Scientists have recently recognized an imbalance in the flow of salty groundwater into the coastal ocean: considerable saltwater discharge into the ocean has been observed, but little or no return flow has been seen. Now it appears that the timing of the discharge may be key to the health of our coastal waters.

New measurements and models suggest that seasonal changes in the water table may provide clues to how water is exchanged and why the largest discharge occurs during th

As the future of the tropics unfolds, scientists must explain the dimensions and mechanisms of forest responses to rapid human-population increase and environmental changes

As human populations and their impacts on the world increase, tropical forests are changing in many different ways. Forests are being cleared, burned, logged, fragmented, and overhunted and an unprecedented pace, and they are also being altered in insidious ways by global climatic and atmospheric changes. “The evi

The tomato fruitworm is the name given to an insect pest which, due to its polyphagous character, causes very serious damage to a number of plants, such as the tomato and the green bean. Its danger is greater if one takes into account the fact that this pest has developed resistances to chemical insecticides, including tot he latest ones. Thus, a Crop Protection research team from the Public University of Navarra have started work on developing a bioinsecticide that can be used as an alterna

Brazilian researchers have sequenced the genomes of two bacteria that cause significant damage to pig and poultry farming in Brazil and elsewhere.

The researchers are now analysing the results in an attempt to identify bacterial proteins that could be used to develop vaccines and diagnostic kits against the bacteria.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae causes pneumonia in pigs and costs the Brazilian pig-breeding industry US$200 million each year. Mycoplasma synoviae is a related

A new study to evaluate the Illinois Soil N Test (ISNT) calls into question traditional soil fertility recommendations and promises a radical new soil-based approach that will benefit crop yields, the environment, and the bottom line for farmers.

In a forthcoming issue of the Soil Science Society of America Journal, scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will outline how current nitrogen recommendations are faulty, the soybean credit is invalid, and bala

China’s spectacular economic growth during the last decade has brought many benefits – and some challenges. Global atmospheric mapping of nitrogen dioxide pollution performed by ERS-2’s GOME and Envisat’s SCIAMACHY reveals the world’s largest amount of NO2 hanging above Beijing and northeast China, as reported in Nature this week.

As part of ESA’s Dragon Programme, European and Chinese researchers are using results returned from the Global Ozone Mapping

The mineral cryptomelane holds promise to absorb the toxic sulfur oxides that can degrade the emission control systems on diesel vehicles. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers have identified the potential of using cryptomelane to trap sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide from diesel engine emissions on monolith supports – sturdy honeycombed structures composed of small parallel channels.

Cryptomelane has a very high capacity for absorbing sulfur dioxide – more than 10 tim

Expedition team dodges storm and returns to gulf seafloor

Despite having to evade hurricane Katrina, a team of scientists from Harbor Branch and other institutions is returning to port this Sunday with new tales from the deep after completing their second annual Deep Scope expedition. The group has discovered a mysterious visual capability in a deep-sea crab; captured new video of a large, recently discovered squid species; and took clear video of the world’s first known fluor

Seated on the University of Leicester’s Space Research Centre rooftop, the novel instrument captures the sun’s rays and uses them to build up a daily picture, in 3-D, of the city’s air pollution. Just the size of a suitcase, the instrument has nine telescopes that protrude out and point in different directions across the city, collecting the sunlight every minute of every day. The trapped sunlight is bounced by mirrors inside the instrument straight into the mouth of a device that measures i

Puffins on the island of Craigleith, in Scotland, are being forced out by giant alien plants. Puffin numbers have halved in recent years as the invasive tree mallow took over the island, growing in the manure-rich burrow entrances and preventing the puffins from breeding.

Although Atlantic puffin numbers are increasing rapidly across most of the east coast of Scotland, at Craigleith near North Berwick the reverse has been the case. The decline has been blamed on the rapid exp

Experts call for $30 million action plan to save mankind’s closest relatives

A combination of natural and man-made threats is killing gorillas and chimpanzees in Central Africa, and experts say $30 million is needed for special programs to save some of mankind’s closest relatives from disappearing.

An action plan drafted by more than 70 primatologists and other experts who met in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, in May designates 12 areas for emergency program

New results shed light on how Antarctica became the icy, barren continent that we know today. British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists have discovered that 30-50 million years ago, South America and Antarctica split apart very rapidly. This formed the Drake Passage and resulted in a major global cooling. The findings are published in the latest issue of Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

Lead Author Dr Roy Livermore says ‘we deciphered the remarkable ‘herringbone’ pattern of

This season’s Antarctic ozone hole has swollen to an area of ten million square kilometres from mid-August – approximately the same size as Europe and still expanding. It is expected to reach maximum extent during September, and ESA satellites are vital for monitoring its development.

This year’s hole is large for this time of year, based on results from the last decade: only the ozone holes of 1996 and 2000 had a larger area at this point in their development.

Analysis of several different satellite records and surface monitoring instruments indicates that the ozone layer is no longer declining, according to a study by scientists working with the Center for Integrating Statistical and Environmental Science (CISES) at the University of Chicago.

In some parts of the world, the ozone layer has increased a small amount in the past few years, although it still well below normal levels.

The results will be published Aug. 31 in

A far wider range of wildlife species could be at risk from bird flu, warns a biologist from the University of East Anglia.

Dr Diana Bell, of UEA’s School of Biological Sciences, says the discovery that avian flu was responsible for the death of three rare civet cats in Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam, raises important questions about the range of wildlife species which could now be at risk from this virus.

“Vietnam and the other Asian countries chronically infected wi

Whether rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations will cause forests to grow faster and store more carbon is an open question and one that scientists at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), together with partners at the University of Basel, have been investigating for several years.

In a mature forest just outside Basel, researchers developed a new system to distribute CO2 to the treetops. The use of stable isotopes for studying the carbon balance under elevated CO