Ecosystems


Global Climate Change: Underestimated Impact of Sea Level Rise on Habitat Loss?

The hidden impact of sea-level rise: current projections may be underestimating the consequences of global climate change on habitat loss.

Climate Change Will Alter Risks of Wildfire Worldwide, Some Shifts Rapid, Extensive

A Texas Tech University climate scientist said climate change is widely expected to disrupt future fire patterns around the world, with some regions, such as the western United States, seeing more frequent fires within the next 30 years.

Great Lakes Initiative Cleanup Helps Restore Grand Calumet River

The recent completion of a $52 million project to rid Roxana Marsh of contaminated sediment will speed the recovery of Indiana’s Grand Calumet River, marking a step forward for one of the Great Lakes’ most complex Area of Concern cleanups.

Humans are Primary Cause of Global Ocean Warming Over Past 50 Years, Research Shows

The oceans have warmed in the past 50 years, but not by natural events alone. New research shows that the observed ocean warming over the last 50 years is consistent with climate models only if the models include the impacts of observed increases in greenhouse gas during the 20th century.

Microbial Communities Changed After Deepwater Horizon Spill

Communities of microbial organisms -- species such as nematodes, protists and fungi -- on beaches along the Gulf of Mexico changed significantly following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010, research from the University of New Hampshire’s Hubbard Center for Genome Studies (HCGS) and partners found.

Environmental Monitoring of Algal Blooms in a River System

CAS DataLoggers recently provided the data-logging solution for an environmental organization monitoring an outbreak of algal blooms in a major river.

Ecologists Call for Preservation of Planet's Remaining Biological Diversity

Twenty years after the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, 17 prominent ecologists are calling for renewed international efforts to curb the loss of biological diversity, which is compromising nature's ability to provide goods and services essential for human well-being.

Consumption Driving Environment Damage: UN

A group of scientists from around the world is warning that population growth, widespread destruction of natural ecosystems, and climate change may be driving Earth toward an irreversible change in the biosphere, a planet-wide tipping point that would have destructive consequences absent adequate preparation and mitigation.



Plastic Particles More Prevalent Than Previously Thought

For decades, oceanographers have collected water samples from the surface of the ocean in order to record how much plastic debris currently litters the waters. But a new study asserts that surface collection alone is insufficient because high winds have a tremendous impact on the buoyancy of the plastic debris.

Algae and Mosses Take Up Huge Amounts of Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen

In cities, the presence of algae, lichens, and mosses is not considered desirable and they are often removed from roofs and walls. It is, however, totally unfair to consider these cryptogamic covers, as the flat growths are referred to in scientific terms, just a nuisance.

Why Wildfire is Important to the Ecosystem

Researchers studying Lake Tahoe have found that not only could a major disturbance like a fire affect Lake Tahoe, but so too could a lack of disturbance -- the absence of a fire.

PBS NewsHour Reporting Friday on Rising Sea Levels in Coastal Louisiana

On Friday, PBS NewsHour reporter Hari Sreenivasan will report on how rising sea levels in coastal Louisiana are threatening Native Americans' tribal lands.

Gulf Coast Vulnerable to Extreme Erosion in Category 1 Hurricanes

Seventy percent of the Gulf of Mexico shoreline is vulnerable to extreme erosion during even the weakest hurricanes, according to a new report by the U.S. Geological Survey released just prior to the start of the 2012 hurricane season.

Bark Beetle May Impact Air Quality and Climate

At national parks out West, lodgepole pine trees are dying because of bark beetle. And atmospheric haze, caused in part by tiny solid particles suspended in the air, is becoming a problem.

New Species Top 10 List Draws Attention to Diverse Biosphere

The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and a committee of scientists from around the world announced their picks for the top 10 new species described in 2011.

Environment Influences Behavior Generations Later

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and Washington State University have seen an increased reaction to stress in animals whose ancestors were exposed to an environmental compound generations earlier.

Study Compares Toxin Levels in Captive and Wild Sea Mammals

Amid growing concerns about the spread of harmful mercury in plants and animals, a new study by researchers from The Johns Hopkins University and The National Aquarium has compared levels of the chemical in captive dolphins with dolphins found in the wild.

Maine DEP and Coast Guard to Test Marine Spill Response on Damariscotta River

Responders from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the US Coast Guard and Moran Environmental Recovery will participate in a boom deployment exercise on the Penobscot River on Tuesday, May 22 and Wednesday, May 23.

Humanmade Pollutants May Be Driving Earth's Tropical Belt Expansion

Black carbon aerosols and tropospheric ozone, both humanmade pollutants emitted predominantly in the Northern Hemisphere's low- to mid-latitudes, are most likely pushing the boundary of the tropics further poleward in that hemisphere, new research by a team of scientists shows.

Nearly One Tenth of Western Hemisphere Mammals Unlikely to Outrun Climate Change

A safe haven could be out of reach for 9 percent of the Western Hemisphere's mammals, and as much as 40 percent in certain regions, because the animals just won't move swiftly enough to outpace climate change.

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