Land-use change possibly produces more carbon dioxide than assumed so far

Land-use change possibly produces more carbon dioxide than assumed so far Karlsruhe, Germany (SPX) Feb 01, 2017 - CO2 emissions caused by changes of land use may possibly be higher than assumed so far. This is the outcome of a study made by the team of Professor Almut Arneth of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The work presented in Nature Geoscience for the first time considers processes, such as slash-and-burn agriculture or different ways of managing forests and cropland. The results also impl ... more

Researchers confirm the existence of a 'lost continent' under Mauritius Johannesburg, South Africa (SPX) Feb 01, 2017 - Scientists have confirmed the existence of a "lost continent" under the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius that was left-over by the break-up of the supercontinent, Gondwana, which started about 200 million years ago. The piece of crust, which was subsequently covered by young lava during volcanic eruptions on the island, seems to be a tiny piece of ancient continent, which broke off from the isla ... more

Increasing factory and auto emissions disrupt natural cycle in East China Sea Irvine CA (SPX) Feb 01, 2017 - China's rapid ascent to global economic superpower is taking a toll on some of its ancient ways. For millennia, people have patterned their lives and diets around the vast fisheries of the East China Sea, but now those waters are increasingly threatened by human-caused, harmful algal blooms that choke off vital fish populations, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Ca ... more

Brain-computer interface allows completely locked-in people to communicate Geneva, Switzerland (SPX) Feb 01, 2017 - A brain-computer interface that can decipher the thoughts of people who are unable to communicate could revolutionize the lives of those living with complete locked-in syndrome according to a new paper published in PLOS Biology. Counter to expectations, the participants in the study reported being "happy" despite their condition. In the trial, people with complete locked-in syndrome, who w ... more

Prediction of large earthquakes probability improved Barcelona, Spain (SPX) Feb 01, 2017 - The probability of an earthquake occurring exponentially decreases as its magnitude value increases. Fortunately, mild earthquakes are more probable than devastatingly large ones. This relation between probability and earthquake magnitude follows a mathematical curve called the Gutenberg-Richter law, and helps seismologists predict the probabilities of an earthquake of a specific magnitude occur ... more

African lake provides new clues about ancient marine life Vancouver BC (SPX) Feb 01, 2017 - New research shows there may have been more nitrogen in the ocean between one and two billion years ago than previously thought, allowing marine organisms to proliferate at a time when multi-cellularity and eukaryotic life first emerged. UBC researchers travelled to Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, because of its similar chemistry to the oceans of the Proterozoic eon, some 2. ... more

Ocean acidification can also promote shell formation Amsterdam, The Netherlands (SPX) Jan 31, 2017 - More carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air also acidifies the oceans. It seemed to be the logical conclusion that shellfish and corals will suffer, because chalk formation becomes more difficult in more acidic seawater. But now a group of Dutch and Japanese scientists discovered to their own surprise that some tiny unicellular shellfish make better shells in an acidic environment. This is a completely ... more

Rapid trait evolution crucial to species growth Boulder CO (SPX) Jan 31, 2017 - Rapid evolution at the edges of a given species habitat may play a larger role in population expansions than previously suspected, according to the results of a new University of Colorado Boulder-led study. The findings, which were published in the journal Nature Communications, could eventually lead to more accurate predictions about how a given species will expand or contract over time, ... more

High price of shrimp linked to water pollution: study Miami (AFP) Jan 30, 2017 - The price of big-sized shrimp can rise as a direct result of pollution from fertilizers that cause dead zones in coastal waters, US researchers said Monday. The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is the first to show how a low-oxygen water problem called hypoxia is related to the climbing price of seafood. "Many studies have documented the ecological impacts of ... more

Rich? Scared about the Trumpocalypse? Try New Zealand Wellington (AFP) Jan 28, 2017 - The elevation of an unpredictable billionaire to the helm of nuclear-armed America has given fresh impetus to the idea of remote New Zealand as a bulwark for civilisation in the event of a global catastrophe. The idea has pedigree - British science fiction writer John Wyndham's 1955 novel "The Chrysalids" describes a post-apocalyptic landscape where Zealand (or Sealand) is the only place th ... more