There are the good wildfires, and there are the bad. Unfortunately, the latter often overwhelm the beneficial ones. We’ll go on with stories from San Diego in a minute—it’s a … [Read full article]
Tag: ecosystem
Los Angeles Council Unanimously Puts Off Fracking
When the hydraulic fracturing measure passed the Los Angeles City Council today, several tweeters posted photos of this meeting (source of the above: Walker Foley on twitter). The City Council … [Read full article]
Loss of Winter Snow Cover Bad News for Plants and Animals
Remember those David Attenborough documentaries that showed you underneath the snow cover into the world below, home to all manner of creatures and plant life trying to survive through the … [Read full article]
Wolves' Return Revitalizes Yellowstone
Fifteen years after wolves were returned to Yellowstone National Park the health of the overall ecosystem is overwhelming and obvious. This is the observation made by scientists in a new … [Read full article]
Jigsaw-like Sea Ice Patterns (Photo of the Day)
Taken by a member of the ICESCAPE mission on board the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy as it steamed its way south in the Arctic Ocean towards the edge of the sea ice on July 20.
Unprecedented 2007 Arctic Fire Released a Year's Worth of Stored Carbon
in 2007, the largest fire ever recorded in the Arctic swept across the Alaskan Northern Slope region, releasing an estimated 2.1 teragrams (2.3 million tons) of carbon into the atmosphere. Researchers estimate that the release of carbon was equivalent to a year’s worth of carbon storage for the entire Arctic tundra biome. Climate warming in the Arctic may lead to a greater frequency of such large fires, putting permafrost at risk of thawing and releasing more CO2.
Loss of Predators Is Our Greatest Impact
“The loss of apex consumers is arguably humankind’s most pervasive influence on the natural world,” argue the authors of a new report published in the journal Science, which looked at the decline of large predators and other ‘apex consumers’ at the top of the food chain.
Icy Ponds Mottle Arctic Ice {Photo of the Day}
Researchers on the NASA-funded ICESCAPE mission—Impacts of Climate on Ecosystems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment—have been examining melt ponds and the ice around them as seen in the image below.
Scientists Detect Ecosystem Early Warming Alarm
Researchers who have been manipulating a northern Wisconsin lake have been able to detect a warning signal for the impending collapse of an ecosystem.
Arctic Plankton Blooms Arriving Earlier, Fish May Be Imperiled
If many of these plankton blooms are trending earlier each year, then the seasonal return/growth of the fish population in these areas is gradually becoming “out of sync” with the primary producers in this region. This may mean insufficient food supply to maintain robust fish populations.
Newest Gulf Report: Oil, Soot and Dead Animals on Sea Floor
Reporting her results from a fifth Gulf of Mexico expedition ending this past December, University of Georgia marine scientist Samantha Joye has been to the bottom and back, and her … [Read full article]
Iron 'Seeding' of Ocean May Promote Toxic Plankton
In the constant interplay between Humans and Nature, everything is a trade-off. As our scientists begin to consider an intervention approach to climate change and conducting large-scale experiments, this trade-off … [Read full article]