ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

---

• Local factors cause dramatic spikes in coastal ocean acidity: Fluctuation 'adds insult to injury' for marine creatures
• Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier sensitive to climatic variability
• Methane hydrates and global warming
• Minimizing power grid disruptions from wind power
• Genetic discovery points to bigger yields in tomato, other flowering food plants
• 'Be different or die' does not drive evolution

Local factors cause dramatic spikes in coastal ocean acidity: Fluctuation 'adds insult to injury' for marine creatures Posted: 02 Jan 2014 12:23 PM PST Seawater samples collected from the marine estuary Beaufort Inlet, N.C., weekly for a year and on a daily and hourly basis for shorter periods were used to track changes in pH and dissolved inorganic carbon. Short-term variability in acidity over one year exceeds 100-year global predictions for the ocean as a whole and may already be exerting added pressure on some of the estuary's organisms, particularly shelled organisms.

Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier sensitive to climatic variability Posted: 02 Jan 2014 11:20 AM PST The thinning of Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica is much more susceptible to climatic and ocean variability than at first thought, according to new research.

Methane hydrates and global warming Posted: 02 Jan 2014 11:20 AM PST Off the coast of Svalbard methane gas flares originating from gas hydrate deposits at depth of several hundred meters have been observed regularly. A new study shows that the observed outgassing is most likely caused by natural processes and can not be attributed to global warming.

Minimizing power grid disruptions from wind power Posted: 02 Jan 2014 08:31 AM PST Researchers have found that an increase in the use of wind power generation can make the power grid more fragile and susceptible to disruptions. But the researchers didn't just identify the problem -- they have also devised a technique for coordinating wind power generation and energy storage in order to minimize the potential for such power disruptions.

Genetic discovery points to bigger yields in tomato, other flowering food plants Posted: 27 Dec 2013 07:04 AM PST Researchers announced that they have determined a way to dramatically increase tomato production. Their research has revealed a genetic mechanism for hybrid vigor, a property of plant breeding that has long been exploited to boost yield. Teasing out the hidden subtleties of a type of hybrid vigor involving just one gene has provided the scientists with means to extend the length of time that specific tomato varieties can produce flowers, substantially raising fruit yield.

'Be different or die' does not drive evolution Posted: 22 Dec 2013 01:18 PM PST A new study has found that species living together are not forced to evolve differently to avoid competing with each other, challenging a theory that has held since Darwin's Origin of Species.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top Environment News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610