ARCTIC ICE MELTING FASTER THAN IN 2007
As this BBC report details, the Arctic ice is already melting faster than it did in 2007, the year in which it shrank to a record minimum, which is leading scientists to predict that Arctic summers will be ice-free within 5-10 years.
That prediction used to be for 2080, then it was moved forward to 2050, then to 2030 (now one leading scientist has been reported elsewhere as saying that it might even happen this year).
Friday, 20 June 2008
Monday, 16 June 2008
ANTARCTIC ICE BREAKING UP IN WINTER
Even winter is not protecting the inexorable breakup of Antarctic ice. The Wilkins iceshelf, off the southern tip of South America, has just lost another 160 square kilometres. Now a strip only 2.7 kilometres wide is left to protect thousands of square kilometres, reports
ScienceDaily.
Even winter is not protecting the inexorable breakup of Antarctic ice. The Wilkins iceshelf, off the southern tip of South America, has just lost another 160 square kilometres. Now a strip only 2.7 kilometres wide is left to protect thousands of square kilometres, reports
ScienceDaily.
Monday, 9 June 2008
DEADLY EFFECT OF RISE IN OCEAN ACIDITY
Scientists studying life round natural CO2 vents in the Mediterranean have found exactly the effect predicted--a significant drop in biodiversity--reports the BBC.
The oceans are thought to have absorbed about half the extra CO2 put into the atmosphere in the industrial age, which has lowered its pH by 0.1, from 8.2 to 8.1, i.e., made it more acidic (pH is the measure of acidity and alkalinity, with 0 being very acidic, 7 being neutral, and 14 is very alkaline--seawater is mildly alkaline). Adding CO2 to water creates carbonic acid; the more added the more the acid is produced.
Round the vents studied, the pH went as low as 7.4. Even at 7.8 to 7.9 the number of species was down 30%.
The leader of the research said 'It's clear that marine food-webs as we know them are going to alter, and biodiversity will decrease. Those impacts are inevitable because acidification is inevitable--we've started it and we can't stop it.'
Scientists studying life round natural CO2 vents in the Mediterranean have found exactly the effect predicted--a significant drop in biodiversity--reports the BBC.
The oceans are thought to have absorbed about half the extra CO2 put into the atmosphere in the industrial age, which has lowered its pH by 0.1, from 8.2 to 8.1, i.e., made it more acidic (pH is the measure of acidity and alkalinity, with 0 being very acidic, 7 being neutral, and 14 is very alkaline--seawater is mildly alkaline). Adding CO2 to water creates carbonic acid; the more added the more the acid is produced.
Round the vents studied, the pH went as low as 7.4. Even at 7.8 to 7.9 the number of species was down 30%.
The leader of the research said 'It's clear that marine food-webs as we know them are going to alter, and biodiversity will decrease. Those impacts are inevitable because acidification is inevitable--we've started it and we can't stop it.'
WHY DIESEL PARTICLES CAUSE DISEASE
How the particles emmitted by diesel engines increase the risk of cardiovasulcar disease and mortality has now been mapped, reports ScienceDaily.
The dissertation clarifies previously unknown mechanisms that can explain why air-pollution in particulate form causes heart-attacks, stroke, and increased mortality. It shows that diesel exhaust causes a rapid deterioration of the function of blood-vessels that persists for up to 24 hours after exposure.
The EKG findings in heart patients indicate acute heart effects that are consistent with increased risk of heart-attack in connection with exposure to traffic.
How the particles emmitted by diesel engines increase the risk of cardiovasulcar disease and mortality has now been mapped, reports ScienceDaily.
The dissertation clarifies previously unknown mechanisms that can explain why air-pollution in particulate form causes heart-attacks, stroke, and increased mortality. It shows that diesel exhaust causes a rapid deterioration of the function of blood-vessels that persists for up to 24 hours after exposure.
The EKG findings in heart patients indicate acute heart effects that are consistent with increased risk of heart-attack in connection with exposure to traffic.
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