Archive for December, 2013

Major reductions in seafloor marine life from climate change by 2100

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A new study quantifies for the first time future losses in deep-sea marine life, using advanced climate models. Results show that even the most remote deep-sea ecosystems are not safe from the impacts of climate change....

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Greenland ice stores liquid water year-round

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Researchers have found an extensive reservoir in the Greenland Ice Sheet that holds water year round. A surprising discovery, the existence of the 27,000 square mile aquifer adds important information to sea level rise calculations....

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Optical rogue waves: The storm in a test tube

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Random processes in nature often underlie a so-called normal distribution that enables reliable estimation for the appearance of extreme statistical events. Meteorological systems are an exception to this rule, with extreme events appearing at a much higher rate than could be predicted from long-term observation at much lower magnitude. One such example is the appearance of unexpectedly strong storms, yet another are rare reports of waves of extreme height in the ocean, which are also known as rogue waves or monster waves....

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Coastal ocean aquaculture can be environmentally sustainable

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Specific types of fish farming can be accomplished with minimal or no harm to the coastal ocean environment as long as proper planning and safeguards are in place, according to a new report....

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Mountain erosion accelerates under a cooling climate

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The Earth’s continental topography reflects the balance between tectonics, climate, and their interaction through erosion. However, understanding the impact of individual factors on Earth’s topography remains elusive. Scientists have now investigated the effect of global cooling and glaciation on topogrpahy over the last two to three million years. Their data show that mountain erosion rates have increased since circa 6 million years and most rapidly in the last 2 million years. Moreover, alpine glaciers play a significant role in the increase of erosion rates under a cool climate....

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Saving Fiji’s coral reefs linked to forest conservation upstream

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The health of coral reefs offshore depend on the protection of forests near the sea, according to a new study that outlines the importance of terrestrial protected areas to coastal biodiversity....

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Research shows coral reefs worth saving

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Scientists study a reef off Little Cayman Island for 14 years and find damaged reefs can recover, if left alone....

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Scientists explore world’s largest undersea canyon

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A joint British-German team has returned from a five-week research expedition, mapping and sampling a giant submarine canyon off northwest Morocco. The expedition was on the German research vessel, Maria S Merian....

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Deep-sea corals record dramatic long-term shift in Pacific Ocean ecosystem

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Long-lived deep-sea corals preserve evidence of a major shift in the open Pacific Ocean ecosystem since around 1850, according to a new study. The findings indicate that changes at the base of the marine food web observed in recent decades in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre may have begun more than 150 years ago at the end of the Little Ice Age....

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Evidence of mass extinction associated with climate change 375 million years ago discovered in Central Asia

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Scientists have found evidence for catastrophic oceanographic events associated with climate change and a mass extinction 375 million years ago that devastated tropical marine ecosystems....

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