Archive for April, 2010

Seamounts identified as significant, unexplored territory

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Scientists were astounded to find that seamounts, mountains that rise from the seafloor, rank as some of the most common ocean habitats in the world. Their findings reverse previous beliefs about the prevalence of seamounts, which are treasure troves of marine biodiversity....

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A Pioneering Dive [Feature]

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Renowned explorer Dr. Don Walsh reflects on his historic 1960 dive in the Marianas Trench, and on what the next 50 years of ocean research may bring...

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Melting icebergs in polar oceans causing sea level rise globally, new assessment finds

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Scientists have discovered that changes in the amount of ice floating in the polar oceans are causing sea levels to rise -- by a mere hair's breadth today, but possibly much more if melting trends continue....

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Part of Alaska inundated by ancient megafloods

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New research indicates that one of the largest fresh-water floods in Earth's history happened about 17,000 years ago and inundated a large area of Alaska that is now occupied in part by the city of Wasilla....

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Melting sea ice major cause of warming in Arctic, new study reveals

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Melting sea ice has been shown to be a major cause of warming in the Arctic, according to an Australian study....

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Winds from Siberia reduce Arctic sea ice cover, Norwegian researchers find

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The ice cover in the Arctic has decreased dramatically in recent years. Norwegian researchers have discovered that changes in air circulation patterns create winds that push away the ice. The changed wind direction pushes large ice masses away from the Arctic and down along the eastern coast of Greenland. At the same time, less ice forms when the winds over the Arctic are determined by the pressure systems in northern Russia rather than those over the North Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, as is normally the case....

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Massive Southern Ocean current discovered

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A deep ocean current with a volume equivalent to 40 Amazon Rivers has been discovered by Japanese and Australian scientists near the Kerguelen plateau, in the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean, 4200 kilometers south-west of Perth....

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Topography of mountains could complicate rates of global warming

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The future effects of global warming could be significantly changed over very small distances by local air movements in complex or mountainous terrain -- perhaps doubling or even tripling the temperature increases in some situations....

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Celebrating 50 Years of Science on the Bay [NOS News]

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The Cooperative Oxford Laboratory (COL), located in Oxford, MD, celebrating its 50th anniversary in April. From oyster disease to dead zones, even today COL research remains critical to Chesapeake Bay restoration....

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Carbon dioxide emissions causing ocean acidification to progress at unprecedented rate

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The changing chemistry of the world's oceans is a growing global problem, says the summary of a congressionally requested study....

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