Archive for October, 2013

Is global heating hiding out in the oceans? Parts of Pacific warming 15 times faster than in past 10,000 years

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In a reconstruction of Pacific Ocean temperatures in the last 10,000 years, researchers have found that its middle depths have warmed 15 times faster in the last 60 years than they did during apparent natural warming cycles in the previous 10,000....

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Tagging aquatic animals can disrupt natural behavior

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American and Canadian researchers have for the first time quantified the energy cost to aquatic animals when they carry satellite tags, video cameras and other research instruments....

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Listen up: Oysters may use sound to select a home

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Oysters begin their lives as tiny drifters, but when they mature they settle on reefs. New research shows that the sounds of the reef may attract the young oysters, helping them locate their permanent home....

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Staggering turbines improves performance 33%

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Researchers have found staggering and spacing out turbines in an offshore wind farm can improve performance by as much as 33 percent....

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Bottom-feeding behavior of humpback whales confirmed

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Scientists have confirmed that humpback whales in the southern Gulf of Maine are spending more feeding time on the ocean floor than in any of their known feeding behaviors, putting them at risk for entanglement in bottom-set fishing gear like lobster traps....

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Scientists shine light on world’s least-studied bat

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The Mortlock Islands flying fox, a large, breadfruit-eating bat native to a few remote and tiny Pacific islands, has long been regarded as one of the world's least studied bats. Today researchers published a wealth of new information on this "forgotten" species, including the first detailed observations of wild populations....

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New global policy effort to tackle crisis of plastic litter in oceans urged

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A new report explores the sources and impacts of plastic marine litter, and offers domestic and international policy recommendations to tackle these growing problems -- a targeted, multifaceted approach aimed at protecting ocean wildlife, coastal waters and economies, and human health....

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Redwood trees reveal history of west coast rain, fog, ocean conditions

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Scientists have found a way to use coastal redwood trees as a window into historic climate, using oxygen and carbon atoms in the wood to detect fog and rainfall in previous seasons....

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Thawing permafrost: The speed of coastal erosion in Eastern Siberia has nearly doubled

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The high cliffs of Eastern Siberia -- which mainly consist of permafrost -- continue to erode at an ever quickening pace. This evaluation is based on data and aerial photographs of the coastal regions for the last 40 years....

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New species of labrisomidae fish discovered in Brazil

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Researchers have published data on a new species of fish in the Labrisomidae family on the Brazilian archipelago of Trindade and Martim Vaz in the Atlantic Ocean. It is an endemic species that can only be found in this group of islands due to how far it is from the coast....

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