Geosciences posts
- November 17, 2012
- 07:20 PM
- 357 views
How Earth's wandering poles return home
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
A number of times over the past one billion years, the Earth's surface has "wandered" relative to its rotational axis – before returning to its original position. Now, a team of geophysicists from the US and Canada says it has developed a theory that explains this curious phenomenon of "oscillatory true polar wander". Understanding the mechanics behind polar wander is crucial, as a shift could tip the Earth over by as far as 50° over a period of 10–100 mi........ Read more »
Tushna Commissariat. (2012) How Earth's wandering poles return home. physicsworld.com. info:/
- November 17, 2012
- 09:54 AM
- 247 views
Why Antarctic Sea Ice Cover Has Increased Under the Effects of Climate Change
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
The first direct evidence that marked changes to Antarctic sea ice drift have occurred over the last 20 years, in response to changing winds, is published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience. Scientists from NERC’s British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena California explain why, unlike the dramatic losses reported in the Arctic, the Antarctic sea ice cover has increased under the effects of climate change.... Read more »
ScienceDaily. (2012) Why Antarctic Sea Ice Cover Has Increased Under the Effects of Climate Change. ScienceDaily. info:/
- November 17, 2012
- 07:10 AM
- 276 views
Australians overestimate climate change rejection
by Andy Extance in Simple Climate
Actual opinions on climate change are very different from estimates, thanks partly to our tendency to think more people agree with us than really do, but possibly also to how the issue has been debated, shows a survey run by Zoe Leviston from CSIRO in Australia. ... Read more »
Leviston, Z., Walker, I., & Morwinski, S. (2012) Your opinion on climate change might not be as common as you think. Nature Climate Change. DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE1743
- November 12, 2012
- 07:30 AM
- 167 views
Mantle support of topography – a swell idea
by Metageologist in Metageologist
Why are some bits of the earth higher than others? Finding mountains near plate boundaries is easy to explain – various forms of plate collision cause the crust to thicken and the surface to rise. What about Southern Africa? Reaching … Continue reading →... Read more »
Jones, S., Lovell, B., & Crosby, A. (2012) Comparison of modern and geological observations of dynamic support from mantle convection. Journal of the Geological Society, 169(6), 745-758. DOI: 10.1144/jgs2011-118
Lovell, B. (2010) A pulse in the planet: regional control of high-frequency changes in relative sea level by mantle convection. Journal of the Geological Society, 167(4), 637-648. DOI: 10.1144/0016-76492009-127
- November 11, 2012
- 09:04 AM
- 216 views
Climate Change and the Mayan Collapse
by gunnardw in The Beast, the Bard and the Bot
Once upon a time, there was a powerful civilization in Middle America. And then, it collapsed. The Mayan empire achieved quite a few splendid things during its heyday. So, why did the Classic Mayan society crumble? The weather, so some think. A new study in Science combined detailed climatic records with sociopolitical developments in the [...]... Read more »
Fasullo, J., & Trenberth, K. (2012) A Less Cloudy Future: The Role of Subtropical Subsidence in Climate Sensitivity. Science, 338(6108), 792-794. DOI: 10.1126/science.1227465
Kennett, D., Breitenbach, S., Aquino, V., Asmerom, Y., Awe, J., Baldini, J., Bartlein, P., Culleton, B., Ebert, C., Jazwa, C.... (2012) Development and Disintegration of Maya Political Systems in Response to Climate Change. Science, 338(6108), 788-791. DOI: 10.1126/science.1226299
- November 10, 2012
- 06:59 AM
- 298 views
Earth’s magnetic shield behaves like a sieve
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
The Earth’s magnetic field is more permeable than previously thought, according to researchers analysing data from the European Space Agency’s Cluster mission. The findings have implications for modelling the dangers posed by space weather and could also help us better understand the magnetic environments around Jupiter and Saturn.... Read more »
Colin Stuart. (2012) Earth's magnetic shield behaves like a sieve. physicsworld.com. info:/
- November 8, 2012
- 09:17 AM
- 233 views
Monsoon instability raises food questions for India
by Andy Extance in Simple Climate
An unstable balance between dry and wet monsoon rain seasons could become important for farming in South Asia as the world warms into the 22nd century, find Jacob Schewe and Anders Levermann from Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.... Read more »
Schewe, J., & Levermann, A. (2012) A statistically predictive model for future monsoon failure in India. Environmental Research Letters, 7(4), 44023. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/7/4/044023
- November 4, 2012
- 05:26 AM
- 393 views
Long and intense melting on the Greenland ice sheet
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
2012 was an extreme year for the Greenland ice sheet. The air temperature was higher than ever and the summer melting on the ice sheet was long and intense. The evidence comes from a network of weather stations on the ice sheet operated by glaciologists from GEUS.... Read more »
GEUS News. (2012) Long and intense melting on the Greenland ice sheet. GEUS News website. info:/
- November 3, 2012
- 09:09 AM
- 258 views
Butterfly effect limits climate models
by Andy Extance in Simple Climate
Tiny changes in climate simulations otherwise held constant can lead to a wide range of outcomes, Clara Deser from the US National Center for Atmospheric Research and her team find, showing uncertainty we can’t eliminate. ... Read more »
Deser, C., Knutti, R., Solomon, S., & Phillips, A. (2012) Communication of the role of natural variability in future North American climate. Nature Climate Change, 2(11), 775-779. DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1562
- October 31, 2012
- 11:19 AM
- 280 views
Peer Reviewed Research Predicted NYC Subway Flooding by #Sandy
by Greg Laden in Greg Laden's Blog
Earlier this year a paper was published in the journal Nature in which a team of scientists looked at changes in storm surge potential under conditions of global warming, and they used the New York City area in their modeling. Combined with resent research adding to the growing body of data and studies that show…... Read more »
Lin, N., Emanuel, K., Oppenheimer, M., & Vanmarcke, E. (2012) Physically based assessment of hurricane surge threat under climate change. Nature Climate Change, 2(6), 462-467. DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE1389
- October 29, 2012
- 10:01 AM
- 253 views
Geneva and Lausanne ‘Remain Vulnerable to Lake Tsunami’
by Jaime Menchén in United Academics
Researchers in Switzerland have found evidence to support the so-called “Tauredunum Event”, which is believed to have happened in AD 563 and involved a lake tsunami engulfing the shores of the Lake Léman. What's worse is that these scientists, who published their findings in Nature Geoscience, believe that there chances that this event will happen again.... Read more »
Kremer, K., Simpson, G., & Girardclos, S. (2012) Giant Lake Geneva tsunami in AD 563. Nature Geoscience. DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1618
- October 27, 2012
- 07:13 AM
- 309 views
Climate provides weak power to predict African violence
by Andy Extance in Simple Climate
Though there is a modest link between conflict and rainfall and temperature changes, this has been overplayed in political discussions, according to a detailed analysis by John O’Loughlin from the University of Colorado, Boulder and his team-mates.... Read more »
O'Loughlin, J., Witmer, F., Linke, A., Laing, A., Gettelman, A., & Dudhia, J. (2012) Climate variability and conflict risk in East Africa, 1990-2009. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1205130109
- October 26, 2012
- 01:02 PM
- 228 views
How much does Antarctica contribute to sea level rise? (And how should that be communicated?)
by Andy Russell in Our Clouded Hills
There’s an interesting new paper in Nature (King et al.) this week that looks at how much the Antarctic continental ice contributes to sea level changes. It initially caught my eye as it uses data from the GRACE satellites, which are very cool! They are twin satellites that can detect tiny changes in the distance [...]... Read more »
King MA, Bingham RJ, Moore P, Whitehouse PL, Bentley MJ, & Milne GA. (2012) Lower satellite-gravimetry estimates of Antarctic sea-level contribution. Nature. PMID: 23086145
- October 25, 2012
- 02:53 PM
- 355 views
Why You Should Reject the “Rejection Improves Impact” Meme
by caseybergman in I wish you'd made me angry earlier
Over the last two weeks, a meme has been making the rounds in the scientific twittersphere that goes something like “Rejection of a scientific manuscript improves its eventual impact”. This idea is based a recent analysis of patterns of manuscript submission reported in Science by Calcagno et al., which has been actively touted in the [...]... Read more »
Calcagno, V., Demoinet, E., Gollner, K., Guidi, L., Ruths, D., & de Mazancourt, C. (2012) Flows of Research Manuscripts Among Scientific Journals Reveal Hidden Submission Patterns. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.1227833
- October 25, 2012
- 12:49 PM
- 555 views
Trekking Among The Stratigraphy And Structure of the Lesser Himalayas In Kumaon And Gharwal
by Suvrat Kher in Rapid Uplift
Clarification of the stratigraphy and structure of the Lesser Himalayas of the Kumaon region of Uttarkhand... Read more »
Celerier, J., Harrison, T., Webb, A., & Yin, A. (2009) The Kumaun and Garwhal Lesser Himalaya, India: Part 1. Structure and stratigraphy. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 121(9-10), 1262-1280. DOI: 10.1130/B26344.1
- October 24, 2012
- 08:30 AM
- 155 views
Eclogites: back to the surface
by Metageologist in Metageologist
Eclogites are beautiful rocks that form deep within subduction zones. The vast majority of subducted oceanic crust becomes more dense than the surrounding mantle rocks and travels to the strange world of the deep earth. Lucky for us, small volumes … Continue reading →... Read more »
Angiboust, S., & Agard, P. (2010) Initial water budget: The key to detaching large volumes of eclogitized oceanic crust along the subduction channel?. Lithos, 120(3-4), 453-474. DOI: 10.1016/j.lithos.2010.09.007
Angiboust, S.,, Agard, P.,, Raimbourg, H.,, Yamato, P.,, & Huet, B. (2011) Subduction interface processes recorded by eclogite-facies shear zones (Monviso, W. Alps). Lithos. DOI: dx.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2011.09.004
Silvana Martin, Gisella Rebay, Jean-Robert Kienast, & Catherine Mével. (2008) AN ECLOGITISED OCEANIC PALAEO-HYDROTHERMAL FIELD FROM THE ST. MARCEL VALLEY (ITALIAN WESTERN ALPS. Ofioliti. info:/doi:10.4454/ofioliti.v33i1.359
MESSIGA, ., KIENAST, ., REBAY, ., RICCARDI, ., & TRIBUZIO, . (2001) Cr-rich magnesiochloritoid eclogites from the Monviso ophiolites (Western Alps, Italy. Journal of Metamorphic Geology, 17(3), 287-299. DOI: 10.1046/j.1525-1314.1999.00198.x
- October 23, 2012
- 07:31 AM
- 273 views
Convicted Scientists, Earthquakes and Communication
by gunnardw in The Beast, the Bard and the Bot
Yesterday, October 22nd, six scientists and one government official were sentenced to six years in prison for manslaughter. A consequence of the events surrounding the earthquake (magnitude: 6.3) that hit the Italian city of L’Aquila on April 6th 2009, and … Continue reading →... Read more »
Nosengo, N. (2012) Italian court finds seismologists guilty of manslaughter. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/nature.2012.11640
- October 19, 2012
- 06:10 PM
- 669 views
Anthropocene, Ανθρωπόκαινος
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Humans have changed the face of the Earth by significantly altering the natural movements of chemicals on the planet’s surface, according to a new study by geochemists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
The scientists analyzed how 77 different elements were transferred between rock, soil, and water via natural processes (such as volcanic eruptions, plant growth, and erosion) versus human activities (such as mining, agriculture, and construction). They concluded that the mov........ Read more »
Elizabeth Halliday. (2012) Humans have changed how chemicals move on our planet. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. info:/
- October 19, 2012
- 04:34 AM
- 319 views
Cause vagueness hinders climate extinction action
by Andy Extance in Simple Climate
A PhD class from Stony Brook University in New York State has found that difficulties in researching how climate wipes organisms out have left a knowledge gap, and urges scientists to tackle these tough questions.... Read more »
Cahill, A., Aiello-Lammens, M., Fisher-Reid, M., Hua, X., Karanewsky, C., Yeong Ryu, H., Sbeglia, G., Spagnolo, F., Waldron, J., Warsi, O.... (2012) How does climate change cause extinction?. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1890
- October 17, 2012
- 03:34 PM
- 387 views
Ice Age on Mars: how it started and ended
by sedeer in Inspiring Science
One of the great things about working at a university is the opportunity to go to talks and learn about …Continue reading »... Read more »
Head, J., Mustard, J., Kreslavsky, M., Milliken, R., & Marchant, D. (2003) Recent ice ages on Mars. Nature, 426(6968), 797-802. DOI: 10.1038/nature02114
topics
join us!
Do you write about peer-reviewed research in your blog? Use ResearchBlogging.org to make it easy for your readers — and others from around the world — to find your serious posts about academic research.
If you don't have a blog, you can still use our site to learn about fascinating developments in cutting-edge research from around the world.
