Mankind's unprecedented transformation of Earth
Leicester, UK (SPX) Jul 03, 2015 -
Human beings are pushing the planet in an entirely new direction with revolutionary implications for its life, a new study by researchers at the University of Leicester has suggested. The research team led by Professor Mark Williams from the University of Leicester's Department of Geology has published their findings in a new paper entitled 'The Anthropocene Biosphere' in The Anthropocene Review ...
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Research redefines the properties of faults when rock melts
Liverpool, UK (SPX) Jul 01, 2015 -
Geoscientists at the University of Liverpool have used friction experiments to investigate the processes of fault slip. Fault slip occurs in many natural environments - including during earthquakes - when large stress build-ups are rapidly released as two sliding tectonic plates grinds together. In this process a large amount of the energy released can be converted to heat, that leads to frictio ...
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A 'hydrothermal siphon' drives water circulation through the seafloor
Santa Cruz CA (SPX) Jul 01, 2015 -
Vast quantities of ocean water circulate through the seafloor, flowing through the volcanic rock of the upper oceanic crust. A new study by scientists at UC Santa Cruz, published in Nature Communications, explains what drives this global process and how the flow is sustained.
About 25 percent of the heat that flows out of the Earth's interior is transferred to the oceans through this proce ...
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Atmospheric mysteries unraveling
Boulder CO (SPX) Jul 01, 2015 -
It's been difficult to explain patterns of toxic mercury in some parts of the world, such as why there's so much of the toxin deposited into ecosystems from the air in the southeastern United States, even upwind of usual sources. A new analysis led by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder shows that one key to understanding mercury's strange behavior may be the unexpected reactivity ...
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Creating a stopwatch for volcanic eruptions
Tempe AZ (SPX) Jul 03, 2015 -
We've long known that beneath the scenic landscapes of Yellowstone National Park sleeps a supervolcano with a giant chamber of hot, partly molten rock below it. Though it hasn't risen from slumber in nearly 70,000 years, many wonder when Yellowstone volcano will awaken and erupt again. According to new research at Arizona State University, there may be a way to predict when that happens.
W ...
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Tracking the genetic arms race between humans and mosquitoes
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 01, 2015 -
Every time you put on bug spray this summer, you're launching a strike in the ongoing war between humans and mosquitoes - one that is rapidly driving the evolution of the pests. Scientists studying mosquitoes in various types of environments in the United States and in Russia found that between 5 and 20 percent of a mosquito population's genome is subject to evolutionary pressures at any given t ...
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Hydroelectric dams drastically reduce tropical forest biodiversity
Norwich, UK (SPX) Jul 03, 2015 -
Widely hailed as 'green' sources of renewable energy, hydroelectric dams have been built worldwide at an unprecedented scale. But research from the University of East Anglia reveals that these major infrastructure projects are far from environmentally friendly. A study published in PLOS ONE reveals the drastic effects of the major Amazonian Balbina Dam on tropical rainforest biodiversity.
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