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Categories: Geoscience: Oceanography, Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published Starting small and simple -- key to success for evolution of mammals



The ancestors of modern mammals managed to evolve into one of the most successful animal lineages -- the key was to start out small and simple, a new study reveals.
Published Study re-evaluates hazards and climate impacts of massive underwater volcanic eruptions



Material left on the seafloor by bronze-age underwater volcanic eruptions is helping researchers better understand the size, hazards and climate impact of their parent eruptions, according to new research.
Published Warm liquid spewing from Oregon seafloor comes from Cascadia fault, could offer clues to earthquake hazards



Oceanographers discovered warm, chemically distinct liquid shooting up from the seafloor about 50 miles off Newport. They named the unique underwater spring 'Pythia's Oasis.' Observations suggest the spring is sourced from water 2.5 miles beneath the seafloor at the plate boundary, regulating stress on the offshore subduction zone fault.
Published Woolly mammoths evolved smaller ears and woolier coats over the 700,000 years that they roamed the Siberian steppes



A team of researchers compared the genomes of woolly mammoths with modern day elephants to find out what made woolly mammoths unique, both as individuals and as a species. The investigators report that many of the woolly mammoth's trademark features -- including their woolly coats and large fat deposits -- were already genetically encoded in the earliest woolly mammoths, but these and other traits became more defined over the species' 700,000+ year existence. They also identified a gene with several mutations that may have been responsible for the woolly mammoth's miniscule ears.
Published Ice sheets can collapse faster than previously thought possible



Ice sheets can retreat up to 600 meters a day during periods of climate warming, 20 times faster than the highest rate of retreat previously measured. An international team of researchers used high-resolution imagery of the seafloor to reveal just how quickly a former ice sheet that extended from Norway retreated at the end of the last Ice Age, about 20,000 years ago.
Published Warming Arctic draws marine predators northwards



Marine predators have expanded their ranges into the Arctic waters over the last twenty years, driven by climate change and associated increases in productivity.
Published Analysis of dinosaur eggshells: Bird-like Troodon laid 4 to 6 eggs in a communal nest


An international research team has determined that Troodon, a dinosaur very close to modern birds, was a warm-blooded animal (an endotherm), but had a reproductive system similar to that of modern reptiles. The scientists applied a new method which allowed for accurate determination of the temperature when the egg's carbonate shell was formed. Furthermore, the researchers showed that Troodon laid 4 to 6 eggs per clutch. As nests with up to 24 Troodon eggs had been found, the scientists conclude that several Troodon females laid their eggs in communal nests.
Published Predatory dinosaurs such as T. rex sported lizard-like lips


A new study suggests that predatory dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, did not have permanently exposed teeth as depicted in films such as Jurassic Park, but instead had scaly, lizard-like lips covering and sealing their mouths.
Published Scientists discover hidden crab diversity among coral reefs


The Indo-West Pacific is the largest marine ecosystem on Earth, but scientists who study its diversity have to contend with a problem so well-known it was remarked upon by Charles Darwin: related species in the IWP have similar appearances, making it difficult to assess just how many there are. A new study reveals that nearly identical crab species have one consistently distinguishing feature, which only evolves when their ranges overlap.
Published Deep ocean currents around Antarctica headed for collapse, study finds


Antarctic circulation could slow by more than 40 per cent over the next three decades, with significant implications for the oceans and the climate.
Published Most of world's salt marshes likely to be underwater by 2100, study concludes


Salt marshes are some of the most biologically productive ecosystems on Earth. They play an outsized role in nitrogen cycling, act as carbon sinks, protect coastal development from storm surge, and provide critical habitats and nurseries for many fish, shellfish, and coastal birds. According to new research, more than 90 percent of the world's salt marshes are likely to be underwater by the end of the century. These findings come from a 50-year study of ecosystem changes in Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Mass.
Published Juvenile black rockfish affected by marine heat wave but not always for the worse, research shows


Larvae produced by black rockfish, a linchpin of the West Coast commercial fishing industry for the past eight decades, fared better during two recent years of unusually high ocean temperatures than had been feared, new research finds.
Published Detecting coral biodiversity in seawater samples


Researchers have developed a method to measure coral biodiversity through extracting the environmental DNA (or eDNA) from a liter of surface seawater collected from above a reef. The method has been confirmed to work through observations made by scientific divers in the same areas of ocean. This has paved the way for large-scale comprehensive surveys of reef-building coral to take place and removes the reliance of direct observations made through scientific scuba diving or snorkeling.
Published How to prepare for ocean acidification, a framework


An international research team develops a rubric for governments and policymaking bodies to evaluate preparedness for ocean acidification.
Published Some coastal salt marshes are keeping up with sea level rise -- for now


The world's salty, tidal marshes are hotspots of carbon storage and productivity, building up sediments and plant material to stay above sea level. However, as sea level rises at an increasing rate, scientists debate whether it's possible for wetlands to win the race. New research reveals how salt marshes along the U.S. East Coast have responded to accelerating sea level rise by building elevation more quickly to keep pace with the sea over the last century.
Published The Greenland Ice Sheet is close to a melting point of no return


A new study using simulations identified two tipping points for the Greenland Ice Sheet: releasing 1000 gigatons of carbon into the atmosphere will cause the southern portion of the ice sheet to melt; about 2500 gigatons of carbon means permanent loss of nearly the entire ice sheet. Having emitted about 500 gigatons of carbon, we're about halfway to the first tipping point.
Published Phytoplankton blooms offer insight into impacts of climate change


The first study into the biological response of the upper ocean in the wake of South Pacific cyclones could help predict the impact of warming ocean temperatures, researchers believe.
Published Sea otters killed by unusual parasite strain


An unusually severe form of toxoplasmosis killed four sea otters and could pose a threat to other marine wildlife and humans, finds a new study.
Published Sea ice will soon disappear from the Arctic during the summer months -- and it has happened before


In a new study, an international team of researchers warn that the Arctic Sea ice may soon be a thing of the past in the summer months. This may have consequences for both the climate and ecosystems. Ten thousand years ago, the ice melted at temperatures similar to those we have today.
Published Human and ocean health impacts of ocean plastics


Researchers from the fields of healthcare, ocean science, and social science have collaborated to quantify plastic's considerable risks to all life on Earth. The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health report presents a comprehensive analysis showing plastics as a hazard at every stage of their life cycle.