Accidental capture in fishing nets pushes several species to the brink

Leading marine scientists for the first time have assessed dolphin and porpoise populations around the world which are severely threatened by entanglement in fishing gear and recommended nine urgent priorities for action in a report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund. These nine projects highlight species threatened by bycatch that will most likely benefit from immediate action and will continue to langui

The plan to win full United Nations backing for an International Year of Planet Earth has come a step closer as the proposal wins the backing of the Executive Board of UNESCO, the United Nations Scientific, Cultural and Educational Organization in Paris [Note 1].

The Project, already supported by the geoscience communities in most IUGS countries was introduced to the Agenda by the Permanent Delegation of the United Republic of Tanzania, led by the ambassador to UNESCO, Prof. Mo

Two Dartmouth researchers have weighed in on the debate over whether the presence of methane gas on Mars indicates life on the red planet. Mukul Sharma, Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences, and Chris Oze, a postdoctoral fellow, argue that the Martian methane could have been produced by inorganic processes just as easily as by bacteria.

In their paper published online in May in the American Geophysical Union’s journal, Geophysical Research Letters, Sharma and Oze describe

Scientists are continually exploring different aspects of hurricanes to increase the understanding of how they behave. Recently, NASA-funded scientists from Florida State University looked at ozone around hurricanes and found that ozone levels drop as a hurricane is intensifying.

In a recent study, Xiaolei Zou and Yonghui Wu, researchers at Florida State University found that variations of ozone levels from the surface to the upper atmosphere are closely related to the formation,

A submarine seismic sensor was recently set in place at 2400 m depth, off Toulon. The instrument was attached to a neutrino telescope developed by the international scientific programme Antares (1) . For the first time in Europe, this sensor, designed by a partnership between Géosciences Azur (Mixed Research Unit IRD/CNRS/UPMC/UNSA, Villefranche sur Mer)(2) and Guralp System (United Kingdom), with the financial support of INSU, Villefranche Oceanological Observatory and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d

Nitrogen oxides produced by huge fires and fossil fuel combustion are a major component of air pollution. They are the primary ingredients in ground-level ozone, a pollutant harmful to human health and vegetation.

But new research led by a University of Washington atmospheric scientist shows that, in some regions, nitrogen oxides emitted by the soil are much greater than expected and could play a substantially larger role in seasonal air pollution than previously believed.

Fairbanks, Alaska-Continued arctic warming may be causing a decrease in the number and size of Arctic lakes. The issue is the subject of a paper published in the June 3 issue of the journal “Science.” The paper, titled, “Disappearing Arctic Lakes” is the result of a comparison of satellite data taken of Siberia in the early 1970s to data from 1997-2004. Researchers, including Larry Hinzman with the Water and Environmental Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, tracked changes of

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), held a Water Access workshop between 9 and 12 May. The aim of the event, bringing together specialists from Africa and France, was to set up a network of African Centres of Excellence in Water Science and Technology. It was supported by the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD). An action plan is to be put forward to decision makers anxious to meet the many challenges that face efforts to provide access to water resources a

Human activities are causing ocean temperatures to rise, according to a paper published in the American journal Science on 3 June, 2005.

Tim Barnett, the lead author on the paper said: ‘The evidence, based on computer models and observations in the field, is so strong that it should put an end to any debate about whether humanity is causing global warming.’

In the paper the scientists describe how they have been able to rule out natural climate variability and solar or

The Agami Heron has a height of just 70 cm. It can be distinguished from other herons especially by its predominantly chocolate-coloured plumage and its very long beak (2). The bird is described as solitary, grouping together only in the reproductive period, in small colonies. They are sometimes associated with other bird species The Agami heron is observed in Central and South America. However, its rarity and discreet behaviour mean that little is known about its biology or ecologica

Researchers at the University of Southampton’s School of Biological Sciences have discovered that inbreeding in threatened bumblebee species results in female worker bees changing sex.

Many bumblebee species have become rare in recent years, and their last populations are confined to nature reserves, which effectively act as islands amidst a sea of intensively farmed land. In small, isolated bumblebee populations where there are very few individuals, relatives may mate with each

Deep within Earth, researchers are finding hints of exotic materials and behaviors unrivaled anywhere else on the planet. Now a team of researchers is making connections between the dynamic activities deep inside Earth and geologic features at its surface.

The researchers, which include two seismologists from Arizona State University, have detected a relatively small and isolated patch of exotic material, called an ultra low velocity zone (ULVZ), that may in fact be a “root” for m

A multibeam Doppler radar that can scan tornadic storms every 5 to 10 seconds is prowling the Great Plains through June 30 in search of its first close-up tornado. Engineers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder helped build the Rapid-Scan Doppler on Wheels (DOW).

Together with a powerful analysis technique pioneered by NCAR scientist Wen-Chau Lee, the radar–newly enhanced for its first full spring of thunderstorm tracking–promises the most complete picture

Rare salamanders at a Georgia military base are the guinea pigs for Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers whose goal is to develop methods to better determine whether a species has vanished.

After not finding any flatwoods salamanders since 2001, Fort Stewart biologists were a bit concerned and were looking for a better survey method, said Mark Bevelhimer, an aquatic ecologist and member of ORNL’s Environmental Sciences Division. A Strategic Environmental Research and De

From the P&O Cruise Ferry, the Pride Of Bilbao, The Biscay Dolphin Research Programme (BDRP) has gathered a great deal of data on the distribution and abundance of whales & dolphins (collectively known as cetaceans). This wealth of data has demonstrated the importance of this area as a feeding and breeding ground for many different species with more than a quarter of all cetacean species being recorded in the area.

On a recent crossing of the Bay of Biscay in April 2005, Clive Ma

2 dead bottlenose dolphins seen near large fishing fleet off Spanish coast prompting fears that they were likely to have been incidentally caught in the fishing nets.

From the P&O Cruise Ferry, the Pride Of Bilbao, The Biscay Dolphin Research Programme (BDRP) has gathered a great deal of data on the distribution and abundance of whales & dolphins (collectively known as cetaceans) in the European Atlantic. This unique year round database has demonstrated the importance of this area