An alternate method of processing certain liquid wastes into a solid form for safe disposal has been developed by researchers at Penn State University and the Savannah River National Laboratory. The solidified form has been called a hydroceramic and is an improved alternate to other forms and processes. This research is published in the Journal of the American Ceramic Society.
The new process uses low temperatures (less than or equal to 90°C) to solidify and stabilize high al
Is pollution causing regional coral extinctions?
Since the 1980s, researchers have hypothesized that nutrient levels rather than temperature are the main factor controlling the latitudinal bounds of coral reefs, but the issue remains controversial. New results from an extensive survey of reefs in South Florida by a Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution research team strongly support this hypothesis. The research suggests that, by supporting blooms of harmful seaweed, increasing
Important rivers usually have a number of tributary streams which have their sources in the mountains. It is not just water that goes on the journey but sediments, stones and other material. These materials are transported dissolved, in suspension or deposited as sediment at the bottom of the river.
A research team from the Department of Geodynamics at the University of the Basque Country (EHU-UPV) have begun a study in order to find out the amount of sediments transported fro
Researchers use high-tech acoustics to make marine-protected areas better
Rosenstiel School fisheries researchers will embark on state-of-the-art research at the end of February to track black and red grouper in the Dry Tortugas National Park to develop a better understanding of species’ movement and habitat require-ments, so they can help more efficiently design and assess future marine-protected areas. Through funding from the National Park Service and transportation support f
Atlantic expeditions uncover secret sex life of deep-sea nomads
For centuries scientists have thought of deep-sea pelagic fish as nomadic wanderers, in part because information about them was so limited. However, new results from the ongoing Mid-Atlantic Ridge Ecosystems program (MAR-ECO), a Sloan Foundation-sponsored component of the Census of Marine Life, have revealed that these fishes may in fact be gathering at features such as ridges or seamounts to spawn. The research has im
Bill Hopkins, fisheries and wildlife associate professor in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources, and colleagues doing research at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and in the field, have demonstrated that amphibians are exposed to contaminants through maternal transfer, as has been proven for other vertebrates.
The research has been published in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) journal, Environmental Health Perspectives (“Reproduction, Embryonic Develop
The landscape is changing in East Africa, and quickly. A migrating and growing population, emerging economies and an increase in agricultural production are leaving their mark on the region’s environment.
Jennifer Olson, a visiting assistant professor of geography at Michigan State University, is co-coordinator of LUCID: Land Use Change, Impacts and Dynamics, an international effort to examine and discover links to how East Africa’s economic and social progress is infl
One of the greatest challenges facing marine ecologists today is finding innovative ways to reverse the rapid decline of coral reef ecosystems around the world. Ten percent of the planet’s reefs already have been degraded beyond recovery, according to one survey, and another 60 percent could die by 2050, primarily because of human activities, such as pollution, overfishing and climate change.
The situation is particularly acute in the island nations of the Caribbean, which
Increased carbon dioxide emissions are rapidly making the world’s oceans more acidic and, if unabated, could cause a mass extinction of marine life similar to one that occurred 65 million years ago when the dinosaurs disappeared. Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology will present this research at the AGU/ASLO Ocean Sciences meeting in Honolulu, HI on Monday, Feb 20.
Caldeira’s computer models have predicted that the oceans will become far more
University Park, Pa. Ð Deeply buried ocean sediments may house populations of tiny organisms that have extremely low maintenance energy needs and population turnover rates of anywhere from 200 to 2,000 years, according to an international team of researchers.
“The microbial ecosystem in deeply buried marine sediments may comprise a tenth of Earth’s living biomass, but little is known about the organisms, their physiologies, and their influence on surface environments,” says
Researchers evaluate the effects of warm waters on little fish
Warm Caribbean waters may provide a toasty growing area for larval fish, but that’s not enough to ensure a flourishing fish population. That’s the conclusion of research published in this month’s edition of Marine Ecology Progress Series by Dr. Su Sponaugle and colleagues from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School. The scientists studied the petite, yet eye-catching blue-headed wrasse in the uppe
A leading group of epidemiologists, veterinarians and ecologists report that humans are affecting the oceans in ways that are changing the dynamics of disease. Previously harmless pathogens are becoming killers when combined with contaminants; “good” parasites that invisibly control the balance of species in an ecosystem are disappearing; and changes in sea surface temperature can trigger cholera outbreaks thousands of miles away.
“Human activities are knocking things out of balance,” says
Diseases May be Early Warning Sign for Humans Say Scientists
St. Louis, MO (AAAS Annual Meeting, Press Conference: Saturday, Feb. 18th, 9 am Central Time) – Leading scientists, physicians, and veterinarians are uncovering new links between land-based pollution and diseases in marine mammals, with implications for human health.
“Marine mammals are providing early clues of our unseen impact on the sea,” says Paul Sandifer, Chief Scientist for the new Oceans and Human Health
According a worldwide analysis conducted by “Essential Science Indicators”, the GSF – Research Centre for Environment and Health ranks first among European research centres in the field air pollution when counting the number of cited publications from 1995 to 2005. On a worldwide range, the GSF ranks fifth from 3,052 institutions; is is the most frequently cited European research institution in the field of air pollution. The top positions are held by four American institutions.
Among th
Whether it’s monkeys and AIDS or mosquitoes and the West Nile Virus, we’re used to thinking of wildlife as reservoirs for emerging infectious human diseases. But a Canadian mathematical biologist says that it’s time that we turned the tables – as often as not, it’s humans that are making the wildlife sick, often to our own detriment.
It’s a 180-degree turn in perspective that Dr. Mark Lewis says is critical to our understanding of emerging infectious diseases of both wildlife and h
The race is on to buy up inexpensive land along coastlines for vacation homes and tourist hotels. But increased development can mean more nutrient rich runoff that threatens the very coral reefs attracting tourists in the first place. David Kline at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and colleagues find that bacteria on coral reefs grow out of control as the level of simple sugars in seawater increases.
“I set up a seawater system at the Smithsonian station in Bocas del
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