EurekAlert! - Earth Science

Ants are friendly to some trees, but not others

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Chicago Press Journals) Tree-dwelling ants generally live in harmony with their arboreal hosts. But new research suggests that when they run out of space in their trees of choice, the ants can get destructive to neighboring trees.

AIBS publishes Darwin articles open access

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Institute of Biological Sciences) Two articles about Charles Darwin and his development of the theory of evolution by natural selection have been published in the AIBS journal BioScience and have been made open to the public in honor of the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species." The articles are by Kevin Padian and James T. Costa. Together the articles dispel some common myths about Darwin the man and detail his efforts over many years to develop a theory to explain nature's diversity.

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.

Biologists, educators recognize excellence in evolution education

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Institute of Biological Sciences) The National Association of Biology Teachers will recognize Leonard C. Yannielli, professor of biological sciences at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, Conn., with the 2009 Evolution Education Award during the NABT annual professional development conference to be held Nov. 11-14, 2009 in Denver, Colo.

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."

Coral reefs inspire rare consensus -- just save them

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Oregon State University) One of the first set of studies to examine what tourists and recreation enthusiasts actually think about coral reef ecosystems suggests they are a rare exception to controversies over human use versus environmental conservation -- their stunning beauty is so extraordinary that almost everyone wants them protected in perpetuity.

Kent State receives $2.7 million NSF training grant for environmental aquatic resource sensing

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Kent State University) Kent State University has been awarded a training grant in the amount of $2,756,719 by the National Science Foundation under its Integrative Graduation Education and Research Training program. This is the first IGERT grant to be awarded to Kent State. The grant, which is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, runs through 2014.

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.

Chemists describe solar energy progress and challenges, including the 'artificial leaf'

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(American Chemical Society) Scientists are making progress toward development of an "artificial leaf" that mimics a real leaf's chemical magic with photosynthesis -- but instead converts sunlight and water into a liquid fuel such as methanol for cars and trucks. That is among the conclusions in a newly available report from top authorities on solar energy who met at the 1st Annual Chemical Sciences and Society Symposium. The symposium was organized by the American Chemical Society and other scientific societies.

Insect scientists converge in Indianapolis

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Entomological Society of America) Approximately 2,500 entomologists and professionals in related disciplines from around the world will gather Dec. 13-16 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana to exchange scientific information at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America.

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.

Male sabertoothed cats were pussycats compared to macho lions

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Duke University) Despite their fearsome fangs, male sabertoothed cats may have been less aggressive than many of their feline cousins, says a new study of male-female size differences in extinct big cats.

Boat tail reduces truck fuel consumption by 7.5 percent

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(Delft University of Technology) A boat tail, a tapering protrusion mounted on the rear of a truck, leads to fuel savings of 7.5 percent. This is due to dramatically improved aerodynamics, as shown by road tests conducted by the Dutch PART (Platform for Aerodynamic Road Transport) public-private partnership platform.

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.

The last European hadrosaurs lived in the Iberian Peninsula

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology) Spanish researchers have studied the fossil record of hadrosaurs, the so-called "duck-billed" dinosaurs, in the Iberian Peninsula for the purpose of determining that they were the last of their kind to inhabit the European continent before disappearing during the K/T extinction event that occurred 65.5 million years ago. Most notable among these fossils is the discovery of a new hadrosaur, the Arenysaurus ardevoli, found in Huesca, Spain.

Why nice guys usually get the girls

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of Arizona) For the insects called water striders, the pushiest guys don't always get the girls, according to a research team led by a University of Arizona scientist. The finding provides support for the theory of multi-level selection and contradicts previous laboratory experiments that suggested that the most aggressive males are the most successful at reproducing.

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.

Genome sequence for the domestic horse to be unveiled

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

(University of California - Davis) The whole genome sequence of the domestic horse has been completed by the genome-sequencing center of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in collaboration with an international team of researchers that includes scientists at the University of California, Davis. The findings, which have important implications for improved breeding of horses and for studies of human health, will be reported in the Nov. 6 issue of the journal Science.