ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate NewsEarth Science News. From earthquakes and hurricanes to global warming and energy use, read the latest research news here.Solar Collector Could Change Asphalt Roads Into Renewable Energy Source- August 14, 2008 Scientists have found a way to use asphalt's heat-soaking property for an alternative energy source by developing a solar collector that could turn roads and parking lots into ubiquitous -- and inexpensive sources of electricity and hot water.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080812135702.htm Successful Series Of Measurements In Arctic Sea Ice- August 14, 2008 The results of the last year's research have shown that changes in the ice cover have caused a decrease of some groups of animals living at the bottom of the deep sea. The ice edge is a biologically very active zone, in which algae increasingly grow, die , sink to the ground and serve as nutrients. If the ice edge shifts, it leads to changes in the availability of nutrients in the AWI-Hausgarten. What this year's thick ice cover brings about and whether the small and bigger animals of the deep..http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811092458.htm Is It Too Late To Save The Great Migrations- August 14, 2008 Long gone are the days when hundreds of thousands of bison grazed the Great Plains, millions of passenger pigeons darkened the skies while migrating to and from their breeding grounds, and some 12.5 trillion Rocky Mountain locusts crowded an area exceeding the size of California. The subject of great migrations -- lost and still to be saved -- is explored in two new articles in PLoS Biology.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080728215330.htm Microbes, By Latitudes And Altitudes, Shed New Light On Life's Diversity- August 14, 2008 Microbial biologists may not have Jimmy Buffett's music from 1977 in mind, but they are changing attitudes about evolutionary diversity on Earth, from oceanic latitudes to mountainous altitudes. They are showing that temperature primarily drives the richness of bacterial diversity in oceans, and that life, plant and microbial, by altitude in the Rocky Mountains may be close, but not exactly, to what biologists have theorized for years.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080811200016.htm Air Pollution Damages More Than Lungs: Heart And Blood Vessels Suffer Too- August 14, 2008 Air pollution has both short- and long-term toxic effects that injure the heart and blood vessels, increase rates of hospitalization for cardiac illness and can even cause death.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080813183554.htm Turning Waste Material Into Ethanol- August 14, 2008 Researchers have developed a method for converting crop residue, wood pulp, animal waste and garbage into ethanol. The process first turns the waste material into synthesis gas, or syngas, and nanoscale catalysts then convert the syngas into ethanol.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080813164640.htm Southern Ocean Seals Dive Deep For Climate Data- August 14, 2008 Elephant seals are helping scientists overcome a critical blind-spot in their ability to detect change in Southern Ocean circulation and sea ice production and its influence on global climate.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080812135658.htm Genomics Of Plant-based Biofuels- August 14, 2008 Genomics is accelerating improvements for converting plant biomass into biofuel -- as an alternative to fossil fuel for the nation's transportation needs. Now researchers lay out a path forward for how emerging genomic technologies will contribute to a substantially different biofuels future as compared to the present corn-based ethanol industry -- and in part mitigate the food-versus-fuel debate.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080813144357.htm Plastics Suspect In Lobster Illness- August 14, 2008 The search for what causes a debilitating shell disease affecting lobsters from Long Island Sound to Maine has led one Marine Biological Laboratory visiting scientist to suspect environmental alkyphenols, formed primarily by the breakdown of hard transparent plastics.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814104833.htm Energy Storage For Hybrid Vehicles- August 14, 2008 Hybrid technology combines the advantages of combustion engines and electric motors. Scientists are developing high-performance energy storage units, a prerequisite for effective hybrid motors.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814091059.htm |