Ecology articles

Scientists discover dozens of new species in 'lost world' of Western New Guinea
An expedition to one of Asia's most isolated jungles - in the mist-shrouded Foja Mountains of western New Guinea - discovered a virtual ''Lost World" of new species, giant flowers, and rare wildlife that was unafraid of humans.

'Roof of the world' tells tale of colliding continents, earth's interior
Geologists have learned that the height of the Tibetan Plateau, a vast, elevated region of central Asia sometimes called "the roof of the world," has remained remarkably constant for at least 35 million years.

Medieval diaries aid scientists ascertain increase in hot spots due to global warming
The temperature of the northern hemisphere has increased over a larger area in the last century than at any time in the past millennium, a report published in Science reveals.

Volcanoes helped slow ocean warming trend
Ocean temperatures might have risen even higher during the last century if it weren't for volcanoes that spewed ashes and aerosols into the upper atmosphere, researchers have found. The eruptions also offset a large percentage of sea level rise caused by human activity.

Snows of Kilimanjaro disappearing, glacial ice loss increasing
Five years after warning that the famed ice fields on Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro may melt, Ohio State University researchers have sadly found that their prediction is coming true.

Greenland ice-loss doubles in past decade, raising sea level faster
The loss of ice from Greenland doubled between 1996 and 2005, as its glaciers flowed faster into the ocean in response to a generally warmer climate, according to a NASA/University of Kansas study.

Clearest video of lightning-generated sprites high above thunderstorms captured
Researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering have captured the best images ever produced of "sprites" -- mysterious flashes of light resembling giant undulating jellyfish that can occur above strong thunderstorms -- using a high-speed camera that recorded thousands of video frames a second.

Overseas Nox could be boosting ozono levels in U.S.
Large amounts of a chemical that boosts ozone production are being transported to North America from across the Pacific Ocean in May, according to a new report by researchers from Georgia Tech. These higher levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx), arriving in late spring, could be contributing to significant increases in ozone levels over North America.

The dawn of deep ocean mining
We're on the brink of the era of deep ocean mining, says a global pioneer in the study of sea floor mineral deposits. Dr. Steven Scott, a geologist at the University of Toronto, in Toronto, Canada says that advances in marine geology and deep ocean technology have combined to make it realistic to go more than two kilometres underwater for gold and other mineral treasures.

Fossil wood gives vital clues to ancient climates
New research into a missing link in climatology shows that the Earth was not overcome by a greenhouse period when dinosaurs dominated, but experienced rapid fluctuations in temperature and sea level change that resulted in a balance of the global carbon cycle.

At old volcanoes, slopes turn mudflows deadly
Mudflows initiated by natural processes at old, inactive volcanoes are some of the most lethal geologic phenomena and they contributed to last week's tragic mudslide in Guinsaugon, Philippines, according to a University at Buffalo scientist whose team has developed advanced computer models of mudflows.

Keck funds project to track life cycle of water
For most people, it's enough to know that when you turn on the tap, water comes out. But with the rapid pace of global warming, that may not always be the case.

Scientists reveal ancient origin of vertebrate skeleton
University of Florida scientists have found that people have an ancient skeleton in their closets - a skeleton personified today by a jawless, eel-like fish.

Studies of ancient climates suggest Earth is now on a fast track to global warming
Human activities are releasing greenhouse gases more than 30 times faster than the rate of emissions that triggered a period of extreme global warming in the Earth's past, according to an expert on ancient climates.

Nasa mission detects significant antarctic ice mass loss
Scientists were able to conduct the first-ever gravity survey of the entire Antarctic ice sheet using data from the joint NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). This comprehensive study found the ice sheet's mass has decreased significantly from 2002 to 2005.

Study of 2004 Tsunami disaster forces rethinking of theory of massive earthquakes
The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of December 26, 2004, was one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory, mostly due to the devastating tsunami that followed it. A group of geologists, geodesists and geophysicists, including scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, has delineated the full dimensions of the fault rupture that caused the earthquake.

Huge, wet and mysterious
The vast icy ocean current that circles around Antarctica is so huge that it carries 100 times more water than all the world's rivers combined, yet its influence on the world's climate is barely understood.

The oceans as carbon dioxide sinks
German and British scientists have studied the ocean off south-western Africa and have discovered that particles are transported to the deep ocean over thousands of years before being deposited on the seabed. This discovery may increase our understanding of how the oceans act as carbon dioxide sinks and how oil deposits form.

Amazonian dark earth
The search for El Dorado in the Amazonian rainforest might not have yielded pots of gold, but it has led to unearthing a different type of gold mine: some of the globe's richest soil that can transform poor soil into highly fertile ground.

Largest crater in the Great Sahara discovered by Boston University Scientists
Researchers from Boston University have discovered the remnants of the largest crater of the Great Sahara of North Africa, which may have been formed by a meteorite impact tens of millions of years ago.