ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

---

• Irish chronicles reveal links between cold weather and volcanic eruptions
• Where trash accumulates in the deep sea
• Life on Earth shockingly comes from out of this world
• First evidence that the genome can adapt to temperature changes
• U.S. Clean Air Act increased Atlanta rainfall
• Animals and humans: A false divide?
• Researchers announce discovery of oldest-known fossil primate skeleton
• Ancient trapped water explains Earth's first ice age
• New scorpion species adds to the remarkable biodiversity of the Ecuadorian Andes
• A lucky catch: A tiny new fish, Haptoclinus dropi, from the southern Caribbean
• Detecting lead hotspots in urban gardens requires different sampling strategies
• Bees and other pollinating insects are just one factor in food production
• Social networks could help prevent disease outbreaks in endangered chimpanzees
• Laser-brightened cirrus clouds
• NASA's IceBridge mission contributes to new map of Antarctica
• Sexual selection in the sea: The case of the peculiar southern bottletail squid
• Personality is the result of nurture, not nature, suggests study on birds
• 'Lizard King' fossil shows giant reptiles coexisted with mammals during globally warm past
• Discovering one reason why swarming evolved offers tantalizing clues on how intelligence developed
• Human deforestation outweighs climate change for coral reefs

Irish chronicles reveal links between cold weather and volcanic eruptions Posted: 05 Jun 2013 08:08 PM PDT Medieval chronicles have given researchers a glimpse into the past to assess how historical volcanic eruptions affected the weather in Ireland up to 1500 years ago. Researchers have successfully linked the climatic aftermath of volcanic eruptions to extreme cold weather events in Ireland over a 1200-year period from 431 to 1649.

Where trash accumulates in the deep sea Posted: 05 Jun 2013 11:43 AM PDT Surprisingly large amounts of discarded trash end up in the ocean. Plastic bags, aluminum cans, and fishing debris not only clutter our beaches, but accumulate in open-ocean areas such as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch." Now, new research shows that trash is also accumulating in the deep sea, particularly in Monterey Canyon.

Life on Earth shockingly comes from out of this world Posted: 05 Jun 2013 11:43 AM PDT Early Earth was not very hospitable when it came to jump starting life. In fact, new research shows that life on Earth may have come from out of this world. Researchers have found that icy comets that crashed into Earth millions of years ago could have produced life building organic compounds, including the building blocks of proteins and nucleobases pairs of DNA and RNA.

First evidence that the genome can adapt to temperature changes Posted: 05 Jun 2013 11:40 AM PDT Researchers have been tracking the evolution of Drosophila subobscura, a small fly that is very common all over Europe, since 1976. They are focusing on a specific type of genomic variability known as chromosomal inversion polymorphism. The study has compared how the flies' genomes change from spring to summer, summer to autumn and autumn to spring, over the years. Researchers have shown that the 2011 heatwave dramatically altered the genetic constitution of natural populations of Drosophila subobscura.

U.S. Clean Air Act increased Atlanta rainfall Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:37 AM PDT The Clean Air Act of 1970 caused a rebound in rainfall for a US city. Scientists analyzed summer rainfall data from nine weather stations in the Atlanta metropolitan area from 1948 to 2009. They discovered that precipitation increased markedly in the late 1970s as pollution decreased following passage of the Clean Air Act of 1970.

Animals and humans: A false divide? Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:37 AM PDT We don't just share our lives with animals; we are animals -- a reality that we often choose to forget in modern Western culture. New research delves deeper into our relationship with other creatures, critically examining our own animal nature, and looking at how animals profoundly influence our culture -- perhaps more so than we had initially thought.

Researchers announce discovery of oldest-known fossil primate skeleton Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:35 AM PDT An international team of researchers has announced the discovery of the world's oldest-known fossil primate skeleton representing a previously unknown genus and species named Archicebus achilles. In addition to being the oldest known example of an early primate skeleton, the new fossil is crucial for illuminating a pivotal event in primate and human evolution -- the evolutionary divergence between the lineage leading to anthropoids and that leading to living tarsiers.

Ancient trapped water explains Earth's first ice age Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:35 AM PDT Tiny bubbles of water found in quartz grains in Australia may hold the key to understanding what caused the Earth's first ice age, say scientists.

New scorpion species adds to the remarkable biodiversity of the Ecuadorian Andes Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:01 AM PDT A new large-tail scorpion species has been discovered in the Ecuadorian Andes. The 5 cm long, reddish brown Tityus (Atreus) crassicauda could be only a tiny part of an avalanche of future discoveries in the region, considered by many as the "epicenter" of global diversity.

A lucky catch: A tiny new fish, Haptoclinus dropi, from the southern Caribbean Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:01 AM PDT A lucky catch, a new species of tiny blenniiform fish has been discovered as a part of the Smithsonian Institution's Deep Reef Observation Project. The new, beautifully colored Haptoclinus dropi is only about 2 cm long. It was collected from poorly studied deep reefs that lie beyond the reach of scuba divers. It represents the second species in the genus and an exciting catch for Caribbean marine diversity.

Detecting lead hotspots in urban gardens requires different sampling strategies Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:00 AM PDT Analyzing soil lead in an urban garden plot is important and sampling approaches may involve tradeoffs between finding 'hotspots' versus looking at the average amount of lead when checking for safe levels.

Bees and other pollinating insects are just one factor in food production Posted: 05 Jun 2013 08:15 AM PDT No food for the human race without bees? It is not quite as straightforward as that. A case study by ecologists in a coffee-growing area in India reveals that pollinating insects are just one production factor among many. Farmers have several possibilities to increase their harvest.

Social networks could help prevent disease outbreaks in endangered chimpanzees Posted: 05 Jun 2013 07:44 AM PDT Many think of social networks in terms of Facebook friends and Twitter followers, but for some, social networks are tools in the fight against infectious diseases. Scientists have analyzed the social networks of wild chimpanzees to determine which individuals were most likely to contract and spread pathogens.

Laser-brightened cirrus clouds Posted: 05 Jun 2013 07:42 AM PDT Intense laser light pulses increase the brightness of high cirrus clouds. Scientists have been investigating the interactions of laser light and ice clouds using a unique AIDA aerosol and cloud chamber.

NASA's IceBridge mission contributes to new map of Antarctica Posted: 05 Jun 2013 06:07 AM PDT A new dataset called Bedmap2 gives a clearer picture of Antarctica from the ice surface down to the bedrock below. Bedmap2 is a significant improvement on the previous collection of Antarctic data -- known as Bedmap -- that was produced more than 10 years ago.

Sexual selection in the sea: The case of the peculiar southern bottletail squid Posted: 05 Jun 2013 06:05 AM PDT Biologists have uncovered new insights into how the male sexual behavior of the peculiar southern bottletail squid is primed to produce the greatest number of offspring. Recent studies have revealed the female squid ingest the ejaculates of their mates, a trait never before associated with any species of cephalopod -- a group including squid, octopus, cuttlefish and nautilus.

Personality is the result of nurture, not nature, suggests study on birds Posted: 05 Jun 2013 06:05 AM PDT Personality is not inherited from birth parents says new research on zebra finches. External factors are likely to play a bigger part in developing the personality of an individual than the genes it inherits from its parents, suggests the study.

'Lizard King' fossil shows giant reptiles coexisted with mammals during globally warm past Posted: 05 Jun 2013 06:04 AM PDT At nearly six feet long and weighing upwards of 60 pounds, "Morrison's Bearded King" provides new clues on the evolution of plant-eating reptiles and their relationship to global climate and with mammals.

Discovering one reason why swarming evolved offers tantalizing clues on how intelligence developed Posted: 05 Jun 2013 06:04 AM PDT Many animals -- from locusts to fish -- live in groups and swarm, but scientists aren't sure why or how this behavior evolved. Now scientists have used a model system to show for the first time that predator confusion can make prey evolve swarming behavior.

Human deforestation outweighs climate change for coral reefs Posted: 05 Jun 2013 04:17 AM PDT Better land use is the key to preventing further damage to the world's coral reefs, according to new research. The study has important implications for Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The study authors write that preventing soil erosion and sediment pollution arising from human activities such as deforestation are crucial to reef survival.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top Environment News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610