EurekAlert! - Atmospheric Science

The University of Oklahoma joins Kyoto University for international symposium in Japan

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Oklahoma) The University of Oklahoma will partner with Kyoto University to present the International Symposium on Radar and Modeling Studies of the Atmosphere Nov. 10-13 in Kyoto, Japan. The symposium is being organized by OU's College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences and Atmospheric Radar Research Center in collaboration with Kyoto University’s Disaster Prevention Research Institute and Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere under a 2008 cooperative agreement between OU and Kyoto University.

Nitrogen loss threatens desert plant life, study shows

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Cornell University) As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today, say the researchers.

Past climate of the northern Antarctic Peninsular informs global warming debate

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK)) The seriousness of current global warming is underlined by a reconstruction of climate at Maxwell Bay in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula over approximately the last 14,000 years, which appears to show that the current warming and widespread loss of glacial ice are unprecedented.

A blue revolution: The key to future food security

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(International Water Management Institute) "We will need nothing less than a 'Blue Revolution' if we are to achieve food security, and avert a serious water crisis in the future," said Dr. Colin Chartres, Director General of the Sri Lanka-based International Water Management Institute. Dr. Chartres was speaking to the Economic and Finance Committee of the UN General Assembly, at a special event on "Enhancing Water Governance," convened by the UN today.

DNA barcodes: Creative new uses span health, fraud, smuggling, history, more

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL)) Some 350 experts from 50 nations gathering in Mexico for their 3rd global meeting will outline the latest creative applications of DNA barcoding, including several projects related to human health, fraud, smuggling, the food chain and reconstructing environmental history.

AGU journal highlights -- Nov. 5, 2009

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Geophysical Union) Featured in this release are research papers on the following topics: "Antarctica warming a regional, not local, trend"; "New model factors storms into shoreline loss"; "Study agrees reservoir contributed to Wenchuan earthquake"; "Much Arctic warming linked to sea-ice, cloud-cover changes"; "Sorting out natural from human influences in ocean warming"; and "Meteoritic impacts may have cooked up life's components."

Researchers hail innovative plan to save rainforest, reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Maryland) An innovative proposal by the Ecuadorian government to protect an untouched, oil rich region of Amazon rainforest is a precedent-setting and potentially economically viable approach, says a team of environmental researchers from the University of Maryland, the World Resources Institute and Save America's Forests.

Springer to partner with Society of Wetland Scientists

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Springer) Starting in January 2010, Springer will publish Wetlands, the official journal of the Society of Wetland Scientists. Together with the journals Wetlands Ecology and Management and Estuaries and Coasts, Springer now leads the field in journals dedicated to wetlands research. Wetlands is an international journal concerned with all aspects of wetland biology, ecology, hydrology, water chemistry and soil and sediment characteristics as well as issues relating to management, policy and regulation.

How does the mind grasp climate change?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(The Earth Institute at Columbia University) A new 43-page guide, "The Psychology of Climate Change Communication," released today by Columbia University's Center for Research on Environmental Decisions, looks at how people process information and decide to take action, or not.

Massive Antarctic project takes Montana State University to one of Earth's final frontiers

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Montana State University) An "unparalleled opportunity" to drill through the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica and explore the world underneath it will involve Montana State University faculty and current and former students over the next five years.

Are the Alps growing or shrinking?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) The Alps are growing just as quickly in height, as they are shrinking. This paradoxical result could be proven by a group of German and Swiss geoscientists.

November 2009 story tips from the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Fuel economy ratings for the new 2010 model year automobiles are posted at www.fueleconomy.gov, which ORNL maintains for the US Department of Energy and the US Environmental Protection Agency. A team led by ORNL's Nina Balke has moved closer to developing more rugged memory and logic devices. Heavy trucks are less heavy but just as safe and rugged because of steel rail frames. A new approach to crunching massive volumes of data uses neural networks like an artificial brain.

Tackling new Arctic challenges from space

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(European Space Agency) International scientists, researchers and decision makers met at the Space and the Arctic workshop to identify the needs and challenges of working and living in the rapidly changing Arctic and to explore how space-based services can help to meet those needs.

PTB Terahertz calibration satisfies US laser manufacturer

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB)) Terahertz radiation still lies in a metrological no man's land -- a metrology gap. The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt can now close this gap. For the first time, a commercial Terahertz laser was traced back to the international system of units by measuring its output power absolutely. Therefore, this laser is the first THz laser in the field with a reliably proven output power enabled by a novel calibration capability set up at the PTB.

Airborne nitrogen shifts aquatic nutrient limitation in pristine lakes

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Arizona State University) The impact of airborne nitrogen released from the burning of fossil fuels and wide-spread use of fertilizers in agriculture is much greater that previously recognized and even extends to remote alpine lakes, according to a study published Nov. 6 in the journal Science.

Genomes of biofuel yeasts reveal clues that could boost fuel ethanol production worldwide

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) As global temperatures and energy costs continue to soar, renewable sources of energy will be key to a sustainable future. An attractive replacement for gasoline is biofuel, and in two studies published online in Genome Research, scientists have analyzed the genome structures of bioethanol-producing microorganisms, uncovering genetic clues that will be critical in developing new technologies needed to implement production on a global scale.

Genomic research will enable greener cleanup of military explosive test sites

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Genome BC) Lowly bacteria, it turns out, hold the power to help militaries and munitions manufacturing plants around the world clean up toxic waste on test sites.

USC study finds big air pollution impacts on local communities

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Southern California) Heavy traffic corridors in the cities of Long Beach and Riverside are responsible for a significant proportion of preventable childhood asthma, and the true impact of air pollution and ship emissions on the disease has likely been underestimated, according to researchers at the University of Southern California.

OU achieves $10 million in stimulus grants for 33 projects on the Norman campus

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Oklahoma) The University of Oklahoma at Norman has received more than $10 million in research grants from three funding agencies as part of the federal stimulus program, bringing the total amount of stimulus funding received by OU researchers to $23 million. Thirty-three projects achieved stimulus funding for research ranging from archaeology to weather.

Common plants can eliminate indoor air pollutants

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Society for Horticultural Science) Air quality in homes and offices is becoming a major health concern. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in indoor air emanate from adhesives, furnishings, clothing, and solvents and have been shown to cause illnesses in people. Researchers tested ornamental indoor plants for their ability to remove harmful VOCs from indoor air. The study concluded that simply introducing common ornamental plants into indoor spaces has the potential to significantly improve the quality of indoor air.

Study uses satellite imagery to identify active magma systems in East Africa's Rift Valley

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science) A team from University of Miami, University of El Paso and University of Rochester used Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) images compiled over a decade to study volcanic activity in the African Rift. A paper, published in the November issue of Geology, focuses on the section of the rift in Kenya. Surface deformation of four active volcanoes underscore possibility for human hazard, as well as the potential of geothermal resources.

Toward home-brewed electricity with 'personalized solar energy'

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Chemical Society) New scientific discoveries are moving society toward the era of "personalized solar energy," in which the focus of electricity production shifts from huge central generating stations to individuals in their own homes and communities. That's the topic of a report by an international expert on solar energy scheduled for the Nov. 2 issue of ACS' Inorganic Chemistry, a bi-weekly journal.

K-State creating tools to show how decisions about aquifer affect people, local economies

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Kansas State University) Kansas State University is pooling experts from multiple disciplines to understand how policy changes affect people in communities that depend on the Ogallala Aquifer in western Kansas.

Paleoecologists offer new insight into how climate change will affect organisms

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Lehigh University) An article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science written by a team of ecologists, including Robert Booth, assistant professor of earth and environmental science at Lehigh University, examines some of the potential problems with current prediction methods and calls for the use of a range of approaches when predicting the impact of climate change on organisms.

New insight into predicting cholera epidemics in the Bengal Delta

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Tufts University) In Bangladesh cholera epidemics occur twice a year. Scientists have tried, without much success, to determine the causes -- and advance early detection and prevention efforts. Now, researchers from Tufts University have proposed a link between cholera and fluctuating water levels in the region's three principal rivers -- the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna.