Archive for November, 2013

Elucidating heavy precipitation events

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It is difficult to forecast heavy precipitation events accurately and reliably. The quality of these forecasts is affected by two processes whose relative importance has now been quantified. The French researchers have shown that these processes should be taken into account in low wind speed events. Their findings should help forecast these events, which repeatedly cause significant damage....

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Glaciers sizzle as they disappear into warmer water

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The sounds of bubbles escaping from melting ice make underwater glacial fjords one of the loudest natural marine environments on earth, according to research....

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Lakes discovered beneath Greenland ice sheet

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Scientists have discovered two subglacial lakes 800 meters below the Greenland Ice Sheet. Subglacial lakes are likely to influence the flow of the ice sheet, impacting global sea level change. The discovery of the lakes in Greenland will also help researchers to understand how the ice will respond to changing environmental conditions....

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A brooding marine worm found in Antarctica

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Brooding is a usual behavior in animals. However, to observe it in a marine worm is exceptional and, more surprisingly, it guards eggs from external threats....

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Google Earth reveals untold fish catches

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Large fish traps in the Persian Gulf could be catching up to six times more fish than what's being officially reported, according to the first investigation of fish catches from space....

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Incidental by-catch of marine turtles in the Mediterranean Sea

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When a marine turtle is incidentally by-caught by a longliner, fishermen try to cut the line — without hauling it on board — and release the turtle into the sea. However, research published determines that about 40% of post-released turtles die some months later due to the impact of longline fishing....

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New genomic study provides a glimpse of how whales could adapt to ocean

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Researchers have completed the first in-depth minke whale genome sequence and their new findings shed light on how whales successfully adapted to ocean environment. The data yielded in this study will contribute to future studies of marine mammal diseases, conservation and evolution....

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Great lakes waterfowl die-offs: Finding the source

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A deadly menace stalks the loons, gulls and other water birds of the Great Lakes region: Type E botulism. Cases of the disease are on the rise, and to understand die-off origin and distribution, ocean engineers are developing a novel way of tracking waterfowl carcasses to determine the source of lethal outbreaks....

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Expert assessment: Sea-level rise could exceed one meter in this century

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Sea-level rise in this century is likely to be 70-120 centimeters by 2100 if greenhouse-gas emissions are not mitigated, a broad assessment of the most active scientific publishers on that topic has revealed. The 90 experts participating in the survey anticipate a median sea-level rise of 200-300 centimeters by the year 2300 for a scenario with unmitigated emissions....

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Sea level rise forecasts helped by insights into glacier melting

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Predictions of sea level rise could become more accurate, thanks to new insight into how glacier movement is affected by melting ice in summer....

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