Researchers propose that an observed rise in the ice-melting rate during the summer and an extension of the melting periods through October in the Alps may be caused by global warming. Vincent et al. analyzed more than 50 years of data showing the annual mass balance changes for two glaciers in the Alps and report anomalous ice melting that was likely caused by climate change. The authors note an ice reduction of nearly half a centimeter [two-tenths of an inch] per day over the widely space
Part of the magnetic dust observed in Greenland ice cores may come from extraterrestrial sources, although most of the surface magnetism of ice also comes from iron-rich particles deposited by airborne dust. Lanci et al. used magnetic testing techniques on ice cores from central Greenland to trace the iron oxide content and total dust concentration in polar sources.
They suggest that measuring the magnetic strength of dust deposited on the icy surface can provide researchers an improved me
A web of faults links the San Andreas Fault over a discontinuous 80-kilometer [50 mile] region in southern California. Carena et al. analyzed a gap in the famous fault line that runs from the Mojave Desert to the Coachella Valley and suggest that a network of seismically active faults likely connects the two strands of the 1,200-kilometer [750-mile] San Andreas Fault.
The researchers examined the three-dimensional geometry of the fault system in the complex region, reaching nearly 20 kilom
An analysis of total solar irradiance data has allowed researchers to make the first detections of a solar flare from radiation-sensing satellites. Woods et al. report that total solar irradiance dropped by an unprecedented 0.34 percent during the strong solar storm in October-November 2003, because of large, dark sunspots observed by two NASA satellite missions. They also present data showing marked short-term solar radiation increases during one of the strongest X-class events seen during t
Including the atmospheric effects from volcanic eruptions in general circulation models may be the most important factor in improving the accuracy of long-term climate simulations. Vyushin et al. analyzed general circulation model estimates for the 20th century climate and found that volcanic eruptions, rather than the manmade effects from increasing greenhouse gas and aerosol levels, are the most significant factor in determining long-range correlations of surface air temperature. The author
Researchers have modified the European Incoherent Scatter Svalbard radar to potentially provide detailed information of even a single event in the polar ionosphere. Oksavik et al. demonstrate a new observation mode for the EISCAT instrument with the potential for monitoring small-scale flow variations in the Earth-space boundary. The authors used the technique to provide high-resolution data for the flow patterns surrounding a single poleward-moving auroral form (PMAF) event, a phenomenon ass
Elephants may be able to communicate over long distances but it’s hard to tell, because they’re not talking. Instead, they may be transmitting infrasonic signals through the ground with seismic waves. Gunther et al. studied the range of low-frequency vocal sounds made by African elephants and suggest that the signal’s two kilometer [one mile] range can propagate further than the animals’ airborne vocalizations.
Their study suggests that it is possible for elephants to communicate over long
A new study shows that electron interactions may have nearly the same importance as chemical luminescence in exciting the atmospheric molecules that cause auroras. Campbell et al. suggest that nitric oxide molecules are promoted into potentially glowing, vibrational excited levels by a short-lived negative ion that is formed as a result of electron impact. Previous studies had reported that chemiluminescence, where nitrogen and oxygen molecules interact to form excited nitric oxide, was the main so
People with bad teeth can no longer blame childhood habits. A new study has found that, contrary to common perceptions, an unhealthy adult lifestyle is responsible for poor oral health in later years.
Researchers from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, studied data collected from over 300 people. They discovered that the relationship between family background and problems with the teeth and gums diminished with increasing age and eventually became almost insignificant.
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Suggestions that genetic tests are taken more into account than a doctor’s clinical judgement are dismissed in new research sponsored by the ESRC and published as part of Social Science week.
And clinicians do not adopt a ‘blunderbuss’ or ‘grape-shot’ approach. Appropriate tests are ordered in the light of clinical decisions and differing diagnoses, according to the study led by Dr Joanna Latimer, of the School of Social Science, Cardiff University.
The findings are the result o
An investigation of how blood flows through stents after opening clogged arteries has led a team of researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin Cardiovascular Center in Milwaukee to suggest that stents designed with thinner and fewer linkages may be the basis of a new generation of stents. Their findings are published in the July 2004 issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology.
One of the most common methods for treating heart blockages is balloon angioplasty, inflating tiny catheters w
The University of North Dakota (UND) Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) has begun a demonstration project to determine the economic viability and environmental advantage of generating power using a 30-kilowatt microturbine fueled with sour (impure) natural gas often produced along with oil.
The project is being demonstrated at an oil field in Newburg, North Dakota, operated by Amerada Hess Corporation, an international petroleum company with 461 active wells in North Dakota. A Cap
Current electronic technologies can’t create smaller computers and other devices because they are reaching physical limitations, so University of Arkansas scientists seek to harness an electron’s spin to create tiny machines with large memories. To do this, they have built a microscope that may allow them to be the first researchers to measure the properties of electron spin injection in conducting materials.
Paul Thibado, associate professor of physics, won a $370,000 grant from the Natio
There are elaborate hieroglyphs, burial objects and other clues.
But the recent application of a geological technique to an archaeological problem may offer a unique tool for gleaning seemingly unknowable facts about the ancient Maya – based only on excavated bones and teeth.
University of Florida geology Professor David Hodell and Associate Professor Mark Brenner did an elaborate review of the technique, which combines elements of geology, anthropology and forensic science,
Tasty new weapon in fight against disease
A few forkfuls of sprouted vegetables could help protect against cancer, new research by Professor Ian Rowland and Chris Gill has shown.
Eating just over 100 grams of tasty sprouted vegetables every day for a fortnight has been shown to have clear protective effects against DNA damage in human blood cells, according to the researchers.
“DNA damage is associated with cancer risk. Sources of DNA damage include diet-rela
An international team of researchers, with the participation of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona professor, Jordi Jordana, has published in Science magazine the results of their investigation into the origins of the domesticated donkey. The authors have discovered by using genetic analysis that the domesticated donkey originated in northeastern Africa approximately 5,000 years ago, quite probably due to the desertification of the Sahara. The conclusions of the study state that all domesticated donke
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