Complex skeletons evolved earlier than realized, fossils suggest
Edinburgh, UK (SPX) Nov 13, 2015 -
The first animals to have complex skeletons existed about 550 million years ago, fossils of a tiny marine creature unearthed in Namibia suggest. The find is the first to suggest the earliest complex animals on Earth - which may be related to many of today's animal species - lived millions of years earlier than was previously known.
Until now, the oldest evidence of complex animals - which ...
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A warmer world will be a hazier one
Riverside CA (SPX) Nov 13, 2015 -
Aerosols, tiny solid and liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere, impact the environment by affecting air quality and alter the Earth's radiative balance by either scattering or absorbing sunlight to varying degrees. What impact does climate change, induced by greenhouse gases (GHGs), have on the aerosol "burden"--the total mass of aerosols in a vertical column of air?
Past research d ...
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NASA Heads to Pacific Northwest for Field Campaign to Measure Rain and Snowfall
Seattle WA (SPX) Nov 13, 2015 -
From Nov. 10 through Dec. 21, NASA and university scientists are taking to the field to study wet winter weather near Seattle, Washington. With weather radars, weather balloons, specialized ground instruments, and NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory, the science team will be verifying rain and snowfall observations made by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite mission.
The Pacific ...
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A new tool to guide recovery from disasters
Chicago IL (SPX) Nov 13, 2015 -
The 1999 Odisha Cyclone struck the eastern coast of India, knocking out whole swaths of the Indian Railways Network, bringing the eastern IRN system to a halt. Cyclones Hudhud and Phailin caused similar mayhem in 2014 and 2013, while in 2012 power blackouts in northern and eastern India idled 300 intercity passenger trains and commuter lines. Closer to home, severe winter storms that hit Boston ...
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Encana Corp. production up 35 percent
Calgary, Alberta (UPI) Nov 12, 2015 -
Shale-focused Encana Corp. said its overall production was up 35 percent from last year, even as oversupplies drag on crude oil price and profits.
Encana, which has headquarters in Calgary, said production for the third quarter averaged 398,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day. More than 60 percent of the output came from its key shale assets in North America - Permian, Eagle Ford, Du ...
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G20 nations spend $452 bn a year supporting fossil fuels: study
London (AFP) Nov 12, 2015 -
The G20 group of major economies spend $452 billion per year supporting fossil fuel industries, despite their primary role in causing climate change, according to a study released on Thursday.
The report, which comes ahead of a crunch UN meeting in Paris to try to forge a global deal to avoid disastrous levels of climate change in December, accused governments of undermining their own climat ...
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GD to provide deployable instrument landing system for USAF
Fairfax, Va. (UPI) Nov 12, 2015 -
General Dynamics Mission Systems will provide communication support the U.S. Air Force's Deployable Instrument Landing System.
The U.S. Air Force ordered the landing system from Thales Group in August, contracting the production of two units in addition to technical documentation, training development, system analysis, and other services. The system aids pilots by giving them precision ...
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