Rare Sumatran rhino born in Indonesia
Jakarta (AFP) May 12, 2016 -
A Sumatran rhino gave birth to a female calf at a sanctuary in Indonesia on Thursday, taking the critically endangered species a step further away from extinction.
The baby was born at 5:40 am on western Sumatra island, and within hours was walking around and feeding from its mother, authorities said.
It was the second baby born to rhino Ratu. Her previous birth four years ago marked the ...
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UCI sleuths search the seas for soot
Irvine CA (SPX) May 13, 2016 -
Earth system scientists from the University of California, Irvine have taken water samples from the north Pacific, north and south Atlantic, and Arctic oceans in search of repositories of black carbon, soot from burning biomass and diesel engines, among other sources.
They've found considerably less of the material than expected, and they've discovered that it exists in at least two variet ...
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Antarctic whales and the krill they eat
Washington DC (SPX) May 13, 2016 -
The Western Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean is the regular feeding ground of a large number of fin and humpback whales of the Southern Hemisphere. Around 5,000 fin whales likely migrate to its ice-free waters during summer, along with at least 3,000 humpback whales.
These estimates follow a ship-based helicopter survey of whales in Antarctic waters. A net trawl survey for krill* was ...
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Biofeedback system designed to control photosynthetic lighting
Athens GA (SPX) May 13, 2016 -
Controlled environment agriculture is rapidly becoming an important part of the global food system. For example, there has been much interest in the potential of large-scale, indoor agricultural production - often referred to as vertical farming - as a means to produce high quantities of produce. These "plant factories" are expensive to operate, however, in part because of the large power requir ...
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Study offers clues to better rainfall predictions
Cape Cod MA (SPX) May 13, 2016 -
The saltiness, or salinity, of seawater depends largely on how much moisture is pulled into the air as evaporative winds sweep over the ocean. But pinpointing where the moisture rains back down is a complicated question scientists have long contended with.
Now, scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have found a potential path to better seasonal rainfall predictions. ...
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Saharan dust makes big impact on Caribbean waters
Tallahassee FL (SPX) May 13, 2016 -
Dust from the Saharan desert is bringing needed iron and other nutrients to underwater plants in the Caribbean, but bacteria may be the first thing to prosper from that dust. The dust is causing the bacteria to bloom and also become more toxic to humans and marine organisms.
"This has been going on for a long time, but nobody understood it," said Florida State University Professor of Chemi ...
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Scientists track Greenland's ice melt with seismic waves
Boston MA (SPX) May 13, 2016 -
Researchers from MIT, Princeton University, and elsewhere have developed a new technique to monitor the seasonal changes in Greenland's ice sheet, using seismic vibrations generated by crashing ocean waves. The results, which will be published in the journal Science Advances, may help scientists pinpoint regions of the ice sheet that are most vulnerable to melting. The technique may also set bet ...
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