ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Tropical plankton invade arctic waters: Researchers see natural cycle, but questions arise on climate change
• Same adaptations evolve across different insects
• Pulling CO2 from air vital, but lower-cost technology a stumbling block so far, experts say
• Active forest management to reduce fire could help protect northern spotted owl
• Reducing traffic at 2008 Olympics yielded large cut in CO₂
• Oral drops for dog allergies pass another hurdle
• Locating gold and other minerals: New method uncovers half-million ton mineral deposit in rough mountain terrain
• Unprecedented Greenland ice sheet surface melt
• Historians discover medieval banking records hidden under coats of arms
• Surprising link between ice and atmosphere: GPS can now measure ice melt, change in Greenland over months rather than years
• Reducing CO2: Research shows chemical and economic feasibility for capturing carbon dioxide directly from air
• Breakthrough technology focuses in on disease traits of single cells
• New recruits in the fight against disease: Anti-bacterial 'killing machine' deciphered
• Superfast evolution in sea stars
• Washington's forests will lose stored carbon as area burned by wildfire increases
• Rodents seem depressed from dim light at night, but it can be reversed
• Marine microorganisms hold the key to life on Earth
• Mangroves: A filter for heavy metals
• The new face of El Niño
• Marine protected areas: what is their impact on fishing?
• Bats, a reservoir of resurgent viruses
• Bend or stretch? How stressful is hyperflexion of horses' necks?

Tropical plankton invade arctic waters: Researchers see natural cycle, but questions arise on climate change Posted: 24 Jul 2012 02:13 PM PDT For the first time, scientists have identified tropical and subtropical species of marine protozoa living in the Arctic Ocean. Apparently, they traveled thousands of miles on Atlantic currents and ended up above Norway with an unusual -- but naturally cyclic -- pulse of warm water, not as a direct result of overall warming climate, say the researchers. On the other hand: Arctic waters are warming rapidly, and such pulses are predicted to grow as global climate change causes shifts in long-distance currents.

Same adaptations evolve across different insects Posted: 24 Jul 2012 11:45 AM PDT For years, scientists have questioned whether evolution is predictable, or whether chance events make such predictability unlikely. A new study finds that in the case of insects that developed resistance to a powerful plant toxin, the same adaptations have occurred independently, in separate species in different places and times.

Pulling CO2 from air vital, but lower-cost technology a stumbling block so far, experts say Posted: 24 Jul 2012 11:45 AM PDT Emerging techniques to pull carbon dioxide from the air and store it away to stabilize the climate may become increasingly important as the planet tips into a state of potentially dangerous warming, researchers from Columbia University's Earth Institute argue in a paper out this week.

Active forest management to reduce fire could help protect northern spotted owl Posted: 24 Jul 2012 11:45 AM PDT The northern spotted owl, a threatened species in the Pacific Northwest, would actually benefit in the long run from active management of the forest lands that form its primary habitat and are increasingly vulnerable to stand-replacing fire.

Reducing traffic at 2008 Olympics yielded large cut in CO<sub>2</sub> Posted: 24 Jul 2012 11:44 AM PDT China's efforts to reduce pollution for the Beijing Olympics has enabled scientists to quantify traffic impacts on carbon dioxide emissions. New research shows Beijing's lighter traffic achieved a percentage of the emissions cut that would be needed worldwide to prevent warming from exceeding 2 degrees Celsius.

Oral drops for dog allergies pass another hurdle Posted: 24 Jul 2012 11:44 AM PDT Placing allergy drops under a dog's tongue can be as effective as allergy injections for controlling skin allergies.

Locating gold and other minerals: New method uncovers half-million ton mineral deposit in rough mountain terrain Posted: 24 Jul 2012 10:16 AM PDT Despite advances in mining technology, mountain ranges prove notoriously difficult environments in the hunt for valuable minerals. Now a new three-dimensional mapping method is uncovering untold riches.

Unprecedented Greenland ice sheet surface melt Posted: 24 Jul 2012 10:16 AM PDT For several days this month, Greenland's surface ice cover melted over a larger area than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations. Nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland, from its thin, low-lying coastal edges to its 2-mile-thick center, experienced some degree of melting at its surface, according to measurements from three independent satellites.

Historians discover medieval banking records hidden under coats of arms Posted: 24 Jul 2012 08:51 AM PDT A rare accounting document, half-concealed beneath a coat of arms design, has revealed the activities of Italian bankers working in early 15th century London, decades before the capital became a financial powerhouse.

Surprising link between ice and atmosphere: GPS can now measure ice melt, change in Greenland over months rather than years Posted: 24 Jul 2012 08:50 AM PDT Researchers have found a way to use GPS to measure short-term changes in the rate of ice loss on Greenland -- and reveal a surprising link between the ice and the atmosphere above it.

Reducing CO2: Research shows chemical and economic feasibility for capturing carbon dioxide directly from air Posted: 24 Jul 2012 07:46 AM PDT Scientists have recently advanced the case for extracting carbon dioxide directly from the air using newly-developed adsorbent materials.

Breakthrough technology focuses in on disease traits of single cells Posted: 24 Jul 2012 07:46 AM PDT Scientists are pioneering a kind of miniaturized laboratory for the investigation of single cells. Known as the Cellarium, this live cell array technology will enable researchers to investigate the detailed behavior of individual cells -- providing unprecedented insights into their role in disease processes.

New recruits in the fight against disease: Anti-bacterial 'killing machine' deciphered Posted: 24 Jul 2012 07:46 AM PDT Scientists have discovered the structure and operating procedures of a powerful anti-bacterial killing machine that could become an alternative to antibiotics.

Superfast evolution in sea stars Posted: 24 Jul 2012 07:46 AM PDT How quickly can new species arise? In as little as 6,000 years, according to a study of Australian sea stars.

Washington's forests will lose stored carbon as area burned by wildfire increases Posted: 24 Jul 2012 07:46 AM PDT Forests in the Pacific Northwest store more carbon than any other region in the United States, but our warming climate may undermine their storage potential. A new study has found that, by 2040, parts of Washington State could lose as much as a third of their carbon stores, as an increasing area of the state's forests is projected to be burned by wildfire.

Rodents seem depressed from dim light at night, but it can be reversed Posted: 24 Jul 2012 07:44 AM PDT Chronic exposure to dim light at night can lead to depressive symptoms in rodents -- but these negative effects can be reversed simply by returning to a standard light-dark cycle, a new study suggests.

Marine microorganisms hold the key to life on Earth Posted: 24 Jul 2012 07:43 AM PDT Few people realize that all life on earth evolved from microorganisms in the sea. Microorganisms, or microbes, are those organisms too small to be observed by the human eye and they are everywhere, often in huge numbers. Just one litre of coastal seawater contains up to a billion microbes including thousands of different types.

Mangroves: A filter for heavy metals Posted: 24 Jul 2012 07:43 AM PDT A mangrove is a forest consisting of various species of mangrove trees growing with their bases submerged in water, at the interface between land and sea. They cover more than three quarters of tropical coastlines, that is to say almost 200,000km². In New Caledonia, they accounts for almost 80% of the island's western coastline. They act as a buffer zone between the lagoon and the mountain mining areas, rich in metallic elements (iron, manganese, nickel, chrome and cobalt, nearly all toxic pollutants).

The new face of El Niño Posted: 24 Jul 2012 07:43 AM PDT Emerging once every two to seven years in the equatorial Pacific, El Niño causes disorder across the globe and for the global economy. But in the past ten years, it has changed its face. It is increasingly taking the form of Modoki, 'similar but different' as it was baptised by the Japanese team who first discovered this less tumultuous cousin that provokes droughts in India and Australia.

Marine protected areas: what is their impact on fishing? Posted: 24 Jul 2012 07:43 AM PDT In a context of overfishing of aquatic resources, marine protected areas (MPAs) are tools for protecting biodiversity. These defined marine areas are subject to preservation measures to save habitats necessary for fish reproduction and juvenile growth. What role do they have to play in the management of halieutic resources?

Bats, a reservoir of resurgent viruses Posted: 24 Jul 2012 07:42 AM PDT Measles, mumps, pneumonia, influenza and encephalitis in man, Carré's disease in dogs, Ovine Rinderpest (PPR)… all of these diseases are caused by viruses from the same family: Paramyxoviridae. A new study has led to the discovery of more than 60 new species of these dangerous infectious agents, almost double the number previously recorded. This family of highly diverse pathogens affects all animals, from canines to fowl, cattle and humans. As a result, it is not always easy to determine which host is responsible for these viruses. Thanks to testing carried across the globe, the research team has recently discovered their source: bats.

Bend or stretch? How stressful is hyperflexion of horses' necks? Posted: 24 Jul 2012 07:41 AM PDT Arguments over how best to train horses have raged for centuries.  Two years ago, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) was even moved to ban the practice of hyperflexion as a result of a petition signed by over 40,000 people claiming that it caused the animals unnecessary discomfort.  The FEI did make a distinction between hyperflexion by the use of extreme force and what it termed "low, deep and round" (LDR), which essentially achieves the same position without force.  How forceful hyperflexion should be distinguished from permissible LDR training was not clearly stated – instead, a working group has been established to come up with an acceptable definition.

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