EurekAlert! - Oceanography

Geosphere details the geology of North America with 6 new papers online

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Geological Society of America) Each of the six new papers published in Geosphere on June 13 address geoscience compiled in specially themed issues: "CRevolution 2: Origin and Evolution of the Colorado River System II"; "The 36-18 Ma southern Great Basin, USA, ignimbrite province and flareup: Swarms of subduction-related supervolcanoes"; "New Developments in Grenville Geology"; and "Origin and Evolution of the Sierra Nevada and Walker Lane."

Stone Age technological and cultural innovation accelerated by climate

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona) According to a study by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the University of Cardiff and the Natural History Museum in London, technological innovation during the Stone Age occurred in fits and starts and was climate-driven. Abrupt changes in rainfall in South Africa 40,000 to 80,000 years ago triggered the development of technologies for finding refuge and the behavior of modern humans. This study was recently published in Nature Communications.

New 'embryonic' subduction zone found

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Monash University) A new subduction zone forming off the coast of Portugal heralds the beginning of a cycle that will see the Atlantic Ocean close as continental Europe moves closer to America.

Submarine springs reveal how coral reefs respond to ocean acidification

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of California - Santa Cruz) Ocean acidification due to rising carbon dioxide levels will reduce the density of coral skeletons, making coral reefs more vulnerable to disruption and erosion, according to a new study of corals growing where submarine springs naturally lower the pH of seawater. The study is the first to show that corals are not able to fully acclimate to low pH conditions in nature.

Intense: Navy, civilian planners get big assist in storm predictions

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Office of Naval Research) With the arrival of the Atlantic hurricane and Pacific typhoon season -- and the often dangerous storms that can accompany it -- new technology sponsored by the Office of Naval Research will help Navy and civilian officials alike plan for stormy weather. The Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System-Tropical Cyclone is a groundbreaking weather prediction model that offers forecasters a detailed look at tropical storms and accurate predictions of a storm's intensity from one to five days out.

Study of oceans' past raises worries about their future

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(McGill University) A McGill-led international research team has completed the first global study of changes that occurred in the nitrogen cycle, at the end of the last ice age. Their study confirm that oceans are good at balancing the nitrogen cycle on a global scale. But the data also shows that it is a slow process that may take many centuries, raising worries about the effects of current changes in the ocean.

DNA sequencing uncovers secrets of white cliffs of Dover

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Exeter) The University of Exeter recently contributed to a major international project to sequence the genome of Emiliania huxleyi, the microscopic plankton species whose chalky skeletons form the iconic white cliffs of Dover. The results of the project are published this week in the journal Nature.

'Tailing' spiny lobster larvae to protect them

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science) In a new study of spiny lobsters scientists from the University of Miami and Old Dominion studied the larval dispersal of this species in the Caribbean. The goal of the study was to describe the sources, sinks, and routes connecting the Caribbean spiny lobster metapopulation. The results led the team to propose marine resource management strategies that incorporate larval connectivity and "larval lobster credits" to sustain and rebuild exploited marine populations.

Oysters could rebound more quickly with limited fishing and improved habitat

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science) A new study shows that combining improved oyster restoration methods with limits on fishing in the upper Chesapeake could bring the oyster population back to the Bay in a much shorter period of time. The study led by Michael Wilberg of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Chesapeake Biological Laboratory assessed a range of management and restoration options to see which ones would have the most likelihood of success.

Warm ocean drives most Antarctic ice shelf loss, UC Irvine and others show

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of California - Irvine) Ocean waters melting the undersides of Antarctic ice shelves, not icebergs calving into the sea, are responsible for most of the continent's ice loss, a study by UC Irvine and others has found.

NASA finds Tropical Depression Yagi's strongest side, now waning

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite on June 11 showed that Tropical Depression Yagi's strongest quadrant was east of its center.

Life underground

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(University of Delaware) Genetic research published June 12 in Nature by scientists from the University of Delaware and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute reveals active bacteria, fungi and other microbes living in 5 million-year-old ocean sediment.

Questions rise about seeding for ocean C02 sequestration

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(DOE/Argonne National Laboratory) A study suggests that iron fertilization, the process of putting iron into the ocean to encourage the growth of C02 capturing alga blooms, could backfire.

Moving iron in Antarctica

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Georgia Institute of Technology) Georgia Tech research published online in Nature Communications indicates that diatoms stuff more iron into their silica shells than they actually need. As a result, there's not enough iron to go around, and the added iron during fertilization experiments may stimulate less productivity than expected.

Spanish researchers sequence the genome of global deep ocean

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) A team of Spanish researchers, coordinated by the Spanish National Research Council, has started to sequence the genome of the global deep ocean. They are using more than 2,000 samples of microorganisms collected in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans during the Malaspina Expedition. This collection of marine microbial genomic, the first in the world on a global scale, will provide new clues about a reservoir of biodiversity yet to explore.

Preparing for the next megathrust

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Canadian Science Publishing (NRC Research Press)) A new study published today in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences presents our first glimpse back in geologic time of the recurrence interval of large and megathrust earthquakes impacting the vulnerable BC outer coastline.

Deep biosphere harbors active, growing communities of microorganisms

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) The deep biosphere -- the realm of sediments far below the seafloor -- harbors a vast ecosystem of bacteria, archaea, and fungi that are actively metabolizing, proliferating, and moving, according a new study by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Delaware.

Chalking up a marine blooming alga: Genome fills a gap in the tree of life

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(DOE/Joint Genome Institute) Carbon dioxide is released when the calcium carbonate "armor" of the photosynthetic alga Emiliania huxleyi forms, but Ehux can trap as much as 20 percent of organic carbon derived from CO2 in some marine ecosystems. Its versatility in either contributing to primary production or adding to CO2 emissions makes Ehux a critical player in the marine carbon cycle. The Ehux genome sequence was compared with other algal sequences in the June 12, 2013 edition of Nature.

NASA's TRMM Satellite sees Andrea's heavy rains in Cuba, US East Coast

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) The TRMM data showed rainfall totals on the order of 400 to 500 mm (~16 to 20 inches) stretching from the eastern tip of the Yucatan to western Cuba and over the southeast Gulf of Mexico.

NASA satellite sees Tropical Storm Yagi just south of Japan

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Tropical Storm Yagi is not expected to make landfall in Japan, but NASA satellite imagery showed that the storm was just south of the big island.

7 new GSA Bulletin articles posted online ahead of print

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Geological Society of America) New GSA BULLETIN articles posted online ahead of print on June 7 cover granite, granitoids, and kimberlite; Garwood Valley Antarctica; Death Valley, California, USA; Esan Volcanic Complex, Japan; and Little Lake, California, USA. Some questions addressed include how melting affects granite emplacement; "how do you bury an ancient remnant ice sheet?"; how glaciation affected the evolution of Death Valley; and the risk of eruption at the Esan Volcanic Complex.

Earthquake swarms; marine Ediacaran fossil traces; Alca obsidian; Mammoth Mountain

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Geological Society of America) Studies in this latest batch of GEOLOGY postings cover tiny Ediacara organisms, CO2 gas following seismic swarms, the growth of Mount Everest, methane seeps, the remarkably modern character of Cretaceous seawater composition, geodynamic models of the assembly of Rodinia and Gondwana, and whether subduction zones are invading the Atlantic. Other studies cover the Danube Basin, the Andes, the Central Range of Taiwan; and the seafloor near Costa Rica. All article abstracts are open access online.

NASA sees Tropical Storm Yagi spinning in Western Pacific Ocean

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Tropical Storm Yagi developed over the weekend of June 8 and 9 in the Western North Pacific from Tropical Depression 03W and NASA satellites captured the storm coming together.

NASA animation sees Post-Tropical Storm Andrea speed away

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Post-Tropical cyclone Andrea's remnants sped into the North Atlantic Ocean over the weekend of June 8 and 9.

Potentially 'catastrophic' changes underway in Canada's northern Mackenzie River Basin: report

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

(Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy) Canada's Mackenzie River basin -- among the world's most important major ecosystems -- is poorly studied, inadequately monitored, and at serious risk due to climate change and resource exploitation, a panel of international scientists warn.Largest single threat to the Basin: a potential breach in the tailings ponds at one of the large oil sands sites mining surface bitumen. A breach in winter sending tailings liquid under the ice "would be virtually impossible to remediate or clean-up."