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| October 16, 2013 |
 The tundra a dark horse in planet Earth's greenhouse gas budget Aarhus, Germany (SPX) Oct 16, 2013 - Vast areas on the Northern Hemisphere are covered by tundra. Here, dwarf shrubs, sedges, mosses etc. thrive on top of permafrost in areas where only the uppermost soil layer thaws during the short Arctic summer. New studies show that the tundra may become a source of CO2 in the future. Researcher Magnus Lund from Aarhus University explains: "The soil below the tundra contains very la ... more |  |
 Massive spruce beetle outbreak in Colorado tied to drought Boulder CO (SPX) Oct 16, 2013 - A new University of Colorado Boulder study indicates drought high in the northern Colorado mountains is the primary trigger of a massive spruce beetle outbreak that is tied to long-term changes in sea-surface temperatures from the Northern Atlantic Ocean, a trend that is expected to continue for decades. The new study is important because it shows that drought is a better predictor of spru ... more |  |
 Rising Sea Levels Threaten Everglades Freshwater Plants Coral Gables FL (SPX) Oct 16, 2013 - Just inland from the familiar salt-loving mangroves that line the Southern tip of the Florida Peninsula lie plant communities that depend on freshwater flowing south from Lake Okeechobee. These communities provide critical habitats to many wildlife species, and as salt water intrudes, it could spell problems for freshwater plants and animals alike. Satellite imagery over the southeas ... more |  |
 Pulp friction cleans up 'Brockovich' chemical London, UK (SPX) Oct 16, 2013 - A byproduct of the manufacture of pulp using the sulfite process for making paper, sodium lignosulfonate, can be used to immobilize and soak up toxic chromium compounds from soil and water, according to research published in the International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development. Konstantin Volchek and Carl Brown of Environment Canada, and Dario Velicogna of Velicogna Consulta ... more |  |
 New theory of synapse formation in the brain Julich, Germany (SPX) Oct 16, 2013 - The human brain keeps changing throughout a person's lifetime. New connections are continually created while synapses that are no longer in use degenerate. To date, little is known about the mechanisms behind these processes. Julich neuroinformatician Dr. Markus Butz has now been able to ascribe the formation of new neural networks in the visual cortex to a simple homeostatic rule that is ... more |  |
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The Longevity of Human Civilizations Moffett Field CA (SPX) Oct 16, 2013 - A question often asked by those involved in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is, "How long can advanced civilizations last?" The search for intelligent aliens is much less likely to succeed if cultures inevitably destroy themselves when they reach a certain level of technology. So the Drake Equation, which tries to estimate the possible number of intelligent alien civilization ... more |  |
 'Stadium waves' could explain lull in global warming Atlanta GA (SPX) Oct 16, 2013 - One of the most controversial issues emerging from the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) is the failure of global climate models to predict a hiatus in warming of global surface temperatures since 1998. Several ideas have been put forward to explain this hiatus, including what the IPCC refers to as 'unpredictable climate variability' that is as ... more |  |
 Unregulated, agricultural ammonia threatens national parks' ecology Cambridge MA (SPX) Oct 16, 2013 - Thirty-eight U.S. national parks are experiencing "accidental fertilization" at or above a critical threshold for ecological damage, according to a study published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics and led by Harvard University researchers. Unless significant controls on ammonia emissions are introduced at a national level, they say, little improvement is likely between now and 20 ... more |  |
Predators vs. alien: European shrimps win predatory battles with an American invader London, UK (SPX) Oct 16, 2013 - A shrimp from America has been invading Europe's rivers and lakes for several decades, but something seems to be preventing this colonist from becoming numerous and problematic, like so many other invaders - such as the Californian grey squirrel and American crayfish. Could the resident European shrimps have something to do with this? Jaimie Dick and his colleagues mapped the occurrence of ... more |  |
 Vast majority of EU city dwellers breathe air below UN norms Paris (AFP) Oct 15, 2013 - Emissions of dangerous particulate pollution have fallen in Europe, but a hefty 88 percent of urban dwellers are still exposed to levels that breach UN standards, an official report said on Tuesday. In its annual report on European air quality, the European Environment Agency (EAA) voiced concern over particulate matter - microscopic specks of dust and soot, caused by burning fossil fuels. ... more |  |
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 Britain's panda 'suffers miscarriage' London (AFP) Oct 15, 2013 - Britain's only female giant panda is believed to have suffered a miscarriage, Edinburgh Zoo said on Tuesday. It was a doubly sad day for British zoos, after London Zoo also announced Tuesday that the first tiger cub born there in 17 years had drowned. Edinburgh said its panda Tian Tian, who is spending a decade in the Scottish capital on loan from China with her male companion Yang Guang ... more |  |
 Floods kill five in India after cyclone: official Bhubaneswar, India (AFP) Oct 15, 2013 - Cyclone-induced flooding has killed five people in eastern India, a government official told AFP Tuesday. Heavy rains caused by the strongest cyclone to hit India in 14 years have seen the Budhabalanga river in Orissa state swell, leading to flooding in two districts. "Five people have died due to flooding in northern Orissa, in Mayurbhanj and Balasore," Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra, the sta ... more |  |
US Supreme Court agrees to hear greenhouse gas cases Washington (AFP) Oct 15, 2013 - The US Supreme Court Tuesday took on six cases related to federal regulation of greenhouse gasses, raising expectations for a much-awaited ruling in the debate over climate change legislation. The court announced it was combining the six suits from plaintiffs in the chemical industry, the Chamber of Commerce, and the state of Texas, each protesting carbon emissions regulations put in place b ... more |  |
 Intel profit tops estimates, revenues flat San Francisco (AFP) Oct 15, 2013 - Intel, the world's biggest computer chipmaker, said Tuesday its quarterly profit dipped 0.7 percent from a year ago to $2.95 billion, but managed to beat Wall Street estimates. Intel, which is struggling to make inroads in the surging market for processors for smartphones and tablets in a rapidly shifting tech landscape, said revenues for the third quarter were up a scant 0.2 percent at $13. ... more |  |
Storm Octave on Mexico Pacific coast weakens Miami (AFP) Oct 15, 2013 - Tropical Storm Octave pummelling Mexico's Baja California peninsula fizzled overnight into a tropical depression, US weather forecasters said Tuesday. Octave however is still forecast to dump heavy rain in the region, the US National Hurricane Center said in its 0600 GMT bulletin. All tropical storm warnings for Octave had been canceled, as the storm's maximum sustained winds dropped to ... more |  |
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 Australia's opposition Labor Party elects ex-union boss Canberra, Australia (UPI) Oct 15, 2013 - Australia's federal Labor Party narrowly elected a long-time union boss as its leader in an attempt to regroup after losing power in last month's general election. Bill Shorten, who has been the member of Parliament for the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong since 2007, beat Anthony Albanese in a tight faceoff, ABC news reported. Shorten was secretary of the Australian Workers' Unio ... more |  |
Devotees weep as Philippines loses Church treasures Cebu, Philippines (AFP) Oct 15, 2013 - Devotees wept after a deadly earthquake Tuesday rocked the birthplace of Catholicism in the Philippines, badly damaging the country's oldest church and leaving other historic places of worship in ruins. Ten churches, some of which have crucial links to the earliest moments of the Spanish colonial and Catholic conquest in the 1500s, were damaged as the 7.1-magnitude quake struck the central i ... more |  |
India's poor face grim rebuilding task after cyclone Gopalpur, India (AFP) Oct 15, 2013 - Sitting on a wall of his collapsed one-room house in eastern India, B. Chinnaya reflects on the devastation that Cyclone Phailin wrought on his once vibrant fishing village. "I built this house with my own hands, with my own hard earned money," Chinnaya said as he tried to replace the tin roof. "When I came back to the village, I couldn't help but break down into tears. All that hard wor ... more |  |
Typhoon Nari kills five, causes major damage in Vietnam Hanoi (AFP) Oct 15, 2013 - Typhoon Nari slammed into central Vietnam early Tuesday, killing five people and causing widespread damage which residents said left a popular tourist city looking like "a battlefield". The storm, which claimed 13 lives in the Philippines over the weekend, tore through the communist country's central region, hitting the UNESCO-listed ancient capital of Hue and the city of Danang. "The ci ... more |  |
Australia Antarctic mission focuses on penguin poo, warming Sydney (AFP) Oct 15, 2013 - Ancient penguin droppings and the impact of global warming on the Antarctic food chain will be the focus of Australia's latest scientific mission to the icy continent which departed Tuesday. The icebreaker Aurora Australis set off from Hobart with a research team and some 600 tonnes of cargo for its annual mission this Antarctic summer, which typically runs from October through to April. ... more |  |
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