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| ©USGS |
Earth Changes
Athens, Greece - Authorities say an earthquake has struck the southern island of Crete, but no damage or injuries have been reported.
On the coral atoll of Midway in the central Pacific - famous for America's first victory over the Japanese fleet in World War Two - wildlife experts are facing a new battle against a rising tide of plastic waste.
The giant ocean eddy that cooled Sydney's shores a year ago has been superseded by another 300 km diameter giant.
CSIRO Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship scientist, Dr David Griffin, says the 'birth' of the eddy has been traced to last August.
"From satellite maps of sea-level we can see that it had been loitering this side of Lord Howe Island for some time and began approaching the NSW coast near Christmas," Dr Griffin says.
"It remained stationary during January and simply grew larger but, because it remained offshore, less people would have noticed its impacts on water temperatures."
The cold water at the new eddy's centre has welled up about 500m from the ocean depths.
CSIRO Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship scientist, Dr David Griffin, says the 'birth' of the eddy has been traced to last August.
"From satellite maps of sea-level we can see that it had been loitering this side of Lord Howe Island for some time and began approaching the NSW coast near Christmas," Dr Griffin says.
"It remained stationary during January and simply grew larger but, because it remained offshore, less people would have noticed its impacts on water temperatures."
The cold water at the new eddy's centre has welled up about 500m from the ocean depths.
Russian rescue workers have evacuated a group of tourists hit by an avalanche in the northeast Siberian republic of Yakutia, a member of the emergency services said on Wednesday.
Two members of the group, including the leader, died yesterday when they were struck by the avalanche.
Two members of the group, including the leader, died yesterday when they were struck by the avalanche.
Garden bird numbers have slumped 20 per cent in the past four years, the latest survey reveals.
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| ©Polly Morgan - The Drawbridge UK |
| Dead garden birds
Polly Morgan |
An article by Bird Studies Canada biologist Jon McCracken examines substantial population declines for 'aerial insectivores ' - birds that specialize on feeding on flying insects.
It's been 16 months since Dave Hackenberg of Dade City became the first beekeeper in the country to say publicly that something was terribly wrong with his insects.
In the intervening time following the identification of the malady now known as Colony Collapse Disorder, things haven't gotten any better for the nation's bees, which pollinate about one-third of U.S. crops - some $15 billion worth.
In the intervening time following the identification of the malady now known as Colony Collapse Disorder, things haven't gotten any better for the nation's bees, which pollinate about one-third of U.S. crops - some $15 billion worth.
A chunk of ice the size of the Isle of Man has started to break away from Antarctica in what scientists say is further evidence of a warming climate.
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| ©BBC |
A new UC Davis study predicts that climate change will irreversibly alter water circulation in Lake Tahoe, radically changing the conditions for plants and fish in the lake -- and it could happen in 10 years.
One likely result would be a warmer lake overall, with fewer cold-water native fish, and more invasive species, such as large-mouth bass, bluegill and carp.
Still unclear is how the changes would affect the lake's phenomenal clarity and cobalt-blue color, which have helped to make the Tahoe Basin an international vacation destination.
The new findings were announced March 18 at a Tahoe scientific conference by three lake experts from the Tahoe Environmental Research Center at UC Davis -- Director Geoffrey Schladow, Associate Director John Reuter and postdoctoral researcher Goloka Sahoo.
One likely result would be a warmer lake overall, with fewer cold-water native fish, and more invasive species, such as large-mouth bass, bluegill and carp.
Still unclear is how the changes would affect the lake's phenomenal clarity and cobalt-blue color, which have helped to make the Tahoe Basin an international vacation destination.
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| ©Sylvia Wright/UC Davis photo |
| Still unclear is how the changes would affect the lake's phenomenal clarity and cobalt-blue color. |
The new findings were announced March 18 at a Tahoe scientific conference by three lake experts from the Tahoe Environmental Research Center at UC Davis -- Director Geoffrey Schladow, Associate Director John Reuter and postdoctoral researcher Goloka Sahoo.
Over two hundred million humans depend for their subsistence on the fact that coral has an addiction to 'junk food' - and orders its partners, the symbiotic algae, to make it.
This curious arrangement is one of Nature's most delicate and complex partnerships - a collaboration now facing grave threats from climate change.
This curious arrangement is one of Nature's most delicate and complex partnerships - a collaboration now facing grave threats from climate change.
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| ©iStockphoto |
| The symbiosis between coral and zooxanthellae is not only powerful enough to build the largest living organism on the planet, the Great Barrier Reef, but also underpins the economies and living standards of many tropical nations and societies who harvest their food from the reefs or have developing tourism industries. |
