at play 1.4 billion years ago.

Concept of hibernation challenged: Bat species is first mammal found hibernating at constant warm temperatures Posted: 10 Mar 2015 09:33 AM PDT The Middle East, with temperate winters, was until recently considered an unlikely host for hibernating mammals. Now new research is set to change the very concept of hibernation. Researchers discovered two species of the mouse-tailed bat that hibernate at the unusually warm and constant temperature of about 68°F in caves in Israel's Great Rift Valley.

The chameleon reorganizes its nanocrystals to change colors Posted: 10 Mar 2015 09:31 AM PDT Many chameleons have the remarkable ability to exhibit complex and rapid color changes during social interactions. Biologists have now unveiled the mechanisms that regulate this phenomenon. They have demonstrated that the changes take place via the active tuning of a lattice of nanocrystals present in a superficial layer of dermal cells called iridophores. The researchers also reveal the existence of a deeper population of iridophores with larger and less ordered crystals that reflect the infrared light. The organisation of iridophores into two superimposed layers constitutes an evolutionary novelty and it allows the chameleons to rapidly shift between efficient camouflage and spectacular display, while providing passive thermal protection.

Predicting the extent of flash flooding Posted: 10 Mar 2015 09:31 AM PDT Devastating floodwaters such as those experienced during Iowa's Flood of 2008 are notoriously difficult to predict. So a team of mathematicians and hydrologists have set out to gain a better understanding of flood genesis and the factors impacting it. They were able to do this by zeroing in on the impacts of certain rainfall patterns at the smallest unit of a river basin: the hillslope scale.

New approach combines biomass conversion, solar energy conversion Posted: 10 Mar 2015 09:30 AM PDT A new approach to combine solar energy conversion and biomass conversion has been presented by researchers. These are two important research areas for renewable energy, they say.

Small eddies produce global effects on climate change Posted: 10 Mar 2015 07:53 AM PDT The increasing strength of winds over the Southern Ocean has extended its ability to absorb carbon dioxide, effectively delaying the impacts of global warming. New research found the intensifying wind over that ocean increased the speed and energy of eddies and jets. The increased movement and overturning of these eddies and jets has accelerated the carbon cycle and driven more heat into the deep ocean.

Friction means Antarctic glaciers more sensitive to climate change than we thought Posted: 10 Mar 2015 07:52 AM PDT A new study finds that incorporating Coulomb friction into computer models increases the sensitivity of Antarctic ice sheets to temperature perturbations driven by climate change.

Tiny glassy snails discovered in caves of Northern Spain Posted: 10 Mar 2015 07:52 AM PDT Two new species of tiny subterranean snails enrich the biodiversity of Northern Spain. Zospeum vasconicum and Zospeum zaldivarae belong to a group of blind, diaphanous snails known to inhabit caves from Northern Spain to the Dinaric Alps of former Yugoslavia. The two new rare snail species inhabit moist, muddy cave walls.

Tiny new fossil helps rewrite crab evolution, sheds lights on late Jurassic marine world Posted: 10 Mar 2015 07:52 AM PDT A new article describes a 150-million-year-old crab larva fossil specimen from southern Germany. The fossil provides critical evidence for understanding the early rise of crabs.

New carbon accounting method proposed Posted: 10 Mar 2015 07:48 AM PDT Established ways of measuring carbon emissions can sometimes give misleading feedback on how national policies affect global emissions. In some cases, countries are even rewarded for policies that increase global emissions, and punished for policies that contribute to reducing them. Consumption-based accounting, also known as carbon footprints, has been suggested as an alternative to today's production-based accounting

Extracting useful raw materials from fish and plant waste Posted: 10 Mar 2015 07:47 AM PDT New industrial processing techniques are enabling us to obtain valuable proteins, antioxidants and oils from salmon and rapeseed waste. These extracts can be used in health foods, nutritional supplements and skin care products. The EU project APROPOS has had as its aim to demonstrate the value inherent in waste food resources which are currently used mostly for animal feed.

Hidden greenhouse emissions revealed in new report Posted: 10 Mar 2015 06:14 AM PDT Restoration of wetlands can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a new Swedish report suggests. "The report states that some three percent of Sweden's land area is drained peatland and it discusses which of these areas should be rectified in the first instance," says one author.

Methane in Arctic lake traced to groundwater from seasonal thawing Posted: 09 Mar 2015 12:55 PM PDT Global warming may ramp up the flow of methane from groundwater into Arctic lakes, allowing more of the potent greenhouse gas to bubble out into the atmosphere, according to a new study.

Interdependence explained by ecologist Posted: 09 Mar 2015 11:50 AM PDT A community ecologist demonstrates important links between human health and the environment in the African savanna. Her fieldwork is a good example of researchers' continuing effort to understand exactly how environmental management affects disease emergence. In East Africa, she examines the direct impacts of human disturbance on landscape and wildlife, as well as a variety of factors affecting infectious disease risk.

New information helps predict future climate change impacts on global tropics Posted: 09 Mar 2015 11:50 AM PDT New measurements of tropical forests are being collected by scientists to gain a better understanding of how they respond to seasonal climate variations. "A better understanding of tropical forest behavior is needed because tropical forests serve as the lungs of Earth," noted a contributor to the study. "Tropical forests breathe in carbon dioxide -- a potent greenhouse gas -- and store it as vegetation biomass through photosynthesis."

New insights on arsenic cycling Posted: 09 Mar 2015 06:32 AM PDT A study of arsenic cycling in a southern Willamette Valley aquifer is splashing with potential significance for arsenic-compromised aquifers around the world.