ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• World ocean systems undermined by climate change by 2100
• Microbiome meets big social science: What's the potential?
• 2013 Ocean Health Index shows food provision remains an area of great concern
• Unearthed: A treasure trove of jewel-like beetles
• How tiny organisms make a big impact on clean water
• Women leave their handprints on the cave wall
• Climate change creates complicated consequences for North America's forests
• Mammalian body cells lack ancient viral defense mechanism, study suggests
• Illinois river otters exposed to chemicals banned decades ago
• New micro water sensor can aid growers
• New evidence on lightning strikes: Mountains a lot less stable than we think
• Evidence of unsustainable fishing in the Great Barrier Reef
• How Earth’s rotation affects vortices in nature, such as hurricanes and ocean currents

World ocean systems undermined by climate change by 2100 Posted: 15 Oct 2013 04:14 PM PDT An ambitious new study describes the full chain of events by which ocean biogeochemical changes triggered by humanmade greenhouse gas emissions may cascade through marine habitats and organisms, penetrating to the deep ocean and eventually influencing humans. Factoring in predictable synergistic changes such as the depletion of dissolved oxygen in seawater and a decline in productivity of ocean ecosystems, no corner of the world ocean will be untouched by climate change by 2100.

Microbiome meets big social science: What's the potential? Posted: 15 Oct 2013 04:11 PM PDT Over the last decade or so, biologists have mustered an ever-growing appreciation for the essential role of microbial communities in a diversity of environments. "We're recognizing that the biosphere is run by microbes at every level," notes an expert. "They are the pivotal, central players in the health of the planet."

2013 Ocean Health Index shows food provision remains an area of great concern Posted: 15 Oct 2013 10:49 AM PDT In the 2013 Ocean Health Index –– an annual assessment of ocean health –– scientists point to food provision as the factor that continues to require serious attention.

Unearthed: A treasure trove of jewel-like beetles Posted: 15 Oct 2013 09:37 AM PDT The histerid beetle genus Baconia is distinguishable by the peculiar flat shape and the metallic body coloration ranging between beautiful blue, green and violet tones. A recent article provides a pioneering detailed revision of the genus, solving taxonomic puzzles around this enigmatic group of beetles and adding an impressive 85 new species.

How tiny organisms make a big impact on clean water Posted: 15 Oct 2013 09:35 AM PDT Nearly every body of water contains microscopic organisms that live attached to rocks, plants, and animals. These sessile suspension feeders are critical to aquatic ecosystems and play an important role in cleaning up environmental contaminants by consuming bacteria. A study reveals that by changing the angle of their bodies relative to the surfaces, these feeders overcome the physical constraints presented by underwater surfaces, maximize their access to fresh, nutrient-rich water, and filter the surrounding water.

Women leave their handprints on the cave wall Posted: 15 Oct 2013 08:39 AM PDT Plaster handprints from kindergarten, handprint turkeys, handprints outside Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood -- are all part of modern life, but ancient people also left their handprints on rocks and cave walls. Now, an anthropologist can determine the sex of some of the people who left their prints, and the majority of them were women.

Climate change creates complicated consequences for North America's forests Posted: 15 Oct 2013 07:39 AM PDT Climate change affects forests across North America -- in some cases permitting insect outbreaks, plant diseases, wildfires and other problems -- but researchers say warmer temperatures are also making many forests grow faster and some less susceptible to pests, which could boost forest health and acreage, timber harvests, carbon storage, water recycling and other forest benefits in some areas.

Mammalian body cells lack ancient viral defense mechanism, study suggests Posted: 15 Oct 2013 07:39 AM PDT Scientists have the first positive evidence that RNA interference does not play a role as an antiviral in most body, or "somatic," cells in mammals.

Illinois river otters exposed to chemicals banned decades ago Posted: 15 Oct 2013 07:38 AM PDT Researchers report that river otters in Central Illinois are being exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls and pesticides that were banned in the US in the 1970s and '80s.

New micro water sensor can aid growers Posted: 15 Oct 2013 07:36 AM PDT Researchers have developed a microfluidic water sensor within a fingertip-sized silicon chip that is a hundred times more sensitive than current devices. The researchers are now completing soil tests and will soon test their design in plants, embedding their "lab on a chip" in the stems of grape vines, for example. They hope to mass produce the sensors for as little as $5 each. The new sensor will benefit crop growers, wine grape and other fruit growers, food processors and even concrete makers.

New evidence on lightning strikes: Mountains a lot less stable than we think Posted: 15 Oct 2013 06:40 AM PDT Lightning strikes causing rocks to explode have for the first time been shown to play a huge role in shaping mountain landscapes in southern Africa, debunking previous assumptions that angular rock formations were necessarily caused by cold temperatures, and proving that mountains are a lot less stable than we think.

Evidence of unsustainable fishing in the Great Barrier Reef Posted: 15 Oct 2013 06:40 AM PDT Sea cucumber fishing in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park shows worrying signs of being unsustainable. Many species being targeted are endangered and vulnerable to extinction, as determined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

How Earth’s rotation affects vortices in nature, such as hurricanes and ocean currents Posted: 15 Oct 2013 06:37 AM PDT What do smoke rings, tornadoes and the Great Red Spot of Jupiter have in common? They are all examples of vortices, regions within a fluid (liquid, gas or plasma) where the flow spins around an imaginary straight or curved axis. Understanding how geophysical (natural world) vortices behave can be critical for tasks such as weather forecasting and environmental pollution monitoring.

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