Earth Science News by Scientific Frontline®, an online publication from SFL ORG. Educational News Network

Earth Science / Environmental News Center

	Chile's Erupting Chaiten Volcano One Of Scores Of Active Volcanoes In Region NEW May 06, 2008 The Chaiten volcano now erupting in southern Chile is one of 200 to 300 volcanoes in the "Andean Arc" region of Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Columbia considered active by volcanologists, some of which lie in much more densely populated areas, said a University of Colorado at Boulder geologist who has studied Chaiten.	Scientific Frontline® RSS Feeds Scientific Frontline® The Comm Center The E.A.R.® World News Report SFL Gallery Cassini Gallery Mars Gallery Missions Gallery Exploration Gallery Space Weather Alerts Stellar Nights® Events Directors Chair Scientific Frontline® Is supported in part by “Readers Like You”
	New study analyzes why endangered parrot population isn't recovering NEW May 06, 2008 The population of wild Puerto Rican parrots, among the most endangered birds in the world, has languished for decades, with several dozen remaining birds unable to break through the bottleneck that prevents their numbers from growing.
	65-Million-Year-Old Asteroid Impact Triggered a Global Hail of Carbon Beads NEW May 05, 2008 The beads, known to geologists as carbon cenospheres, cannot be formed through the combustion of plant matter, contradicting a hypothesis that the cenospheres are the charred remains of an Earth on fire. If confirmed, the discovery suggests environmental circumstances accompanying the 65-million-year-old extinction event were slightly less dramatic than previously thought.
	Turning Fungus into Fuel NEW May 05, 2008 A spidery fungus with a voracious appetite for military uniforms and canvas tents could hold the key to improvements in the production of biofuels, a team of government, academic and industry researchers has announced.
	Research Team Is First to Model Photochemical Compass for Bird Navigation May 01, 2008 A team of researchers at Arizona State University and the University of Oxford are the first to model a photochemical compass that may simulate how migrating birds use light and Earth's weak magnetic field to navigate. The team reports that the photochemical model becomes sensitive to the magnitude and direction of weak magnetic fields similar to Earth's when exposed to light.
	Scientists Discover New Ocean Current Apr. 30, 2008 Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered a new climate pattern called the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation. This new pattern explains, for the first time, changes in the water that are important in helping commercial fishermen understand fluctuations in the fish stock. They’re also finding that as the temperature of the Earth is warming, large fluctuations in these factors could help climatologists predict how the oceans will respond in a warmer world.
	Before Fossil Fuels, Earth’s Minerals Kept CO2 in Check Apr. 29, 2008 Over millions of years carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have been moderated by a finely-tuned natural feedback system— a system that human emissions have recently overwhelmed. A joint University of Hawaii / Carnegie Institution study links the pre-human stability to connections between carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the breakdown of minerals in the Earth’s crust.
	Rare Example of Cooperative Behavior in Nature Apr. 17, 2008 Soldiers on sentry duty in hostile territory keep in regular radio contact with their colleagues to assure them that all is well and that they are safe to carry on their maneuvers. New research reveals that this is also a feature of the bird world. Natural selection suggests that individuals should act selfishly, so this is a rare example of co-operative behavior in the animal world. Dr Andy Radford from the University of Bristol, demonstrates how a look-out sentry for a group of foraging birds
	Sudden Oak Death pathogen is evolving, says new study that reconstructs the epidemic Apr. 16, 2008 The pathogen responsible for Sudden Oak Death first got its grip in California's forests outside a nursery in Santa Cruz and at Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County before spreading out to eventually kill millions of oaks and tanoaks along the Pacific Coast, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. It provides, for the first time, evidence of how the epidemic unfolded in this state.
	Road Losses Add Up, Taxing Amphibians And Other Animals Apr. 16, 2008 Researchers found more than 65 animal species killed along a short stretch of roads in a Midwestern county. Nearly 95 percent of the total dead were frogs and other amphibians, suggesting that road-related death, or road-kill, possibly contributes to their worldwide decline, a trend that has concerned and puzzled scientists for decades.
	Bikini Corals Recover From Atomic Blast Apr. 14, 2008 Half a century after the last earth-shattering atomic blast shook the Pacific atoll of Bikini, the corals are flourishing again. Some coral species, however, appear to be locally extinct. These are the findings of a remarkable investigation by an international team of scientists from Australia, Germany, Italy, Hawaii and the Marshall Islands. The expedition examined the diversity and abundance of marine life in the atoll.
	Geologists Discover New Way of Estimating Size and Frequency of Meteorite Impacts Apr. 11, 2008 Scientists have developed a new way of determining the size and frequency of meteorites that have collided with Earth. Their work shows that the size of the meteorite that likely plummeted to Earth at the time of the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary 65 million years ago was four to six kilometers in diameter. The meteorite was the trigger, scientists believe, for the mass extinction of dinosaurs and other life forms.
	Grand Canyon May Be As Old As Dinosaurs, According To New Geologic Dating Study Apr. 10, 2008 New geological evidence indicates the Grand Canyon may be so old that dinosaurs once lumbered along its rim, according to a study by researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the California Institute of Technology. The team used a technique known as radiometric dating to show the Grand Canyon may have formed more than 55 million years ago
	And the First Animal on Earth Was a... Apr. 10, 2008 A new study mapping the evolutionary history of animals indicates that Earth's first animal--a mysterious creature whose characteristics can only be inferred from fossils and studies of living animals--was probably significantly more complex than previously believed.
	Manufactured Buckyballs Don't Harm Microbes That Clean The Environment Apr. 08, 2008 Even large amounts of manufactured nanoparticles, also known as Buckyballs, don't faze microscopic organisms that are charged with cleaning up the environment, according to Purdue University researchers. In the first published study to examine Buckyball toxicity on microbes that break down organic substances in wastewater, the scientists used an amount of the nanoparticles on the microbes that was equivalent to pouring 10 pounds of talcum powder on a person
	'Revolutionary' CO2 maps zoom in on greenhouse gas sources Apr. 07, 2008 A new, high- resolution, interactive map of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels has found that the emissions aren't all where we thought. "For example, we've been attributing too many emissions to the northeastern United States, and it's looking like the southeastern U.S. is a much larger source than we had estimated previously," says Kevin Gurney, an assistant professor of earth and atmospheric science at Purdue University and leader of the project.
	Harmful Algae Taking Advantage of Global Warming Apr. 03, 2008 You know that green scum creeping across the surface of your local public water reservoir? Or maybe it’s choking out a favorite fishing spot or livestock watering hole. It’s probably cyanobacteria – blue-green algae – and it relishes the weather extremes that accompany global warming.
	NASA Launches Airborne Study of Arctic Atmosphere, Air Pollution Apr. 01, 2008 This month, NASA begins the most extensive field campaign ever to investigate the chemistry of the Arctic's lower atmosphere. The mission is poised to help scientists identify how air pollution contributes to climate changes in the Arctic. The recent decline of sea ice is one indication the Arctic is undergoing significant environmental changes related to climate warming.
	Octopus Sex More Sophisticated Than Arm-Wrestling Apr. 01, 2008 For decades, scientists have viewed octopuses as unromantic loners, with mating habits nearly devoid of complex behavior. But new research from the University of California, Berkeley, has found that at least one species of octopus engages in such sophisticated lovemaking tactics as flirting, passionate handholding and keeping rivals at arms' length.
	Under The Sea Mar. 27, 2008 For the first time scientists have mapped the layers of once molten rock that lie beneath the edges of the Atlantic Ocean and measure over eight miles thick in some locations. The research gives us a better understanding of what may have happened during the break up of continents to form new mid-ocean ridges. The same volcanic activity in the North Atlantic may also have caused the subsequent release of massive volumes of greenhouse gases which led to a spike in global temperatures 55 million years ago.
	"Nanominerals" Influence Earth Systems from Ocean to Atmosphere to Biosphere Mar. 20, 2008 The ubiquity of tiny particles of minerals--mineral nanoparticles--in oceans and rivers, atmosphere and soils, and in living cells are providing scientists with new ways of understanding Earth's workings. Our planet's physical, chemical, and biological processes are influenced or driven by the properties of these minerals.
	How Iron Gets into the North Pacific Mar. 19, 2008 Most oceanographers have assumed that, in the areas of the world's oceans known as High Nutrient, Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) regions, the iron needed to fertilize infrequent plankton blooms comes almost entirely from wind-blown dust. Phoebe Lam and James Bishop of the Earth Sciences Division at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have now shown that in the North Pacific, at least, it just ain't so.
	Researchers Say Arctic Sea Ice Still at Risk Despite Cold Winter Mar. 19, 2008 Using the latest satellite observations, NASA researchers and others report that the Arctic is still on “thin ice” when it comes to the condition of sea ice cover in the region. A colder-than-average winter in some regions of the Arctic this year has yielded an increase in the area of new sea ice, while the older sea ice that lasts for several years has continued to decline.
	Envisat makes first ever observation of regionally elevated CO2 from man made emissions Mar. 18, 2008 Using data from the SCIAMACHY instrument aboard ESA's Envisat environmental satellite, scientists have for the first time detected regionally elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide – the most important greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming – originating from man made emissions.
	Revealed: the secrets of successful ecosystems Mar. 12, 2008 The productivity and biodiversity of an ecosystem is significantly affected by the rate at which organisms move between different parts of the ecosystem, according to new research out today. Scientists hope that understanding the mechanisms which determine the diversity and productivity of ecosystems will help ecologists and conservationists to develop strategies to ensure that conservation areas are highly productive and rich in biodiversity.
	New Twist on Life’s Power Source Mar. 11, 2008 A startling discovery by scientists at the Carnegie Institution puts a new twist on photosynthesis, arguably the most important biological process on Earth. Photosynthesis by plants, algae, and some bacteria supports nearly all living things by producing food from sunlight, and in the process these organisms release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide.
	ESA Leads Endeavor To Save Earth Science Data Mar. 10, 2008 The amount of information being generated about our planet is increasing at an exponential rate, but it must be easily accessible in order to apply it to the global needs relating to the state of the Earth. GENESI-DR (Ground European Network for Earth Science Interoperations - Digital Repositories), an ESA-led, European Commission (EC)-funded two-year project, is taking the lead in providing reliable, easy, long-term access to Earth Science data via the Internet.
	Lowly Icelandic Midges Reveal Ecosystem's Tipping Points Mar. 05, 2008 At their peak, it is difficult to breathe without inhaling the bugs, which hatch and emerge from the lake in blizzard-like proportions. After their short adult life, their carcasses blanket the lake, and the dead flies confer so much nutrient on the surrounding landscape that the enhanced productivity can be measured by Earth-observing satellites.
	Warming Climate May Cause Arctic Tundra To Burn Mar. 05, 2008 Montana State University post-doctoral researcher Philip Higuera is the lead author on the paper, which summarizes a portion of a four-year study funded by the National Science Foundation. Higuera and his co-authors examined ancient sediments from four lakes in a remote region of Alaska in and around Gates of the Arctic National Park to determine what kind of vegetation existed in the area after the last ice age, 14,000 to 9,000 years ago.