Ecology articles

Vesuvius' next eruption may put metro naples at risk
Recently discovered geological and archaeological evidence is shedding light on a catastrophic eruption at Mt. Vesuvius during the Bronze Age that wrought broader destruction to surrounding areas than the famous Pompeii eruption of AD 79, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The authors suggest that this event should be a reference for current hazard planning for metropolitan Naples, Italy, home to 3 million people.

Snapshot of life deep in the Great Barrier Reef
Scientists have begun compiling a rich picture of seabed life across the length and breadth of Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, after more than 300 days at sea.

Rare volcanic plumes create uncommonly dangerous ash flows
Three unique photographs of a recent volcanic eruption in a remote part of Ecuador show a plume unlike any previously documented, and hint at a newly recognized hazard, say scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Advanced aircraft to probe hazardous atmospheric whirlwinds
The nation's newest and most advanced research aircraft will participate in its first major mission March 1 through April 30, when it will study a severe type of atmospheric turbulence that forms near mountains and endangers airplanes.

Glacial earthquakes point to rising temperatures in Greenland
Seismologists at Columbia University and Harvard University have found a new indicator that the Earth is warming: "glacial earthquakes" caused when the rivers of ice lurch unexpectedly and produce temblors as strong as magnitude 5.1 on the moment-magnitude scale, which is similar to the Richter scale. Glacial earthquakes in Greenland, the researchers found, are most common in July and August, and have more than doubled in number since 2002.

Oceans are a major gene swap-meet for plankton
New evidence from open sea experiments shows there's a constant shuffling of genetic endowments going on among tiny plankton, and the "coinage" they use seems to be a flood of viruses, MIT scientists report.

Arctic, Antarctic melting may raise sea levels faster than expected
Ice sheets across both the Arctic and Antarctic could melt more quickly than expected this century, according to two studies that blend computer modeling with paleoclimate records. The studies, led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Arizona, show that Arctic summers by 2100 may be as warm as they were nearly 130,000 years ago, when sea levels eventually rose up to 20 feet (6 meters) higher than today.

New geosciences model explains Ocean formation
Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin's Jackson School of Geosciences and the Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France, have developed a new model to explain how continents break apart to form new oceans. Their discovery may improve targeting of deep-water oil and gas reserves.

Study offers preview of ice sheet melting, rapid climate changes
The retreat of a massive ice sheet that once covered much of northern Europe has been described for the first time, and researchers believe it may provide a sneak preview of how present-day ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica will act in the face of global warming.

Research re-examines strong hurricane studies
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have released a study supporting the findings of several studies last year linking an increase in the strength of hurricanes around the world to a global increase in sea surface temperature.

Mega eruption of Yellowstone's southern twin
North America isn't the only continent that's experienced super-colossal volcanic eruptions in the recent geologic past. The massive explosion of the almost unknown Vilama Caldera in Argentina appears to have matched Yellowstone's last continent-blanketing blast. It may, in fact, be just one of several unappreciated supervolcanoes hidden in a veritable mega-volcano nursery called the Eduardo Avaroa Caldera Complex, located in the inhospitable Puna-Altiplano region near the tri-section of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile.

Spider's orb web may have single, ancient origin
The orb web, the classical wheel-shaped net that made Charlotte and countless other spiders famous, is spun by two different groups of spiders.

east Asia may experience less drastic climate change
The extreme effects of climate change on the world depicted in the US blockbuster movie The Day After Tomorrow may not be quite true where East Asia is concerned,

new study reveals san andreas fault set for the 'big one'
: A researcher investigating several facets of the San Andreas Fault has produced a new depiction of the earthquake potential of the fault's southern, highly populated section.

Global warming surpassed natural cycles in fueling 2005 hurricane season
Global warming accounted for around half of the extra hurricane-fueling warmth in the waters of the tropical North Atlantic

Eavesdropping fringe-lipped bats spread culture through sound
Like a diner ordering a dessert based solely on the "oohs" and "aahs" of a customer eating the same dish the next table over,

Tropical forest CO2 emissions tied to nutrient increases
Extra helpings of key nutrients given to tropical rain forest soils caused them to release substantially more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

Climate scientists spotlight Artic warming, plight of polar bears
A climate scientist at the University of Chicago and 30 of her colleagues from across North America and Europe are urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the polar bear as a threatened species because global warming is melting its sea-ice habitat

Tiny wasp saves pacific island paradise
UC Riverside's Mark Hoddle controlled a pest epidemic in Tahiti by introducing a parasitic wasp to control the glassy-winged sharpshooter

Researchers discover which organs in Antartic fish produce antifreeze
Thirty-five years ago Arthur DeVries of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign first documented antifreeze glycoproteins (AFGPs) in Antarctic notothenioid fishes.