Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Human activity is making it harder for scientists to interpret oceans' past      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research shows human activity is significantly altering the ways in which marine organisms are preserved, with lasting effects that can both improve and impair the fossil record.

Offbeat: General Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

This sound-suppressing silk can create quiet spaces      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers developed a silk fabric, which is barely thicker than a human hair, that can suppress unwanted noise and reduce noise transmission in a large room.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Climate
Published

It flickers, then it tips -- study identifies early warning signals for the end of the African humid period      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tipping points in the climate system can be the result of a slow but linear development. However, they can also be accompanied by a 'flickering', with two stable climatic states that alternate before a final transition occurs -- and the climate tips permanently.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Mathematics: Modeling Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Why getting in touch with our 'gerbil brain' could help machines listen better      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have debunked a 75-year-old theory about how humans determine where sounds are coming from, and it could unlock the secret to creating a next generation of more adaptable and efficient hearing devices ranging from hearing aids to smartphones.

Computer Science: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling Paleontology: Climate
Published

New computer algorithm supercharges climate models and could lead to better predictions of future climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study describes a new computer algorithm which can be applied to Earth System Models to drastically reduce the time needed to prepare these in order to make accurate predictions of future climate change. During tests on models used in IPCC simulations, the algorithm was on average 10 times faster at spinning up the model than currently-used approaches, reducing the time taken to achieve equilibrium from many months to under a week.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Scientists show ancient village adapted to drought, rising seas      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have unveiled evidence for ancient human resilience to climate change in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Paleontology: Climate
Published

Climate change and mercury pollution stressed plants for millions of years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The link between massive flood basalt volcanism and the end-Triassic (201 million years ago) mass-extinction is commonly accepted. However, exactly how volcanism led to the collapse of ecosystems and the extinction of entire families of organisms is difficult to establish. Extreme climate change from the release of carbon dioxide, degradation of the ozone layer due to the injection of damaging chemicals, and the emissions of toxic pollutants, are all seen as contributing factors. One toxic element stands out: mercury.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Data-driven music: Converting climate measurements into music      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A geo-environmental scientist from Japan has composed a string quartet using sonified climate data. The 6-minute-long composition -- entitled 'String Quartet No. 1 'Polar Energy Budget'-- is based on over 30 years of satellite-collected climate data from the Arctic and Antarctic and aims to garner attention on how climate is driven by the input and output of energy at the poles.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Ice age climate analysis reduces worst-case warming expected from rising CO2      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A detailed reconstruction of climate during the most recent ice age, when a large swath of North America was covered in ice, provides information on the relationship between CO2 and global temperature. Results show that while most future warming estimates remain unchanged, the absolute worst-case scenario is unlikely.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Climate Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Climate change threatens Antarctic meteorites      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Antarctica harbors a large concentration of meteorites imbuing the icy continent with an unparalleled wealth of information on our solar system. However, these precious meteorites are rapidly disappearing from the ice sheet surface due to global warming, according to a new study.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate
Published

Australia on track for unprecedented, decades-long megadroughts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Australia could soon see megadroughts that last for more than 20 years, according to new modelling. The researchers' bleak findings are before factoring in human impact on the climate since the Industrial Revolution. According to the scientists, the findings paint a worrying picture of future droughts in Australia that are far worse than anything in recent experience.

Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Paleontology: Climate
Published

Canada lynx historic range in US likely wider than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A broader past could mean a brighter future for Canada lynx in the U.S., according to recent research. The study indicates that lynx might do well in the future in parts of Utah, central Idaho and the Yellowstone National Park region, even considering climate change and the lack of lynx in those areas now. Using a model validated by historic records, researchers first found that in 1900, Canada lynx had more suitable habitat in the U.S. than the few northern corners of the country where they are found currently. The study showed the elusive big cat likely roamed over a larger area in the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes region and parts of New England.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica's ice sheets. An international research team has now used sediments taken from the South Pacific to reconstruct the flow speed in the last 5.3 million years. Their data show that during glacial periods, the current slowed; during interglacials, it accelerated. Consequently, if the current global warming intensifies in the future, it could mean that the Southern Ocean stores less CO2 and that more heat reaches Antarctica.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Chemistry: Biochemistry Ecology: Sea Life Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Caller ID of the sea: Tagging whale communication and behavior      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biologists use a novel method of simultaneous acoustic tagging to gain insights into the link between whale communication and behavior

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

New archive of ancient human brains challenges misconceptions of soft tissue preservation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has challenged previously held views that brain preservation in the archaeological record is extremely rare. The team compiled a new archive of preserved human brains, which highlighted that nervous tissues actually persist in much greater abundances than traditionally thought, assisted by conditions that prevent decay.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

New ultrasound technology may revolutionize respiratory disease diagnoses      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By evaluating sound vibrations produced by the airflow induced within the lungs and bronchial tree during normal breathing as well as those produced by the larynx during vocalizations, doctors can identify potential disease-related abnormalities within the respiratory system. Researchers demonstrate the efficacy of ultrasound technology to detect low-amplitude movements produced by vocalizations at the surface of the chest. They also demonstrated the possibility of using the airborne ultrasound surface motion camera to map these vibrations during short durations so as to illustrate their evolution.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Paleontology: Climate
Published

A wetter world recorded in Australian coral colony      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When climate scientists look to the future to determine what the effects of climate change may be, they use computer models to simulate potential outcomes such as how precipitation will change in a warming world. Some scientists are also looking at something a little more tangible: coral.