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Categories: Geoscience: Geography, Paleontology: Fossils
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 Colorado's spicy ancient history of chili peppers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Recently identified chili pepper fossils from Boulder and Denver museums challenge millions of years of global tomato evolutionary history. Now, that's some spicy science!
Published 360-million-year-old Irish fossil provides oldest evidence of plant self-defense in wood
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered the oldest evidence of plant self-defense in wood in a 360-million-year-old fossil from south-eastern Ireland. Plants can protect their wood from infection and water loss by forming special structures called 'tyloses'. These prevent bacterial and fungal pathogens from getting into the heartwood of living trees and damaging it. However, it was not previously known how early in the evolution of plants woody species became capable of forming such defenses. Published today in Nature Plants is the oldest evidence of tylosis formation from Late Devonian (360-million-year-old) fossil wood from the Hook Head Peninsula area, Co. Wexford, Ireland.
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 X-ray analysis sheds new light on prehistoric predator's last meal
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source We now know more about the diet of a prehistoric creature that grew up to two and a half meters long and lived in Australian waters during the time of the dinosaurs, thanks to the power of x-rays. Researchers used micro-CT scans to peer inside the fossilized stomach remains of a small marine reptile -- a plesiosaur nicknamed 'Eric' after a song from the comedy group Monty Python -- to determine what the creature ate in the lead up to its death.
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 Nullarbor rocks reveal Australia's transformation from lush to dust
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered how long ago the Australian Nullarbor plain dried out, with a new approach shedding light on how ancient climate change altered some of the driest regions of our planet.
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 Fossils reveal the long-term relationship between feathered dinosaurs and feather-feeding beetles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New fossils in amber have revealed that beetles fed on the feathers of dinosaurs about 105 million years ago, showing a symbiotic relationship of one-sided or mutual benefit.
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.
Published New details of Tully monster revealed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For more than half a century, the Tully monster (Tullimonstrum gregarium), an enigmatic animal that lived about 300 million years ago, has confounded paleontologists, with its strange anatomy making it difficult to classify. Recently, a group of researchers proposed a hypothesis that Tullimonstrum was a vertebrate similar to cyclostomes (jawless fish like lamprey and hagfish). If it was, then the Tully monster would potentially fill a gap in the evolutionary history of early vertebrates. Studies so far have both supported and rejected this hypothesis. Now, using 3D imaging technology, a team in Japan believes it has found the answer after uncovering detailed characteristics of the Tully monster which strongly suggest that it was not a vertebrate. However, its exact classification and what type of invertebrate it was is still to be decided.