news 2013

An exploration of deep magmatic processes occurring in the Earth's crust beneath volcanoes, which could contribute to linking these physical processes at depth with volcanic eruptions at the surface, has been carried out by researchers from the University of Bristol and the Swiss Federal Institute in Zurich.

The amount of ash released by Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano during April 2010 was significantly underestimated at the time of the eruption, according to a new model developed at the University of Bristol and published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. This could have important consequences for airspace management during future eruptions.

AUSTIN, Texas — Researchers from Amherst College and The University of Texas at Austin have described a new technique that might one day reveal in higher detail than ever before the composition and characteristics of the deep Earth. There's just one catch: The technique relies on a fifth force of nature (in addition to gravity, the weak and strong nuclear forces and electromagnetism) that has not yet been detected, but which some particle physicists think might exist.

Diagnosed in toddlers, X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) is the most common form of heritable rickets, in which soft bones bend and deform, and tooth abscesses develop because infections penetrate soft teeth that are not properly calcified. Researchers at McGill University and the Federal University of Sao Paulo have identified that osteopontin, a major bone and tooth substrate protein, plays a role in XLH.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Identifying areas of malarial infection risk depends more on daily temperature variation than on the average monthly temperatures, according to a team of researchers, who believe that their results may also apply to environmentally temperature-dependent organisms other than the malaria parasite.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Identifying areas of malarial infection risk depends more on daily temperature variation than on the average monthly temperatures, according to a team of researchers, who believe that their results may also apply to environmentally temperature-dependent organisms other than the malaria parasite.

As Russian scientists scramble to collect and analyze the remains of the historic meteorite that injured an estimated 1,200 people in Chelyabinsk on Feb. 15, scientists in Wisconsin are set to publish their analysis of a smaller meteorite that struck southwest Wisconsin on April 14, 2010. The Mifflin meteorite created a fireball equivalent to 20 tons of TNT, initiating a scientific quest that revealed the complex history of a rocky body that predates Earth's formation.

The risk posed by global warming and rising ocean temperatures to the future health of the world’s marine ecosystem has been highlighted by scientists studying fossil records. Researchers at Plymouth University believe that findings from fieldwork along the North Yorkshire coast reveal strong parallels between the Early Jurassic era of 180 million years ago and current climate predictions over the next century.

ANN ARBOR-Traces of water have been detected within the crystalline structure of mineral samples from the lunar highland upper crust obtained during the Apollo missions, according to a University of Michigan researcher and his colleagues. The lunar highlands are thought to represent the original crust, crystallized from a magma ocean on a mostly molten early moon.

The spring 2011 flood on the Mississippi was among the largest floods ever, the river swelling over its banks and wreaking destruction in the surrounding areas. But a University of Pennsylvania -led study also shows that the floods reaped environmental benefits - transporting and laying down new sediment in portions of the Delta - that may help maintain the area's wetlands.

Open-access data from 64 research flights offers insight into the global carbon cycle and aerosols for climate modeling : Caroline Perry , (617) 496-1351 The view from the Gulfstream V, High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER), during a research flight. (Photo by Bruce Daube.

Scientists at the University of Glasgow together with the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre and the Natural History Museum (London) have discovered the first evidence of water dissolving the surface of Mars. In a paper published in the Meteoritical Society's journal MAPS , the research team outline the results of tests on a 1.7-gram fragment of a Martian meteorite known as Nakhla, which was provided by the Natural History Museum.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Depletion of Antarctic ozone is a more important factor than increasing greenhouse gases in shifting the Southern Hemisphere jet stream in a southward direction, according to researchers at Penn State. "Previous research suggests that this southward shift in the jet stream has contributed to changes in ocean circulation patterns and precipitation patterns in the Southern Hemisphere, both of which can have important impacts on people's livelihoods," said Sukyoung Lee, professor of meteorology.

Stanford Report, January 30, 2013 In the snow of Alaska, a Stanford-led team of researchers has found a new way to determine if the soil beneath lakes, normally frozen, is thawing as a result of climate change. If so, the lakes could become a new source of methane, a global warming gas. The arctic permafrost is thawing, and not just at the surface.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Researchers searching the galaxy for planets that could pass the litmus test of sustaining water-based life must find whether those planets fall in what's known as a habitable zone. New work, led by a team of Penn State researchers, will help scientists in that search. Using the latest data, the Penn State Department of Geosciences team developed an updated model for determining whether discovered planets fall within a habitable zone - where they could be capable of having liquid water and thus sustaining life.

The Earth's forests perform a well-known service to the planet, absorbing a great deal of the carbon dioxide pollution emitted into the atmosphere from human activities. But when trees are killed by natural disturbances, such as fire, drought or wind, their decay also releases carbon back into the atmosphere, making it critical to quantify tree mortality in order to understand the role of forests in the global climate system.

A University of Alberta researcher who spent six years combing through collections of fossilized dinosaur teeth has now identified more than 20 species of small meat-eating dinosaurs. As a U of A undergraduate and master's student, Derek Larson examined thousands of dinosaur teeth found in western North America.

Understanding how our water catchments react to natural disturbances, may offer hydrologists greater insight into how to manage our water supplies. Key to this, is an understanding of the steady state and why water responds differently in different circumstances. Tim Peterson, from the School of Engineering at the University of Melbourne has offered new theories that will lead to a deeper knowledge of how water catchments behave during wet and dry years.

News Release University of Minnesota study raises new questions about use of triclosan MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (01/22/2013) —When people wash their hands with antibacterial soap, most don't think about where the chemicals contained in that soap end up. University of Minnesota engineering researchers do.

The western Antarctic Peninsula is one of the fastest warming regions on the planet, and the fastest warming part of the Southern Hemisphere. Scientists have debated the causes of this warming, particularly in light of recent instrumental records of both atmospheric and oceanic warming from the region.