Scripps scientists discover evidence of super-fast deep earthquake
San Diego CA (SPX) Jul 11, 2014 -
As scientists learn more about earthquakes that rupture at fault zones near the planet's surface-and the mechanisms that trigger them-an even more intriguing earthquake mystery lies deeper in the planet.
Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have discovered the first evidence that deep earthquakes, those breaking at more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) below Ear ...
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Study provides new approach to forecast hurricane intensity
Miami FL (SPX) Jul 11, 2014 -
New research from University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science suggests that physical conditions at the air-sea interface, where the ocean and atmosphere meet, is a key component to improve forecast models. The study offers a new method to aid in storm intensity prediction of hurricanes.
"The general assumption has been that the large density difference betw ...
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Rising concern about 'microplastics' in the ocean
Plymouth, UK (SPX) Jul 11, 2014 -
Microplastics - microscopic particles of plastic debris - are of increasing concern because of their widespread presence in the oceans and the potential physical and toxicological risks they pose to organisms.
This is the view of two of the world's most eminent authorities on the subject, Professor Kara Lavender Law, of Sea Education Association (Woods Hole, MA), and Professor Richard Thom ...
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Low back pain? Don't blame the weather
Atlanta GA (SPX) Jul 11, 2014 -
Australian researchers reveal that sudden, acute episodes of low back pain are not linked to weather conditions such as temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind direction and precipitation. Findings published in Arthritis Care and Research, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), indicate that the risk of low back pain slightly increases with higher wind speed or wind gusts, bu ...
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English Channel fisherman scraping the bottom of the barrel
Plymouth, UK (SPX) Jul 11, 2014 -
Decades of overfishing in the English Channel has resulted in the removal of many top predators from the sea and left fishermen 'scraping the barrel' for increasing amounts of shellfish to make up their catch. Sharks, rays, cod, haddock and many other species at the head of the food chain are at historic lows with many removed from the area completely.
These are some of the findings of a s ...
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Urban heat - not a myth, and worst where it's wet
Yale CA (SPX) Jul 11, 2014 -
A new Yale-led study quantifies for the first time the primary causes of the "urban heat island" (UHI) effect, a common phenomenon that makes the world's urban areas significantly warmer than the surrounding countryside and may increase health risks for city residents.
In an analysis of 65 cities across North America, researchers found that variation in how efficiently urban areas release ...
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Short circuit in the food web
Jena, Germany (SPX) Jul 11, 2014 -
They are amongst the most numerous inhabitants of the sea: tiny haptophytes of the type Emiliania huxleyi. Not visible to the naked eye, when they are in bloom in spring, they form square kilometer sized patches, they are even visible on satellite images.
"Together with other phytoplankton, Emiliania huxleyi is responsible for approximately half of the global photosynthesis output," states ...
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