ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• 300-million-year-old forest discovered preserved in volanic ash
• High definition polarization vision discovered in cuttlefish
• Conservation risk highest off coasts of Canada, Mexico, Peru and New Zealand
• Water management and climate change in ancient Maya city
• New species of bat, Hipposideros griffini, discovered in Vietnam
• Global permafrost zones in high-resolution images on Google Earth
• Building blocks of early Earth survived collision that created moon

300-million-year-old forest discovered preserved in volanic ash Posted: 20 Feb 2012 01:13 PM PST Pompeii-like, a 300-million-year-old tropical forest was preserved in ash when a volcano erupted in what is today northern China. Paleobotanists have reconstructed this fossilized forest, lending insight into the ecology and climate of its time.

High definition polarization vision discovered in cuttlefish Posted: 20 Feb 2012 11:26 AM PST Cuttlefish have the most acute polarization vision yet found in any animal, researchers have discovered by showing them movies on a modified LCD computer screen to test their eyesight.

Conservation risk highest off coasts of Canada, Mexico, Peru and New Zealand Posted: 20 Feb 2012 11:26 AM PST Researchers have identified conservation "hot spots" around the world where the temptation to profit from overfishing outweighs the appetite for conservation.

Water management and climate change in ancient Maya city Posted: 20 Feb 2012 11:25 AM PST There are new findings from inside a cave and a key cultural and religious center for the ancient Maya.

New species of bat, Hipposideros griffini, discovered in Vietnam Posted: 20 Feb 2012 11:24 AM PST A distinctive echolocation frequency led to the discovery of a new species of bat within the genus Hipposideros. Although this bat is similar to the species Hipposideros armiger, differences in acoustics, size, and DNA between these bats led to the identification of the new species. This new member of the bat community, which has been found in two locations in Vietnam, has been given the scientific name Hipposideros griffini.

Global permafrost zones in high-resolution images on Google Earth Posted: 20 Feb 2012 05:58 AM PST Thawing permafrost will have far-reaching ramifications for populated areas, infrastructure and ecosystems. A geographer in Switzerland reveals where it is important to confront the issue based on new permafrost maps – the most precise global maps around. They depict the global distribution of permafrost in high-resolution images and are available on Google Earth.

Building blocks of early Earth survived collision that created moon Posted: 18 Feb 2012 10:45 AM PST Unexpected new findings by geochemists show that some portions of the Earth's mantle (the rocky layer between Earth's metallic core and crust) formed when the planet was much smaller than it is now, and that some of this early-formed mantle survived Earth's turbulent formation, including a collision with another planet-sized body that many scientists believe led to the creation of the moon.

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