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Canada’s Subarctic Lakes are Drying Out
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on November 27th, 2013
Nature World News: Atypically light snowfall over recent winters in Canada's subarctic regions has led many of the region's lakes to dry out, prompting researchers to worry.
After studying 70 lakes in and around Old Crow in the Yukon territory and Churchhill in Manitoba, researchers found that the majority of the lakes are less than 1 meter deep.
Analysis of the environment surrounding the lakes revealed that most lie on flat terrain surrounded by scrubby vegetation, which are also showing signs of desiccation,...
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Global Warming to Cause Increase in US Severe Storms, Researchers Report
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on September 24th, 2013
Nature World News: A new climate analysis led by scientists at Stanford University suggests that severe thunderstorms in the United States are likely to increase over the next century as a result of global warming.
According the the researchers, severe thunderstorms are one of the primary causes of catastrophic losses in the US, with damage from destructive rainfall, hail and tornadoes resulting in billions of dollars in damages. Last year alone, 11 weather-related events in the US exceeded the $1 billion threshold...
Antibacterial Products Promote Bacterial Resistance in US Waterways
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on September 19th, 2013
Nature World News: A popular synthetic antibacterial compound called triclosan is fueling the development of resistant bacteria in US waterways, according to research published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.
This study marks the first time triclosan resistance has been documented in a natural environment.
Triclosan is an ingredient found in a range consumer products, added to reduce or prevent bacterial contamination. Originally invented for use by surgeons in the 1960s, triclosan can now...
Four New Legless Lizard Species Identified in California
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on September 18th, 2013
Nature World News: Four new species of legless lizards have been found in unlikely habitats in California. The snake-like creatures were discovered on the end of an airport runway, at the edge of the Mojave desert, a vacant lot in Bakersfield and on an oil derrick.
The discovery raises the number of legless lizard species known in California from one to five.
"This shows that there is a lot of undocumented biodiversity within California," said Theodore Papenfuss, a herpetologist, with University of California,...
Antarctica is Melting from the Bottom Up
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on September 16th, 2013
Nature World News: As much as 90 percent of the ice loss in some parts of Antarctica happens beneath the water, according to researchers who report that much more ice is melting from the undersides of submerged ice shelves than previously thought.
Every year 2,800 cubic kilometers leave the Antarctic ice sheet, but for decades the general consensus among scientists was that calving -- where huge chunks of ice break off from glaciers and float out to sea -- was the main source of Antarctic ice loss.
Using satellite...
Rim Fire at Nearly Quarter Million Acres Entering Third Week
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on September 7th, 2013
Nature World News: The Rim Fire continues to burn through a huge swath of land in and around Yosemite National Park, standing at nearly a quarter-million acres as the blaze entered its third week of burning Saturday.
While the fire continues to gain ground daily, growing about 10,000 acres between Thursday and Friday, fire-fighting crews were mostly able to keep pace throughout the week; the conflagration remains at 80 percent contained, as it has for the past several days, officials reported Friday night.
At...
Va. Man Catches World-Record-Breaking ‘Frankenfish’
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on August 8th, 2013
Nature World News: A fisherman in Virginia has officially reeled in the the biggest northern snakehead ever caught according to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA). Jack Vitek, world-record coordinator for the Florida-based IGFA, told the The Free Lance Star of Virginia Monday that the organization confirmed the 17 pound, 6 ounce northern snakehead as the largest ever caught with hook and line in the world. Caleb Newton, a plumber and weekend fishing enthusiast, caught the snakehead, sometimes known as...
Fish Turn on One Another When Attacked by Predators
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on July 13th, 2013
Nature World News: In the underwater world, self-preservation takes many shapes. Fish, for example, will avoid capture by swimming in a large mass that makes it difficult to single-out one individual. But according to the latest research on a small species of South American fish, the creatures will turn on one another when confronted by a predator on the hunt. Two-spot astyanax, are seemingly innocuous fish. Often kept as pets, the small fish tend to swim in schools of about 50 and have a diet of plankton, plants...
Humans “Inducing” Earthquakes During Energy Exploration, USGS Report Says
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on July 12th, 2013
Nature World News: Human activities that inject fluids into the ground, such as natural gas extractions and geothermal energy production, are the cause of many earthquakes in the United States, including a destructive 5.6-magnitude tremor in Oklahoma in 2011, according to new research published in the journal Science.
While the continental United States experiences small earthquakes each day, a recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey found that the annual number of earthquakes recorded at magnitude 3.0 or greater...
South Africa Wants to Flood Illegal Black Market with Rhino Horns
Posted by Nature World News: James A. Foley on July 4th, 2013
Nature World News: A plan by the South African government to sell some of its $1 billion stockpile of rhinoceros horn could potentially flood the illegal black market and cause prices to plummet as well as enable the country to further finance its conservation efforts. (Photo : WikiCommons)
A plan by the South African government to sell some of its $1 billion stockpile of rhinoceros horn could potentially flood the illegal black market and cause prices to plummet as well as enable the country to further finance...