Archive for September, 2013

Traces of immense prehistoric ice sheets discovered

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Geologists and geophysicists have discovered traces of large ice sheets from the Pleistocene on a seamount off the north-eastern coast of Russia....

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Eilat’s corals stand better chance of resilience than other sites

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Israel’s southern Red Sea resort of Eilat, one of whose prime attractions is its colorful and multi-shaped underwater coral reefs, may have a clear advantage in the future over rival coral-viewing sites around the world, scientists have found....

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Breathing underwater: Evidence of microscopic life in oceanic crust

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Scientists have recently documented that oxygen is disappearing from seawater circulating through deep oceanic crust, a significant first step in understanding the way life in the "deep biosphere" beneath the sea floor is able to survive and thrive. The new research findings are helping to redefine our concepts of the limits of life on our planet....

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Human influence on climate clear, IPCC report says

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Human influence on the climate system is clear. This is evident in most regions of the globe, a new assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes. It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. The evidence for this has grown, thanks to more and better observations, an improved understanding of the climate system response and improved climate models....

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Research reveals bottom feeding techniques of tagged humpback whales in Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary

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New research on tagged humpback whales in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary reveals a variety of previously unknown feeding techniques along the seafloor. Rather than a single bottom feeding behavior, the whales show three distinct feeding approaches: Simple side-rolls, side-roll inversions, and repetitive scooping....

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Future sea level rises should not restrict new island formation in the Maldives

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The continued accumulation of sand within the iconic ring-shaped reefs inside Maldivian atolls could provide a foundation for future island development new research suggests. Islands like the Maldives are considered likely to be the first to feel the effects of climate change induced sea level rise, with future island growth essential to counter the threat of rising sea levels....

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Whale mass stranding attributed to sonar mapping for first time

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An independent scientific review panel has concluded that the mass stranding of approximately 100 melon-headed whales in the Loza Lagoon system in northwest Madagascar in 2008 was primarily triggered by acoustic stimuli, more specifically, a multi-beam echosounder system operated by a survey vessel contracted by ExxonMobil Exploration and Production (Northern Madagascar) Limited....

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The deep Greenland Sea is warming faster than the world ocean

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Recent warming of the Greenland Sea Deep Water is about ten times higher than warming rates estimated for the global ocean. Scientists analyzed temperature data from 1950 to 2010 in the abyssal Greenland Sea, which is an ocean area located just to the south of the Arctic Ocean....

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Deep sea ecosystem may take decades to recover from Deepwater Horizon spill

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The deep-sea soft-sediment ecosystem in the immediate area of the 2010's Deepwater Horizon well head blowout and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will likely take decades to recover from the spill's impacts, according to a new scientific article....

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Late Cretaceous Period was likely ice-free

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For years, scientists have thought that a continental ice sheet formed during the Late Cretaceous Period more than 90 million years ago when the climate was much warmer than it is today. Now, researchers have found evidence suggesting that no ice sheet formed at this time. This finding could help environmentalists and scientists predict what Earth's climate will be as carbon dioxide levels continue to rise....

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