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Categories: Geoscience: Geography, Offbeat: General

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Offbeat: General
Published

Beyond the ink: Painting with physics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Falling from the tip of a brush suspended in mid-air, an ink droplet touches a painted surface and blossoms into a masterpiece of ever-changing beauty. It weaves a tapestry of intricate, evolving patterns. Some of them resemble branching snowflakes, thunderbolts or neurons, whispering the unique expression of the artist's vision.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

2020 extreme weather event that brought fires and snow to western US      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The same weather system that led to the spread of the devastating Labor Day wildfires in 2020 brought record-breaking cold and early-season snowfall to parts of the Rocky Mountains. Now, new research is shedding light on the meteorology behind what happened and the impacts of such an extreme weather event.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Orcas demonstrating they no longer need to hunt in packs to take down the great white shark      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An orca (killer whale) has been observed, for the first-ever time, individually consuming a great white shark -- and within just two minutes.

Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

AI outperforms humans in standardized tests of creative potential      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a recent study, 151 human participants were pitted against ChatGPT-4 in three tests designed to measure divergent thinking, which is considered to be an indicator of creative thought.

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

Researchers use GPS-tracked icebergs in novel study to improve climate models      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research unearthed new information to help scientists better understand circulation patterns of ocean water around glaciers. In the summers of 2014 and 2019, a group of pioneers in glacial research attached GPS devices to 13 icebergs and tracked hourly changes in their positions as they passed through Greenland's Ilulissat Icefjord toward the ocean. Study results showed circulation in the primary fjord is greatly affected by freshwater flow from connecting tributary fjords, which is critically important to consider in circulation models.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

New insights on how galaxies are formed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers can use supercomputers to simulate the formation of galaxies from the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago to the present day. But there are a number of sources of error. An international research team has spent a hundred million computer hours over eight years trying to correct these.

Biology: Cell Biology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Dung beetles show their love by sharing the load      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Dung beetles share the load when it comes to showing their affection for each-other, when transporting a 'brood ball'.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Study identifies multi-organ response to seven days without food      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New findings reveal that the body undergoes significant, systematic changes across multiple organs during prolonged periods of fasting. The results demonstrate evidence of health benefits beyond weight loss, but also show that any potentially health-altering changes appear to occur only after three days without food.

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

Glacier shrinkage is causing a 'green transition'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Glacier-fed streams are undergoing a process of profound change, according to scientists. This conclusion is based on the expeditions to the world's major mountain ranges by members of the Vanishing Glaciers project.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Ultraviolet radiation from massive stars shapes planetary systems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Up to a certain point, very luminous stars can have a positive effect on the formation of planets, but from that point on the radiation they emit can cause the material in protoplanetary discs to disperse.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Ice shell thickness reveals water temperature on ocean worlds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astrobiologists have devised a novel way to determine ocean temperatures of distant worlds based on the thickness of their ice shells, effectively conducting oceanography from space.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Climate change disrupts seasonal flow of rivers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change is disrupting the seasonal flow of rivers in the far northern latitudes of America, Russia and Europe and is posing a threat to water security and ecosystems, according to new research.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astronomers measure heaviest black hole pair ever found      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using archival data from the Gemini North telescope, a team of astronomers has measured the heaviest pair of supermassive black holes ever found. The merging of two supermassive black holes is a phenomenon that has long been predicted, though never observed. This massive pair gives clues as to why such an event seems so unlikely in the Universe.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Robotics Research Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Building bionic jellyfish for ocean exploration      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers show how biohybrid robots based on jellyfish could be used to gather climate science data from deep in the Earth's oceans.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Could fiber optic cable help scientists probe the deep layers of the moon?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An increasing number of seismologists are using fiber optic cables to detect seismic waves on Earth -- but how would this technology fare on the Moon, and what would it tell us about the deep layers of our nearest neighbor in space?

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

How climate change risks increase at a national scale as the level of global warming increases      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have quantified how climate change risks to human and natural systems increase at a national scale as the level of global warming increases. A collection of eight studies -- all focusing on Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana and India -- shows that the risks of drought, flooding, declines in crop yields, and loss of biodiversity and natural capital greatly increase for each additional degree of global warming. The overarching picture for the accrual of climate risk across these countries as global warming increases from 1.5 C to 4 C above pre-industrial levels is presented.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astronomers reveal a new link between water and planet formation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have found water vapor in the disc around a young star exactly where planets may be forming. Water is a key ingredient for life on Earth, and is also thought to play a significant role in planet formation. Yet, until now, we had never been able to map how water is distributed in a stable, cool disc -- the type of disc that offers the most favorable conditions for planets to form around stars.

Biology: Botany Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Lake ecosystems: Nitrogen has been underestimated      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An ecological imbalance in a lake can usually be attributed to increased nutrient inputs. The result: increased phytoplankton growth, oxygen deficiency, toxic cyanobacterial blooms and fish kills. Until now, controls in lake management have focused primarily on phosphorus inputs to counteract this effect. Now, this dogma is shaken by a study showing that nitrogen is also a critical driver for phytoplankton growth in lakes worldwide.

Archaeology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Slimming down a colossal fossil whale      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A 30 million year-old fossil whale may not be the heaviest animal of all time after all, according to a new analysis by paleontologists. The new analysis puts Perucetus colossus back in the same weight range as modern whales and smaller than the largest blue whales ever recorded.