All posts; Tags Include "Climate Science"
- August 27, 2010
- 02:55 AM
- 33 views
Effect of climate change on human morbidity and mortality and sea levels
by Sarah Stephen in An ecological oratorio
Climate change has been resulting in quite a many detrimental manifestations which tend to have a domino effect: fluctuations in temperature and precipitation (resulting in climate variability), as well as extreme manifestations such as drought, storms, rise in sea levels, and frequent severe weather events.Consider the research by Grinsted et al (2009) who used a ‘physically plausible four parameter linear response equation’ to relate nearly 2,000 years of global temperatures and sea level......... Read more »
Patz, J., Campbell-Lendrum, D., Holloway, T., & Foley, J. (2005) Impact of regional climate change on human health. Nature, 438(7066), 310-317. DOI: 10.1038/nature04188
Grinsted, A., Moore, J., & Jevrejeva, S. (2009) Reconstructing sea level from paleo and projected temperatures 200 to 2100 ad. Climate Dynamics, 34(4), 461-472. DOI: 10.1007/s00382-008-0507-2
- August 26, 2010
- 03:35 AM
- 40 views
Global Temperature Proxy Reconstructions ~ now with CO2 forcing
by apeescape in mind of a Markov chain
Previously, I did a simple Bayesian projection of recent temperature using proxy data and the methods shown in McShane and Wyner (2010). I showed that when you take out the last 30 years of data (1969~1998), the projection does not track the recent uptick in temperatures well. The “projection” is a simple unparametric bootstrap which [...]... Read more »
BLAKELEY B. MCSHANE AND ABRAHAM J. WYNER. (2010) A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF MULTIPLE TEMPERATURE PROXIES: ARE RECONSTRUCTIONS OF SURFACE TEMPERATURES OVER THE LAST 1000 YEARS RELIABLE?. Annals of Applied Statistics, 4(3). info:/
- August 24, 2010
- 06:29 AM
- 43 views
Fancy going on a wild plankton chase?
by Vivienne in Outdoor Science
Fancy going on a wild plankton chase around Antarctica this Christmas? In November 2002, a team of scientists did exactly that. They went on a nine-week expedition around the Southern Ocean – the ocean surrounding Antarctica – looking for a lush marine oasis awash with marine life and previously overlooked by science. Among their trials and tribulations, Dr Walter Geibert [...]... Read more »
Geibert, W., Assmy, P., Bakker, D., Hanfland, C., Hoppema, M., Pichevin, L., Schröder, M., Schwarz, J., Stimac, I., Usbeck, R.... (2010) High productivity in an ice melting hot spot at the eastern boundary of the Weddell Gyre. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 24(3). DOI: 10.1029/2009GB003657
- August 22, 2010
- 04:10 AM
- 58 views
Global Temperature Proxy Reconstructions ~ Bayesian extrapolation of warming w/ rjags
by apeescape in mind of a Markov chain
There are a bunch of “hockey sticks” that calculate past global temps. through the use of proxies when instrumental data is absent. There is a new one out there by McShane and Wyner (2010) that’s creating quite a stir in the blogosphere (here, here, here, here). The main take out being, that the uncertainty is [...]... Read more »
BLAKELEY B. MCSHANE AND ABRAHAM J. WYNER. (2010) A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF MULTIPLE TEMPERATURE PROXIES: ARE RECONSTRUCTIONS OF SURFACE TEMPERATURES OVER THE LAST 1000 YEARS RELIABLE?. Annals of Applied Statistics, 4(3). info:/
Mann, M., Zhang, Z., Hughes, M., Bradley, R., Miller, S., Rutherford, S., & Ni, F. (2008) Proxy-based reconstructions of hemispheric and global surface temperature variations over the past two millennia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(36), 13252-13257. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0805721105
- August 20, 2010
- 12:32 PM
- 25 views
Study: In Communicating about Nano and GMOs, Do the Frames or the Facts Matter?
by Matthew C. Nisbet in Age of Engagement
When attempting to communicate effectively with the public about a science-related debate, which is more important, framing the message or conveying science-based facts about the topic? A forthcoming study (Word) at the Journal of Communication by Northwestern University researchers James Druckman and Toby Bolsen sheds new light on this long standing question.
As I will be highlighting at this blog, previous research consistently finds that the public typically form opinions in the absence........ Read more »
Maibach, E., Nisbet, M., Baldwin, P., Akerlof, K., & Diao, G. (2010) Reframing climate change as a public health issue: an exploratory study of public reactions. BMC Public Health, 10(1), 299. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-299
- August 19, 2010
- 12:33 PM
- 60 views
Marine Snow: dead organisms and poop as manna in the ocean
by Hannah Waters in Culturing Science – biology as relevant to us earthly beings
“When I think of the floor of the deep sea…I see always the steady, unremitting, downward drift of materials from above, flake upon flake, layer upon layer…the most stupendous “snowfall” the earth has ever seen.” -Rachel Carson, The Sea Around … Continue reading →... Read more »
Bochdansky, A., van Aken, H., & Herndl, G. (2010) Role of macroscopic particles in deep-sea oxygen consumption. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(18), 8287-8291. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0913744107
Boyce, D., Lewis, M., & Worm, B. (2010) Global phytoplankton decline over the past century. Nature, 466(7306), 591-596. DOI: 10.1038/nature09268
Fowler, S., Buat-Menard, P., Yokoyama, Y., Ballestra, S., Holm, E., & Nguyen, H. (1987) Rapid removal of Chernobyl fallout from Mediterranean surface waters by biological activity. Nature, 329(6134), 56-58. DOI: 10.1038/329056a0
Goldthwait, S., Carlson, C., Henderson, G., & Alldredge, A. (2005) Effects of physical fragmentation on remineralization of marine snow. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 59-65. DOI: 10.3354/meps305059
Iseki, K. (1981) Particulate Organic Matter Transport to the Deep Sea by Salp Fecal Pellets. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 55-60. DOI: 10.3354/meps005055
Lampitt, R., Hillier, W., & Challenor, P. (1993) Seasonal and diel variation in the open ocean concentration of marine snow aggregates. Nature, 362(6422), 737-739. DOI: 10.1038/362737a0
SILVER, M., SHANKS, A., & TRENT, J. (1978) Marine Snow: Microplankton Habitat and Source of Small-Scale Patchiness in Pelagic Populations. Science, 201(4353), 371-373. DOI: 10.1126/science.201.4353.371
Turner, J. (2002) Zooplankton fecal pellets, marine snow and sinking phytoplankton blooms. Aquatic Microbial Ecology, 57-102. DOI: 10.3354/ame027057
WOTTON, R., & MALMQVIST, B. (2001) Feces in Aquatic Ecosystems. BioScience, 51(7), 537. DOI: 10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0537:FIAE]2.0.CO;2
- August 15, 2010
- 01:38 PM
- 67 views
Mercury Rising
by Journal Watch Online in Journal Watch Online
Mercury is flowing with the melt. A new study from Sweden finds that thawing permafrost in a northern peat bog is releasing the toxic metal into a nearby lake. That pattern could become widespread as global temperatures rise, the authors warn.
Researchers have long known that the vast peatlands that ring the northern hemisphere are […] Read More »... Read more »
Rydberg, J., Klaminder, J., Rosén, P., & Bindler, R. (2010) Climate driven release of carbon and mercury from permafrost mires increases mercury loading to sub-arctic lakes. Science of The Total Environment. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2010.06.056
- August 7, 2010
- 07:58 AM
- 65 views
Rapid adaptation to temperature change… and its limits
People often think of evolution as though natural selection were sitting around waiting for new mutations to promote or cull. But it’s not really like that. A great deal of variation exists in any population, much of which has little or no effect on the survival or reproductive success of individuals carrying that variation. However, [...]... Read more »
Barrett, R., Paccard, A., Healy, T., Bergek, S., Schulte, P., Schluter, D., & Rogers, S. (2010) Rapid evolution of cold tolerance in stickleback. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.0923
- August 6, 2010
- 06:48 PM
- 83 views
Viruses Vs. Bacteria – Debate Rebuttals
by James Byrne in Disease of the Week
Thomas and I have presented our arguments and now its up to you. Are viruses objectively better than bacteria? comment or check out the poll to vote.... Read more »
Bennett Hellman, A. (2010) Gut bacteria gene complement dwarfs human genome. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/news.2010.104
Ricchetti M, Tekaia F, & Dujon B. (2004) Continued colonization of the human genome by mitochondrial DNA. PLoS biology, 2(9). PMID: 15361937
Morris CE, Sands DC, Vinatzer BA, Glaux C, Guilbaud C, Buffière A, Yan S, Dominguez H, & Thompson BM. (2008) The life history of the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae is linked to the water cycle. The ISME journal, 2(3), 321-34. PMID: 18185595
Iwase T, Uehara Y, Shinji H, Tajima A, Seo H, Takada K, Agata T, & Mizunoe Y. (2010) Staphylococcus epidermidis Esp inhibits Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation and nasal colonization. Nature, 465(7296), 346-9. PMID: 20485435
- August 5, 2010
- 11:21 AM
- 63 views
Inevitability and oil, Pt. 2: the “end of oil” and human empathy
by Hannah Waters in Culturing Science – biology as relevant to us earthly beings
Never thought I’d actually get around to a Pt. 2, eh? Well, I’ve shown you! Here’s the first part: Inevitability and Oil, Pt. 1: the inherent risk for accidents in complex technology For decades now economists and scientists have predicted the “end of oil:” the day when we use up our oil reserves, potentially resulting [...]... Read more »
Haber, W. (2007) Energy, food, and land — The ecological traps of humankind. Environmental Science and Pollution Research - International, 14(6), 359-365. DOI: 10.1065/espr2007.09.449
Kerr, R. (1998) GEOLOGY:The Next Oil Crisis Looms Large--and Perhaps Close. Science, 281(5380), 1128-1131. DOI: 10.1126/science.281.5380.1128
Szeman, I. (2007) System Failure: Oil, Futurity, and the Anticipation of Disaster. South Atlantic Quarterly, 106(4), 805-823. DOI: 10.1215/00382876-2007-047
- July 30, 2010
- 07:26 PM
- 87 views
Viruses are (NOT) objectively better than bacteria
by James Byrne in Disease of the Week
Thomas approached me long ago with a simple yet misguided premise; viruses are objectively better than bacteria. I’ve been playfully criticising virology for years and it sounds like I finally broke him. In any case we went back to our respective corners to put forward our respective cases. We each wrote our own arguments separately and next week you will hear our rebuttals. You got to read Thomas’ attempt at an argument last week so without any further ado…
Viruses are objec........ Read more »
Bennett Hellman, A. (2010) Gut bacteria gene complement dwarfs human genome. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/news.2010.104
Ricchetti M, Tekaia F, & Dujon B. (2004) Continued colonization of the human genome by mitochondrial DNA. PLoS biology, 2(9). PMID: 15361937
Morris CE, Sands DC, Vinatzer BA, Glaux C, Guilbaud C, Buffière A, Yan S, Dominguez H, & Thompson BM. (2008) The life history of the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae is linked to the water cycle. The ISME journal, 2(3), 321-34. PMID: 18185595
Iwase T, Uehara Y, Shinji H, Tajima A, Seo H, Takada K, Agata T, & Mizunoe Y. (2010) Staphylococcus epidermidis Esp inhibits Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation and nasal colonization. Nature, 465(7296), 346-9. PMID: 20485435
- July 29, 2010
- 09:36 PM
- 92 views
Phytoplankton are disappearing, so we're all going to suffocate
by Bjørn Østman in Pleiotropy
Phytoplankton is responsible for about half of the total amount of oxygen produced by all plant life. That would make a 1% yearly reduction of phytoplankton a really negative outcome of global warming, don't you think?... Read more »
Boyce, D., Lewis, M., & Worm, B. (2010) Global phytoplankton decline over the past century. Nature, 466(7306), 591-596. DOI: 10.1038/nature09268
- July 28, 2010
- 09:12 AM
- 89 views
Forest canopy height: why do we care?
by Hannah Waters in Culturing Science – biology as relevant to us earthly beings
If you’ve been on the internet at all in the past week, you’ve probably seen these lovely images from NASA, visualizing the height of tree canopies around the world. They’ve been on science sites along with art ones. In a sense, that alone is useful: using beautiful visuals to make people think about the world [...]... Read more »
Cohen, W., Harmon, M., Wallin, D., & Fiorella, M. (1996) Two Decades of Carbon Flux from Forests of the Pacific Northwest. BioScience, 46(11), 836. DOI: 10.2307/1312969
Lefsky, M., Cohen, W., Harding, D., Parker, G., Acker, S., & Gower, S. (2002) Lidar remote sensing of above-ground biomass in three biomes. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 11(5), 393-399. DOI: 10.1046/j.1466-822x.2002.00303.x
Lefsky, M., Harding, D., Keller, M., Cohen, W., Carabajal, C., Del Bom Espirito-Santo, F., Hunter, M., & de Oliveira, R. (2005) Estimates of forest canopy height and aboveground biomass using ICESat. Geophysical Research Letters, 32(22). DOI: 10.1029/2005GL023971
Running, S. (1999) A Global Terrestrial Monitoring Network Integrating Tower Fluxes, Flask Sampling, Ecosystem Modeling and EOS Satellite Data. Remote Sensing of Environment, 70(1), 108-127. DOI: 10.1016/S0034-4257(99)00061-9
Silva, L., Anand, M., & Leithead, M. (2010) Recent Widespread Tree Growth Decline Despite Increasing Atmospheric CO2. PLoS ONE, 5(7). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0011543
- July 19, 2010
- 09:19 AM
- 115 views
DMS(P): the amazing story of a pervasive indicator molecule in the marine food web
by Hannah Waters in Culturing Science – biology as relevant to us earthly beings
Dimethylsulfide. Does that word mean anything to you? “Why yes,” you organic chemistry nerds may say, “It clearly is a molecule of sulfur with two methyl groups attached.” That’s as far as I could have gotten – until this past week, when I inundated myself with information on dimethylsulfide (DMS) due to a paper published [...]... Read more »
DeBose, J., Lema, S., & Nevitt, G. (2008) Dimethylsulfoniopropionate as a Foraging Cue for Reef Fishes. Science, 319(5868), 1356-1356. DOI: 10.1126/science.1151109
Nevitt, G. (2008) Sensory ecology on the high seas: the odor world of the procellariiform seabirds. Journal of Experimental Biology, 211(11), 1706-1713. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.015412
Seymour, J., Simo, R., Ahmed, T., & Stocker, R. (2010) Chemoattraction to Dimethylsulfoniopropionate Throughout the Marine Microbial Food Web. Science, 329(5989), 342-345. DOI: 10.1126/science.1188418
Simó, R. (2001) Production of atmospheric sulfur by oceanic plankton: biogeochemical, ecological and evolutionary links. Trends in Ecology , 16(6), 287-294. DOI: 10.1016/S0169-5347(01)02152-8
Stefels, J., Steinke, M., Turner, S., Malin, G., & Belviso, S. (2007) Environmental constraints on the production and removal of the climatically active gas dimethylsulphide (DMS) and implications for ecosystem modelling. Biogeochemistry, 83(1-3), 245-275. DOI: 10.1007/s10533-007-9091-5
Van Alstyne, K., Wolfe, G., Freidenburg, T., Neill, A., & Hicken, C. (2001) Activated defense systems in marine macroalgae: evidence for an ecological role for DMSP cleavage. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 53-65. DOI: 10.3354/meps213053
G. V. Wolfe, M. Steinke, & G. O. Kirst. (1997) Grazing-activated chemical defence in a unicellular marine alga. Nature, 894-897. info:/
- July 14, 2010
- 11:28 AM
- 108 views
Modern agriculture a major control of increased rates of dust flux from continent to ocean
by Brian Romans in Clastic Detritus
Strong winds can pick up dust particles* from continents and carry them thousands of kilometers where they are deposited on the ocean floor. Deserts are especially important contributors of dust with the Sahara Desert of northern Africa being the single largest source of mineral dust in the world. The occurrence of this process has been [...]... Read more »
Mulitza, S., Heslop, D., Pittauerova, D., Fischer, H., Meyer, I., Stuut, J., Zabel, M., Mollenhauer, G., Collins, J., Kuhnert, H.... (2010) Increase in African dust flux at the onset of commercial agriculture in the Sahel region. Nature, 466(7303), 226-228. DOI: 10.1038/nature09213
- June 29, 2010
- 02:33 PM
- 115 views
A Heavy Load
by Journal Watch Online in Journal Watch Online
To stave off global warming, some people have proposed sequestering huge amounts of carbon dioxide in the ocean or geological formations. But society could be paying the price for that strategy for thousands of years, a scientist argues in Nature Geoscience.
Gary Shaffer of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark ran the numbers on several […] Read More »... Read more »
Shaffer, G. (2010) Long-term effectiveness and consequences of carbon dioxide sequestration. Nature Geoscience. DOI: 10.1038/NGEO896
- June 24, 2010
- 11:25 PM
- 115 views
Not all Science is Created Equal: The Case of Climate Science
by Michael Long in Phased
William Anderegg, Stephen Schneider (Stanford University, United States), and coworkers have shown that climate scientists who accept the reality of anthropogenic climate change have more scientific expertise and pominence than those who do not. This news feature was written on June 24, 2010.... Read more »
Anderegg, W. R. L., Prall, J. W., Harold, J., & Schneider, S. H. (2010) Expert credibility in climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1003187107
- June 16, 2010
- 08:47 AM
- 25 views
Paper of the Week : A Whale of the waste matter
by Sarah Stephen in An ecological oratorio
The way by which living organisms in our planet are intricately connected is beautiful beyond comprehension. Like pieces in a puzzle they all fit together with the activities of each organism however trivial it may appear to be, affecting the existance of others. We will never fully understand this marvel, but a noteworthy example is the elegant finding by Lavery et al published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society (Biological Sciences)- Iron defecation by sperm whales stimulates carbon expo........ Read more »
Lavery, T., Roudnew, B., Gill, P., Seymour, J., Seuront, L., Johnson, G., Mitchell, J., & Smetacek, V. (2010) Iron defecation by sperm whales stimulates carbon export in the Southern Ocean. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.0863
- June 15, 2010
- 04:09 AM
- 93 views
The “Hockey Stick” evolution
by Andy Russell in Our Clouded Hills
This is a post that aims to go through the evolution of the “Hockey Stick” from 1990 to the present day. It naturally misses out parts of the story, which deserve far more analysis, simply to keep the post short. Comments that expand on the bits I’ve omitted are welcome! What is the “Hockey Stick” [...]... Read more »
Mann ME, Zhang Z, Hughes MK, Bradley RS, Miller SK, Rutherford S, & Ni F. (2008) Proxy-based reconstructions of hemispheric and global surface temperature variations over the past two millennia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(36), 13252-7. PMID: 18765811
- June 5, 2010
- 08:41 AM
- 172 views
Oiled SeaBirds: To Kill Or Not To Kill?
by GrrlScientist in Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted)
tags: ecology, marine biology, conservation biology, endangered species, environmental toxicology, seabirds, marine mammals, bpr3.org/?p=52,peer-reviewed research, journal club
Bird rescue personnel Danene Birtell (L) and Heather Nevill (R) hold an oiled brown pelican, found on Storm Island in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, that will be washed at the treatment facility at Fort Jackson, Louisiana, USA. BP has contracted bird rescue groups to rehabilitate wildlife affected by........ Read more »
TSENG, F. (1999) Considerations in care for birds affected by oil spills. Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, 8(1), 21-31. DOI: 10.1016/S1055-937X(99)80032-2
David A. Jessup, & Jonna A. K. Mazet. (1999) Rehabilitation of Oiled Wildlife: Why Do It?. 1999 International Oil Spill Conference. info:/
Stowe, T. (1982) An oil spillage at a Guillemot colony. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 13(7), 237-239. DOI: 10.1016/0025-326X(82)90346-0
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