ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

---

• Crystals in Picabo's rocks point to 'recycled' super-volcanic magma chambers
• New device harnesses sun and sewage to produce hydrogen fuel
• Unregulated, agricultural ammonia threatens U.S. national parks' ecology
• Boomboxes amplify predatory bird sounds and are used as cues
• Look out above: Experiment explores innate visual behavior in mice

Crystals in Picabo's rocks point to 'recycled' super-volcanic magma chambers Posted: 11 Oct 2013 06:40 AM PDT An examination of crystals of zircon in rhyolites, an igneous rock, from the Snake River Plain solidifies evidence for a new view of the life cycle of super-volcanic eruptions, and in tandem with previous work suggests another super-eruption in the Yellowstone volcanic field is unlikely for another million years, say scientists.

New device harnesses sun and sewage to produce hydrogen fuel Posted: 10 Oct 2013 05:53 PM PDT A novel device that uses only sunlight and wastewater to produce hydrogen gas could provide a sustainable energy source while improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment. The hybrid device combines a microbial fuel cell (MFC) and a type of solar cell called a photoelectrochemical cell.

Unregulated, agricultural ammonia threatens U.S. national parks' ecology Posted: 10 Oct 2013 05:51 PM PDT Thirty-eight U.S. national parks are experiencing "accidental fertilization" at or above a critical threshold for ecological damage, according to a new study. Unless significant controls on ammonia emissions are introduced at a national level, they say, little improvement is likely between now and 2050.

Boomboxes amplify predatory bird sounds and are used as cues Posted: 10 Oct 2013 05:49 PM PDT Researchers use boomboxes in the forest to study how smaller birds avoid predators.

Look out above: Experiment explores innate visual behavior in mice Posted: 10 Oct 2013 09:47 AM PDT For a mouse in the wild, spotting aerial predators -- like hawks and owls -- is essential to survival. But how is this visual cue processed into a behavior that helps avoid an attack? Using a video technique, researchers have developed a simple stimulus to spur the mouse's defense plans: to freeze in place, or flee for cover. These visual behaviors also provide information about cell types in the retina responsible for detecting aerial predators.

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