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Archive for August, 2014
Microbes thrive below Antarctic ice
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 21st, 2014
Christian Science Monitor: Researchers have uncovered a thriving community of microbes in a lake some 2,600 feet below the surface of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the first direct evidence of life in such lakes and the first window on the ecosystem the microbes occupy.
Genetic evidence extracted from samples of lake water indicates that the lake teems with a wide variety of microbes that make up a complete food chain, with those at the bottom drawing their energy from chemicals in rocks and sediment in the lake bed.
In...
Climate change could have negative effect on the Great Lakes
Posted by HNGN: Rebekah Marcarelli on August 21st, 2014
HNGN: New research suggests climate change may have a strong effect on the Great Lakes.
The consequences could impact the drinking water potential and recreational value of the lakes, as well as make them more vulnerable to invasive species and infectious pathogens, Grand Valley State University reported.
"Climate change has occurred in the past, but this time, the frequency of change is too fast, not allowing animals enough time to adapt," said Kevin Strychar, an associate professor at Grand Valley's...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Climate change could have negative effect on the Great LakesBehind the mysterious holes in Siberia
Posted by PBS: None Given on August 21st, 2014
PBS: JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally tonight, new indications that the planet is warming, especially in the frozen north. Scientists have been tracking Arctic thawing for decades, and they have seen a dramatic increase since 2000.
When holes opened up in the earth recently in Siberia, a wave of speculation was set off as to their cause. Scientists now think warming is the culprit.
To help us understand all this, we welcome back Tom Wagner. He directs studies of the polar regions for NASA.
And it`s good...
Landmark Expedition Discovers Microbial Life Beneath West Antarctic Ice Sheet
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 21st, 2014
RedOrbit: An international team of biologists has discovered living microbes and an active ecosystem located one-half mile beneath the surface of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, according to new research published online Wednesday in the journal Nature.
The study, which was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and led by Montana State University professor John Priscu, collected samples from subglacial Lake Whillans, which is located beneath more than 2600 feet of ice and has not been exposed to...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Landmark Expedition Discovers Microbial Life Beneath West Antarctic Ice SheetDrought in West is Literally Moving Mountains
Posted by Climate Central: Bobby Magill on August 21st, 2014
Climate Central: Climate change is driving the Greenland Ice Sheet to melt, which is contributing to sea level rise. But imagine that the same amount of water melting from Greenland each year is being lost in California and the rest of the West because of the epic drought there.
What happens? The land in the West begins to rise.
In fact, some parts of California's mountains have been uplifted as much as 15 millimeters (about 0.6 inches) in the past 18 months because the massive amount of water lost in the drought...
Anti-fracking billboards land Ohio man in hot water
Posted by Associated Press: Julie Carr Smyth on August 20th, 2014
Associated Press: An Ohio man who uses a biblical reference and a statement against "poisoned waters" on billboards opposing wells for disposal of gas-drilling wastewater is fighting a legal threat from the Texas well owner on free-speech grounds.
Austin, Texas-based Buckeye Brine alleges in a July lawsuit that the billboards paid for by Michael Boals, of Coshocton in eastern Ohio, contain false and defamatory attacks against its two wells, which dispose of contaminated wastewater from oil and gas drilling.
An...
Algae-produced microcystin may follow blooms across lake
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 20th, 2014
Toledo Blade: From the boat docks of Ohio State University's Stone Laboratory, practically a stone's throw from the party headquarters known as Put-in-Bay tiny green specs are in the early stages of bunching up and floating on Lake Erie's surface. It's been an all-too-familiar sight to Great Lakes scientists who use that lab, the oldest freshwater field station in the United States, since 1995. For the moment, they have no reason to panic. But they also know those tiny green specs are nature's way of putting...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Algae-produced microcystin may follow blooms across lakeEPA Wades Into Water Fight With Farmers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 20th, 2014
National Public Radio: The EPA wants to "clarify" the scope of its oversight of water under the Clean Water Act. Big farm groups like the American Farm Bureau Federation call this a power grab that would place every ditch and mud puddle under federal regulation, forcing farmers to get permits for small trenches around the farm.
Life Found 800 Meters Down in Antarctic Subglacial Lake
Posted by Nature: Douglas Fox on August 20th, 2014
Nature: A cold breeze blew off the Antarctic plain, numbing the noses and ears of scientists standing around a dark hole in the ice. Flecks of ice crackled off a winch as it reeled the last few meters of cable out of the hole. Two workers in sterile suits leaned over to grab the payload -- a cylinder the length of a baseball bat -- dangling at the end of the cable. They used a hammer to chip away the ice and a blow drier to thaw part of the assembly. "Did it close?' asked the winch operator.
"Yeah,' shouted...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Life Found 800 Meters Down in Antarctic Subglacial LakeCalifornia Drought Threatens Salmon as River Water Levels Drop
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on August 20th, 2014
EcoWatch: Recalling a disastrous 2002 salmon die-off in the rivers of northern California`s Klamath Basin, members of Native tribes in that area, including the Karuk, Yurok and Hoopa, are pressuring the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to act to prevent another kill they say is imminent.
Tribal members are asking for the release of water from the Lewiston Dam on the Trinity River to prevent the spread of a parasite that preys on salmon and thrives in warmer, shallower water. While the bureau says it will release...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on California Drought Threatens Salmon as River Water Levels Drop