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Categories: Geoscience: Geography, Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published Twilight zone at risk from climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Life in the ocean's 'twilight zone' could decline dramatically due to climate change, new research suggests.
Published How the Amazon rainforest is likely to cope with the effect of future drought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A major collaboration involving 80 scientists from Europe and South America has identified the regions of the Amazon rainforest where trees are most likely to face the greatest risk from drier conditions brought about by climate change. Based on the analysis, the scientists predict trees in the western and southern Amazon face the greatest risk of dying. They also warn that previous scientific investigations may have underestimated the impact of drought on the rainforest because those studies focused on the central-eastern part of the forest, which is the least vulnerable to drought.
Published Brain circuits for locomotion evolved long before appendages and skeletons
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists found parallels between the neural circuitry that guides locomotion in sea slugs and in more complex animals like mammals.
Published Ocean ecosystem: Mixotrophic microorganisms play key role
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have identified a previously unknown group of bacteria, called UBA868, as key players in the energy cycle of the deep ocean. They are significantly involved in the biogeochemical cycle in the marine layer between 200 and 1000 meters.
Published Jellyfish-like robots could one day clean up the world's oceans
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Roboticists have developed a jellyfish-inspired underwater robot with which they hope one day to collect waste from the bottom of the ocean. The almost noise-free prototype can trap objects underneath its body without physical contact, thereby enabling safe interactions in delicate environments such as coral reefs. Jellyfish-Bot could become an important tool for environmental remediation.
Published Massive iceberg discharges during the last ice age had no impact on nearby Greenland, raising new questions about climate dynamics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New findings suggest that Heinrich Events had no discernible impact on temperatures in Greenland, which could have repercussions for scientists' understanding of past climate dynamics.
Published Whales stop by Gold Coast bay for day spa fix with full body scrubs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new Griffith University study has found that humpback whales will use sandy, shallow bay areas to 'roll' around in sandy substrates to remove dead skin cells on their return journeys south to cooler waters. Using data and footage collected from the tags, whales were observed performing full and side rolls in up to 49m water depth on the sea floor that was lined with fine sand or rubble.
Published Arctic ice algae heavily contaminated with microplastics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The alga Melosira arctica, which grows under Arctic sea ice, contains ten times as many microplastic particles as the surrounding seawater. This concentration at the base of the food web poses a threat to creatures that feed on the algae at the sea surface. Clumps of dead algae also transport the plastic with its pollutants particularly quickly into the deep sea -- and can thus explain the high microplastic concentrations in the sediment there.
Published Ridgecrest faults increasingly sensitive to solid Earth tides before earthquakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Faults in the Ridgecrest, California area were very sensitive to solid earth tidal stresses in the year and a half before the July 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence.
Published The climate crisis and biodiversity crisis can't be approached as two separate things
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Anthropogenic climate change has, together with the intensive use and destruction of natural ecosystems through agriculture, fishing and industry, sparked an unprecedented loss of biodiversity that continues to worsen. In this regard, the climate crisis and biodiversity crisis are often viewed as two separate catastrophes. An international team of researchers calls for adopting a new perspective.
Published Research collaboration aims to improve nationwide water quality, restore wetlands
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The new classification system demonstrates the effects wetlands have on water quality at a continental scale -- invaluable data that can be used to better define whether wetlands are federally regulated under the U.S. Clean Water Act.
Published Polar ice sheet melting records have toppled during the past decade
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The seven worst years for polar ice sheets melting and losing ice have occurred during the past decade, according to new research, with 2019 being the worst year on record. The seven worst years for polar ice sheets melting and losing ice have occurred during the past decade, according to new research, with 2019 being the worst year on record. The melting ice sheets now account for a quarter of all sea level rise -- a fivefold increase since the 1990's -- according to researchers who have combined 50 satellite surveys of Antarctica and Greenland taken between 1992 and 2020, funded by NASA and the European Space Agency.
Published Immediate carbon cuts, common marine heatwave terminology urged
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Oceanographers provide a reality check on the limitations of carbon dioxide removal and a warning that marine heatwaves need clear definitions so communities can adapt.
Published Companies' zero-deforestation commitments have potential to halve cattle-driven deforestation in Brazilian Amazon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Study shows better adoption and implementation of company supply chain policies for Brazilian beef and leather could significantly reduce carbon emissions.
Published Scientists identify 2022 sea urchin killer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers has identified a single-celled organism called a ciliate as the cause of a massive die-off event to a marine animal vital to coral reef health.
Published A once-stable glacier in Greenland is now rapidly disappearing
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As climate change causes ocean temperatures to rise, one of Greenland's previously most stable glaciers is now retreating at an unprecedented rate, according to a new study.
Published Plate tectonic processes in the Pacific and Atlantic during the Cretaceous period have shaped the Caribbean region to this day
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Earthquakes and volcanism occur as a result of plate tectonics. The movement of tectonic plates themselves is largely driven by the process known as subduction. The question of how new active subduction zones come into being, however, is still under debate. An example of this is the volcanic Lesser Antilles arc in the Caribbean. A research team recently developed models that simulated the occurrences in the Caribbean region during the Cretaceous, when a subduction event in the Eastern Pacific led to the formation of a new subduction zone in the Atlantic. The computer simulations show how the collision of the old Caribbean plateau with the Greater Antilles arc contributed to the creation of this new Atlantic subduction zone. Some 86 million years ago, the triggered processes subsequently resulted in a major mantle flow and thus to the development of the Caribbean large igneous province.
Published Swimming secrets of prehistoric reptiles unlocked by new study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The diverse swimming techniques of the ancient reptiles that ruled the Mesozoic seas have been revealed.
Published Scientists discover pristine deep-sea coral reefs in the Galápagos Marine Reserve
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered extensive, ancient deep-sea coral reefs within the Galápagos Marine Reserve (GMR) -- the first of their kind ever to be documented inside the marine protected area (MPA) since it was established in 1998. The first reef observed was found at 400-600m (1,310-1,970 feet) depth at the summit of a previously unmapped seamount in the central part of the archipelago and supports a breathtaking mix of deep marine life.
Published Coastal species persist on high seas on floating plastic debris
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The high seas have been colonized by a surprising number of coastal marine invertebrate species, which can now survive and reproduce in the open ocean, contributing strongly to the floating community composition. Researchers found coastal species, representing diverse taxonomic groups and life history traits, in the eastern North Pacific Subtropical Gyre on over 70 percent of the plastic debris they examined. Further, the debris carried more coastal species than open ocean species.