Science and Technology News

Dedicated to the wonder of discovery

ice

Motion capture is guiding the next generation of extraterrestrial robots

by Leave a Comment

“How do we build robots that can optimally explore space?” is the core question behind Dr Frances Zhu’s research at the University of Hawai’i. One part of the answer is, “with motion capture”.

“It is my hope that my research contributes to the way extraterrestrial robots move and make decisions on other planets,” explains Zhu (main picture), an assistant researcher and deputy director at the University’s Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology.

That research is in its early stages, but NASA has seen the value in it and awarded Zhu an EPSCoR grant by the name “Autonomous Rover Operations for Planetary Surface Exploration using Machine Learning Algorithms”. [Read more…] about Motion capture is guiding the next generation of extraterrestrial robots

Himalayan glaciers melting at ‘exceptional rate’

by Leave a Comment

The accelerating melting of the Himalayan glaciers threatens the water supply of millions of people in Asia, new research warns.

The study, led by the University of Leeds, concludes that over recent decades the Himalayan glaciers have lost ice ten times more quickly over the last few decades than on average since the last major glacier expansion 400-700 years ago, a period known as the Little Ice Age.

The study also reveals that Himalayan glaciers are shrinking far more rapidly than glaciers in other parts of the world – a rate of loss the researchers describe as “exceptional”. [Read more…] about Himalayan glaciers melting at ‘exceptional rate’

Related Posts

  • Sea levels influence eruptions on volcanic island
    31
    Sea levels influence eruptions on volcanic islandThe rise and fall of sea levels influence the likelihood of volcanic eruptions on the Greek island of Santorini, new research led by Oxford Brookes University has discovered. Analysing the timings of eruptions over hundreds of thousands of years, the researchers found that a 40 metre fall in sea level…
    Tags: ice, news, environment

Sea levels influence eruptions on volcanic island

by

The rise and fall of sea levels influence the likelihood of volcanic eruptions on the Greek island of Santorini, new research led by Oxford Brookes University has discovered.

Analysing the timings of eruptions over hundreds of thousands of years, the researchers found that a 40 metre fall in sea level is a crucial point beyond which eruptions are more likely to occur. The findings could have implications for millions of people living on volcanic islands around the world.

Santorini – cliffs reveal history of eruptions

The research on the popular tourist destination was led by Dr Christopher Satow, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography at Oxford Brookes.

He says there are clues about past volcanic activity on Santorini in the layers of rock on the cliff face encircling the inner part of the island: “A huge eruption 3,600 years ago caused the centre of what was then a conical island to sink into the sea, revealing an extraordinarily detailed history of over 200 volcanic eruptions preserved within the remaining circle of cliffs. [Read more…] about Sea levels influence eruptions on volcanic island

Related Posts

  • Snow chaos in Europe caused by melting sea-ice in the Arctic
    37
    Snow chaos in Europe caused by melting sea-ice in the ArcticThey are diligently stoking thousands of bonfires on the ground close to their crops, but the French winemakers are fighting a losing battle. An above-average warm spell at the end of March has been followed by days of extreme frost, destroying the vines with losses amounting to 90 percent above…
    Tags: climate, sea, news, environment
  • Melting ice sheets over the past 300 years raised sea levels 18 metres
    35
    Melting ice sheets over the past 300 years raised sea levels 18 metresIt is well known that climate-induced sea level rise is a major threat. New research has found that previous ice loss events could have caused sea-level rise at rates of around 3.6 metres per century, offering vital clues as to what lies ahead should climate change continue unabated. A team…
    Tags: ice, sea, levels, climate, environment
  • Population and climate change point to future water shortages
    33
    Population and climate change point to future water shortagesA new study suggests that reductions in agricultural water use will probably play the biggest role in limiting future water shortages. Climate change plus population growth are setting the stage for water shortages in parts of the U.S. long before the end of the century, according to a new study…
    Tags: climate, news, environment
  • Ice-free Arctic summers could happen on early side of predictions
    33
    Ice-free Arctic summers could happen on early side of predictionsThe Arctic Ocean could become ice-free in the summer in the next 20 years due to a natural, long-term warming phase in the tropical Pacific that adds to human-caused warming, according to a new study. Computer models predict climate change will cause the Arctic to be nearly free of sea…
    Tags: ice, sea, climate, news
  • Energy unleashed by underwater volcanoes could power a continent
    31
    Energy unleashed by underwater volcanoes could power a continentVolcanic eruptions deep in our oceans are capable of extremely powerful releases of energy, at a rate high enough to power the whole of the United States, according to new research. Eruptions from deep-sea volcanoes were long-thought to be relatively uninteresting compared with those on land. While terrestrial volcanoes often…
    Tags: eruptions, volcanic, volcanoes, eruption, environment, activity, news

Changes in Earth’s orbit enabled the emergence of complex life

by

Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered that changes in Earth’s orbit may have allowed complex life to emerge and thrive during the most hostile climate episode the planet has ever experienced.

The researchers – working with colleagues in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Curtin University, University of Hong Kong, and the University of Tübingen – studied a succession of rocks laid down when most of Earth’s surface was covered in ice during a severe glaciation, dubbed ‘Snowball Earth’, that lasted over 50 million years.

Their findings are published in the journal Nature Communications. [Read more…] about Changes in Earth’s orbit enabled the emergence of complex life

Related Posts

  • Melting ice sheets over the past 300 years raised sea levels 18 metres
    30
    Melting ice sheets over the past 300 years raised sea levels 18 metresIt is well known that climate-induced sea level rise is a major threat. New research has found that previous ice loss events could have caused sea-level rise at rates of around 3.6 metres per century, offering vital clues as to what lies ahead should climate change continue unabated. A team…
    Tags: ice, ocean, climate, sheets, features

Mystery of green icebergs say soon be solved

by

Glaciologists report in a new study that they suspect iron oxides in rock dust from Antarctica’s mainland are giving some icebergs an unusual color.

This news article was issued by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) as a press release on 4 March 2019.

Researchers have proposed a new idea that may explain why some Antarctic icebergs are tinged emerald green rather than the normal blue, potentially solving a decades-long scientific mystery. [Read more…] about Mystery of green icebergs say soon be solved

How a small fish coped with being isolated from the sea

by

The last ice age ended almost 12,000 years ago in Norway. The land rebounded slowly as the weight of the ice disappeared and the land uplift caused many bays to become narrower and form lakes.

Fish became trapped in these lakes.

Sticklebacks managed to adapt when saltwater became freshwater, and they can still be found in today’s coastal lakes along the Norwegian coast. [Read more…] about How a small fish coped with being isolated from the sea

Antarctica remains the wild card for sea-level rise estimates through 2100

by

A massive collaborative research project covered in the journal Nature this week offers projections to the year 2100 of future sea-level rise from all sources of land ice, offering the most complete projections created to date.

“This work synthesizes improvements over the last decade in climate models, ice sheet and glacier models, and estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions,” said Stephen Price, one of the Los Alamos scientists on the project.

“More than 85 researchers from various disciplines, including our team at Los Alamos National Laboratory, produced sea-level rise projections based on the most recent computer models developed within the scientific community and updated scenarios of future greenhouse gas emissions,” said Price. [Read more…] about Antarctica remains the wild card for sea-level rise estimates through 2100

Related Posts

  • Melting ice sheets over the past 300 years raised sea levels 18 metres
    37
    Melting ice sheets over the past 300 years raised sea levels 18 metresIt is well known that climate-induced sea level rise is a major threat. New research has found that previous ice loss events could have caused sea-level rise at rates of around 3.6 metres per century, offering vital clues as to what lies ahead should climate change continue unabated. A team…
    Tags: ice, rise, sheet, sea-level, climate, environment
  • Population and climate change point to future water shortages
    31
    Population and climate change point to future water shortagesA new study suggests that reductions in agricultural water use will probably play the biggest role in limiting future water shortages. Climate change plus population growth are setting the stage for water shortages in parts of the U.S. long before the end of the century, according to a new study…
    Tags: future, climate, news, environment

Can extreme melt destabilize ice sheets?

by

Nearly a decade ago, global news outlets reported vast ice melt in the Arctic as sapphire lakes glimmered across the previously frozen Greenland Ice Sheet, one of the most important contributors to sea-level rise. Now researchers have revealed the long-term impact of that extreme melt.

Using a new approach to ice-penetrating radar data, Stanford University scientists show that this melting left behind a contiguous layer of refrozen ice inside the snowpack, including near the middle of the ice sheet where surface melting is usually minimal.

Most importantly, the formation of the melt layer changed the ice sheet’s behavior by reducing its ability to store future meltwater. The research appears in Nature Communications April 20. [Read more…] about Can extreme melt destabilize ice sheets?

Related Posts

  • Second impact crater ‘hiding under Greenland ice’
    62
    Second impact crater ‘hiding under Greenland ice’New research has found a possible second impact crater hiding under the Greenland ice. The new, 22-mile-wide site is only 114 miles from a crater under Hiawatha Glacier, reported in November 2018, but is unlikely to have formed at the same time. Scientists discovered the possible second impact crater buried…
    Tags: ice, greenland, sheet
  • Melting ice sheets over the past 300 years raised sea levels 18 metres
    38
    Melting ice sheets over the past 300 years raised sea levels 18 metresIt is well known that climate-induced sea level rise is a major threat. New research has found that previous ice loss events could have caused sea-level rise at rates of around 3.6 metres per century, offering vital clues as to what lies ahead should climate change continue unabated. A team…
    Tags: ice, sheet, features, environment
  • Scientists calculate impact of China’s ban on plastic waste imports
    33
    Scientists calculate impact of China’s ban on plastic waste importsWhile recycling is often touted as the solution to the large-scale production of plastic waste, upwards of half of the plastic waste intended for recycling is exported from higher income countries to other nations, with China historically taking the largest share. But in 2017, China passed the "National Sword" policy,…
    Tags: features, environment
  • Rivers are the ‘main culprit’ for carrying plastic debris into the sea
    31
    Rivers are the ‘main culprit’ for carrying plastic debris into the seaUFZ researchers have proven that large river systems are the main culprits for plastic pollution in the oceans Minute plastic particles can be found in the water in virtually every sea and river. This constitutes a serious and growing global environmental problem. There are enormous quantities of input each year…
    Tags: features, environment
  • New global rules curb unrestricted plastic waste exports
    30
    New global rules curb unrestricted plastic waste exportsGovernments at the 14th Conference of the Parties (COP14) of the Basel Convention acted to restrict rampant plastic waste exports by requiring countries to obtain prior informed consent before exporting contaminated or mixed plastic waste. A deluge of plastic waste exports from developed countries has polluted developing countries in Southeast…
    Tags: features, environment

Melting ice sheets over the past 300 years raised sea levels 18 metres

by

It is well known that climate-induced sea level rise is a major threat. New research has found that previous ice loss events could have caused sea-level rise at rates of around 3.6 metres per century, offering vital clues as to what lies ahead should climate change continue unabated.

A team of scientists, led by researchers from Durham University, used geological records of past sea levels to shed light on the ice sheets responsible for a rapid pulse of sea-level rise in Earth’s recent past.

Geological records tell us that, at the end of the last ice age around 14,600 years ago, sea levels rose at ten times the current rate due to Meltwater Pulse 1A (MWP-1A); a 500 year, ~18 metre sea-level rise event. [Read more…] about Melting ice sheets over the past 300 years raised sea levels 18 metres

Related Posts

  • Can extreme melt destabilize ice sheets?
    38
    Can extreme melt destabilize ice sheets?Nearly a decade ago, global news outlets reported vast ice melt in the Arctic as sapphire lakes glimmered across the previously frozen Greenland Ice Sheet, one of the most important contributors to sea-level rise. Now researchers have revealed the long-term impact of that extreme melt. Using a new approach to…
    Tags: ice, sheet, features, environment
  • Antarctica remains the wild card for sea-level rise estimates through 2100
    37
    Antarctica remains the wild card for sea-level rise estimates through 2100A massive collaborative research project covered in the journal Nature this week offers projections to the year 2100 of future sea-level rise from all sources of land ice, offering the most complete projections created to date. "This work synthesizes improvements over the last decade in climate models, ice sheet and glacier…
    Tags: ice, rise, sea-level, sheet, climate, environment
  • Sea levels influence eruptions on volcanic island
    35
    Sea levels influence eruptions on volcanic islandThe rise and fall of sea levels influence the likelihood of volcanic eruptions on the Greek island of Santorini, new research led by Oxford Brookes University has discovered. Analysing the timings of eruptions over hundreds of thousands of years, the researchers found that a 40 metre fall in sea level…
    Tags: sea, climate, levels, ice, environment
  • Ice-free Arctic summers could happen on early side of predictions
    32
    Ice-free Arctic summers could happen on early side of predictionsThe Arctic Ocean could become ice-free in the summer in the next 20 years due to a natural, long-term warming phase in the tropical Pacific that adds to human-caused warming, according to a new study. Computer models predict climate change will cause the Arctic to be nearly free of sea…
    Tags: ice, sea, will, climate, years, ocean
  • Hidden mangrove forest in the Yucatan peninsula reveals ancient sea levels
    31
    Hidden mangrove forest in the Yucatan peninsula reveals ancient sea levelsDeep in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula, an ancient mangrove ecosystem flourishes more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the nearest ocean. This is unusual because mangroves – salt-tolerant trees, shrubs, and palms – are typically found along tropical and subtropical coastlines. A new study led by researchers across…
    Tags: climate, years, ocean, sea, sea-level, levels, features