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Categories: Geoscience: Volcanoes, Paleontology: Dinosaurs
Published Injured dinosaur left behind unusual footprints
(via sciencedaily.com) A set of dinosaur footprints in Spain has unusual features because the dinosaur that made the tracks had an injured foot, according to a new study.
Published T. rex's short arms may have lowered risk of bites during feeding frenzies
(via sciencedaily.com) Extinct for 66 million years, T. rex still inspires speculation about its anatomy, behavior and fierce physique. One conundrum: its peculiarly short forelimbs, which have relatively limited mobility. While scientists have suggested explanations, a paleontologist puts the proposals to the test and finds them wanting. He hypothesizes that the arms reduced in size to limit damage, possibly fatal, when a pack of T. rexes descended on a carcass with their bone-crunching teeth.
Published Mammals put brawn before brains to survive post-dinosaur world
(via sciencedaily.com) Prehistoric mammals bulked up, rather than develop bigger brains, to boost their survival chances once dinosaurs had become extinct, research suggests.
Published Volcano monitoring at Mount Etna using fiber optic cables
(via sciencedaily.com) In order to understand and predict volcanic events even better, a better understanding of the diverse underground processes involved is required. A new way to detect such processes, even if they are very subtle, is to use fiber optic cables as sensors. The analysis of light that is backscattered in them when the cables are deformed by vibrations, for example, has now made it possible for the first time to determine the volcanic signature of the Sicilian volcano Etna very precisely.
Published Drought alters Mammoth Mountain’s carbon dioxide emissions
(via sciencedaily.com) A study suggests the weight of snow and ice atop the Sierra Nevada affects a California volcano's carbon dioxide emissions, one of the main signs of volcanic unrest.
Published Describing the devastating eruption in Tonga
(via sciencedaily.com) On January 15, the volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai devastated the nation of Tonga. The eruption triggered tsunamis as far afield as the Caribbean and generated atmospheric waves that travelled around the globe several times. Meanwhile, the volcano's plume shot gas and ash through the stratosphere into the lower mesosphere.
Published Dense bones allowed Spinosaurus to hunt underwater
(via sciencedaily.com) Spinosaurus is the largest predatory dinosaur known -- over two metres longer than the longest Tyrannosaurus rex -- but the way it hunted has been a subject of debate for decades. In a new paper, palaeontologists have taken a different approach to decipher the lifestyle of long-extinct creatures: examining the density of their bones.
Published Soil erosion and wildfire another nail in coffin for Triassic era
(via sciencedaily.com) New research has revealed that soil erosion and wildfires contributed to a mass extinction event 201 million years ago that ended the Triassic era and paved the way for the rise of dinosaurs in the Jurassic period.
Published The oxidation of volcanoes -- a magma opus
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study unlocks the science behind a key ingredient -- namely oxygen -- in some of the world's most violent volcanoes. The research offers a new model for understanding the oxidation state of arc magmas, the lavas that form some volcanoes, such as the one that erupted dramatically in Tonga earlier this year. The plume from Tonga's underwater volcanic eruption on Jan. 15 rose 36 miles into the air. Ash from the volcano reached the mesosphere, Earth's third layer of atmosphere.
Published Newly identified softshell turtle lived alongside T. rex and Triceratops
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists describe the find of a new softshell turtle from the end of the Cretaceous Period.
Published Water determines magma depth, a key to accurate models of volcanic activity, eruption
(via sciencedaily.com) Around the world, between 40 and 50 volcanoes are currently erupting or in states of unrest, and hundreds of millions of people are at risk of hazards posed by these potentially active volcanos. Yet, despite the profound hazards posed to human life and property by volcanic eruptions, humanity still cannot reliably and accurately predict them, and even when forecasts are accurately made by experts, they may not afford ample time for people to evacuate and make emergency preparations.
Published Nealtican lava flow field, Popocatépetl volcano: A window to the past and future hazards
(via sciencedaily.com) The Popocatépetl volcano, located southeast of Mexico City, stands as the second highest peak in Mexico and is considered to be one of the potentially most dangerous volcanoes in the world, given its record of highly explosive eruptions over the last 23,000 years.
Published New species of stegosaur is oldest discovered in Asia, and possibly the world
(via sciencedaily.com) Relatively small, but fearsome-looking stegosaur measured about 2.8 meters (9 feet) from nose to tail -- but scientists can't tell whether the remains are those of an adult or juvenile.
Published Physics race pits Usain Bolt against Jurassic Park dinosaur
(via sciencedaily.com) A physics professor has developed an innovative activity that poses the question: Is Usain Bolt faster than a 900-pound dinosaur?
Published Researchers reconstruct ancient fish lizard
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have mapped 300 years of research on the prehistoric marine reptiles known as ichthyosaurs. Using a uniquely well-preserved fossil, the team has also created the scientifically most up-to-date reconstruction of an ichthyosaur currently available.
Published Tyrannosaurus remains hint at three possible distinct species
(via sciencedaily.com) A new analysis of Tyrannosaurus skeletal remains reveals physical differences in the femur, other bones and dental structures across specimens that could suggest Tyrannosaurus rex specimens need to be re-categorized into three distinct groups or species, reports a new study.
Published Hidden weaknesses within volcanoes may cause volcano collapse
(via sciencedaily.com) Lava domes form at the top of many volcanoes when viscous lava erupts. When they become unstable, they can collapse and cause a hazard. An international team of researchers has analyzed summit dome instabilities at Merapi Volcano, Indonesia. The researchers hope that by understanding the inner processes, volcano collapses can be better forecasted.
Published The last day of the dinosaurs
(via sciencedaily.com) The asteroid which killed nearly all of the dinosaurs struck Earth during springtime. This conclusion was drawn by an international team of researchers after having examined thin sections, high-resolution synchrotron X-ray scans, and carbon isotope records of the bones of fishes that died less than 60 minutes after the asteroid impacted.
Published New fossil birds discovered near China’s Great Wall – one had a movable, sensitive 'chin'
(via sciencedaily.com) Two new species of fossil birds that lived alongside the dinosaurs have ben discovered near the Great Wall of China. One of the new species had a sensitive, movable bony appendage at the tip of its lower jaw that it might have used to find food.
Published First evidence indicating dinosaur respiratory infection
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have discovered the first evidence of a unique respiratory infection in the fossilized remains of a dinosaur that lived nearly 150 million years ago. Researchers examined the remains of an immature diplodocid -- a long-necked herbivorous sauropod dinosaur, like 'Brontosaurus' - dating back to the Late Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era. The dinosaur nicknamed 'Dolly,' discovered in southwest Montana, had evidence of an infection in the area of its neck vertebrae.