Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Volcanoes Paleontology: Climate
Published

Biggest Holocene volcano eruption found by seabed survey      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A detailed survey of the volcanic underwater deposits around the Kikai caldera in Japan clarified the deposition mechanisms as well as the event's magnitude. As a result, the research team found that the event 7,300 years ago was the largest volcanic eruption in the Holocene by far.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

High resolution techniques reveal clues in 3.5 billion-year-old biomass      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To learn about the first organisms on our planet, researchers have to analyze the rocks of the early Earth. These can only be found in a few places on the surface of the Earth. The Pilbara Craton in Western Australia is one of these rare sites: there are rocks there that are around 3.5 billion years old containing traces of the microorganisms that lived at that time. A research team has now found new clues about the formation and composition of this ancient biomass, providing insights into the earliest ecosystems on Earth.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Climate
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Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats has long been in flux      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It has been long assumed that Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats was formed as its ancient namesake lake dried up 13,000 years ago. But new research has gutted that narrative, determining these crusts did not form until several thousand years after Lake Bonneville disappeared, which could have important implications for managing this feature that has been shrinking for decades to the dismay of the racing community and others who revere the saline pan 100 miles west of Salt Lake City. Relying on radiocarbon analysis of pollen found in salt cores, the study concludes the salt began accumulating between 5,400 and 3,500 years ago, demonstrating how this geological feature is not a permanent fixture on the landscape.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Does Russia stand to benefit from climate change?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There exists a narrative about climate change that says there are winners and losers -- with Russia being one of the countries that stand to benefit from its effects. In a new study, researchers found that Russia is suffering from a variety of climate change impacts and is ill-prepared to mitigate or adapt to those climate impacts. And, as the rest of the world transitions to renewable energy sources, Russia's fossil-fuel-dependent government is not willing or ready to make alternative plans for the country, changes that could potentially benefit the whole of their society.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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New cloud model could help with climate research      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When clouds meet clear skies, cloud droplets evaporate as they mix with dry air. A new study has succeeded in capturing what happens in a model. Ultimately, this could lead to more accurate climate modeling in the future.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Butterfly and moth genomes mostly unchanged despite 250 million years of evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Comparison of over 200 high-quality butterfly and moth genomes reveals key insights into their biology, evolution and diversification over the last 250 million years, as well as clues for conservation.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

An awkward family reunion: Sea monsters are our cousins      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The sea lamprey, a 500-million-year-old animal with a sharp-toothed suction cup for a mouth, is the thing of nightmares. A new study discovered that the hindbrain -- the part of the brain controlling vital functions like blood pressure and heart rate -- of both sea lampreys and humans is built using an extraordinarily similar molecular and genetic toolkit.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Mercury levels in tuna remain nearly unchanged since 1971      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tuna is one of the most popular seafoods worldwide. But this protein-rich fish can build up high levels of methylmercury from feeding on contaminated prey, like smaller fish or crustaceans. Despite efforts to reduce mercury emissions into the environment, researchers report that levels in tuna appear to be unchanged since 1971. They warn that more aggressive emission reduction targets are needed to start nudging down tuna mercury levels.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Did neanderthals use glue? Researchers find evidence that sticks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Neanderthals created stone tools held together by a multi-component adhesive, a team of scientists has discovered. Its findings, which are the earliest evidence of a complex adhesive in Europe, suggest these predecessors to modern humans had a higher level of cognition and cultural development than previously thought.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
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Low oxygen in lakes may breathe new life into conservation efforts for water quality      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team analyzed 656 lakes across five continents to provide empirical evidence supporting a long-held theory regarding low deep-water oxygen concentrations, or anoxia.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Panama Canal expansion rewrites history of world's most ecologically diverse bats      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a new study, paleontologists describe the oldest-known leaf-nosed bat fossils, which were found along the banks of the Panama Canal. They're also the oldest bat fossils from Central America, preserved 20-million years ago when Panama and the rest of North America were separated from southern landmass by a seaway at least 120 miles wide.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography
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Nature's checkup: Surveying biodiversity with environmental DNA sequencing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A thousand kilometers south of Tokyo, far into the largest ocean on Earth, lies a chain of small, volcanic islands -- the Ogasawara Islands. Nature has been able to develop on its own terms here, far from both humans and the warm Kuroshio current, which acts like a shuttle, moving marine species from Taiwan, over the Ryukyu Islands, and up the Pacific coast of mainland Japan. With upwards of 70 % of trees and many animal species being endemic to the archipelago, the islands have been dubbed 'the Galapagos of the East', as they are valuable as both a biodiversity hotspot and a cradle of scientific discovery.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Decline in microbial genetic richness in the western Arctic Ocean      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers analyzed archival samples of bacteria and archaea populations taken from the Beaufort Sea, bordering northwest Canada and Alaska. The samples were collected between 2004 and 2012, a period that included two years -- 2007 and 2012 -- in which the sea ice coverage was historically low. The researchers looked at samples taken from three levels of water: the summer mixed layer, the upper Arctic water below it and the Pacific-origin water at the deepest level. The study examined the microbes' genetic composition using bioinformatics and statistical analysis across the nine-year time span. Using this data, the researchers were able to see how changing environmental conditions were influencing the organisms' structure and function.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Viruses that can help 'dial up' carbon capture in the sea      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Armed with a catalog of hundreds of thousands of DNA and RNA virus species in the world's oceans, scientists are now zeroing in on the viruses most likely to combat climate change by helping trap carbon dioxide in seawater or, using similar techniques, different viruses that may prevent methane's escape from thawing Arctic soil.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Anoxic marine basins are among the best candidates for deep-sea carbon sequestration      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Anoxic marine basins may be among the most viable places to conduct large-scale carbon sequestration in the deep ocean, while minimizing negative impacts to marine life. As we explore ways to actively draw down the levels of carbon in the atmosphere, sending plant biomass to these barren, oxygen-free zones on the seafloor becomes an option worth considering.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geography
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Earthquake fatality measure offers new way to estimate impact on countries      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new measure that compares earthquake-related fatalities to a country's population size concludes that Ecuador, Lebanon, Haiti, Turkmenistan, Iran and Portugal have experienced the greatest impact from fatalities in the past five centuries.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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Mystery solved: The oldest fossil reptile from the alps is an historical forgery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Palaeontological analysis shows that a renowned fossil thought to show soft tissue preservation is in fact just paint. The fossil discovered in 1931 was thought to be an important specimen for understanding early reptile evolution. While not all of the celebrated fossil is a forgery, scientists urge caution in how the fossil is utilized in future.

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Searching for clues in the history book of the ocean      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has shown that the tropical subsurface ocean gained oxygen during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (commonly referred to as PETM). During this short-lived interval of time in Earth s history that occurred 56 million years ago the average temperatures rose by up to six degrees within a few thousand years.