America’s earthquake epicenter was once California. Now it’s Oklahoma. In 2014 there were nearly 300 times as many magnitude 3.0 and greater earthquakes as there were in 2008—and more quakes of that magnitude than in the prior 30 years combined. The cause? Scientists can’t say definitively, but new research funded by the U.S. Geological Survey notes that as quakes increased […]
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Colossal volcanic eruptions some 250 million years ago have long been linked to the widespread global extinction known as the “Great Dying“, a 60,000-year period that saw 90 percent of all sea creatures and more than two-thirds of all plants and animals on land die off. But new research has for the first time identified the specific cause of the […]
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The H5N1 bird flu has been found to have made it’s way to Antarctica. This could cause widespread health concerns for the penguins and seals that populate the Arctic region and have never come in contact with the deadly H5N1 virus before. Concerns have been raised among the scientific community over the possibility of breeding failures within the region’s avian […]
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There’s an oil painting on one wall in the cluttered room that serves as central headquarters of Burch Farms, a large vegetable grower in Faison, N.C. The painting shows an African-American couple, the woman in a long, plain dress, the man in a homespun shirt. They’re digging sweet potatoes with their bare hands and an old-fashioned hoe. Jimmy Burch Sr., […]
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New South Wales and southern Queensland are going to be suffering from warmer weather and less rain than in the past. This temperature change is called “sudden stratospheric warming.” It happens when the air above the South Pole starts to warm up rapidly. Predictions are that the warming of Antarctic will likely be higher than a previous record high in […]
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Between fighting wildfires and rerouting the Iditarod, Alaska has had a tough time with climate change. But at least there’s one good outcome: local food. In Bethel, a town in southwestern Alaska, farmer Tim Meyers is taking advantage of rising temperatures to grow food in the previously inhospitable tundra. NPR reports: At the 15-acre organic farm, which has been operating for more […]
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Tropical forests account for a third of the total carbon fixed by photosynthesis. Lianas’ increasing abundance may be driven by changing climate, increased disturbance or by more severe seasonal drought. By reducing the ability of tropical forests to accumulate and store carbon released through burning fossil fuels, lianas could cause a positive feedback loop, accelerating climate change. “This study has […]
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Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov was a Soviet general practitioner who took part in the sixth Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1960–1961. He was the only doctor stationed at the Novolazarevskaya Station and, while there, developed appendicitis, which meant he had to perform an appendectomy on himself, a famous case of self-surgery. Leonid Rogozov was born in Dauriya Station, Chita Oblast, a remote […]
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Results from a new climate reconstruction of how Antarctica’s ice sheets responded during the last period when atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) reached levels like those expected to occur in about 30 years, plus sediment core findings reported in a companion paper, suggest that the ice sheets are more vulnerable to rising atmospheric CO2 than previously thought. Details appear in two […]
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Scientists believe is a new whale species is doing the exact opposite of other whales. It is being as heard as it is seen. Recordings taken near the polar continent captured a strange, never-before-heard whale sound — a signal they are calling “Antarctic BW29”. Researchers say that they located the signal 1,000 times in 14 separate recordings. The unique sounds […]
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