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Archive for October 31st, 2015
Antarctic Ice Sheet Is Reportedly Gaining More Mass Than Is Losing
Posted by Inquisitr: Jennifer Deutschmann on October 31st, 2015
Inquisitr: The Antarctic ice sheet is gaining more mass than it is losing, according to recent studies conducted by NASA. Researchers admit some glaciers are indeed thinning. However, snow accumulation continues to offset the loss by increasing the mass of the continent`s overall land ice.
As explained by the National Snow & Ice Data Center, ice sheets, which are also referred to as glacial land ice, are solid masses of ice covering a mass of land. They are specifically defined by their size, which must...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Antarctic Ice Sheet Is Reportedly Gaining More Mass Than Is LosingMigration: Alaskan Trout Retire Early and Feed On Salmon Eggs To Avoid Ocean Predators
Posted by Nature World: Samantha Mathewson on October 31st, 2015
Nature World: Seasonal migrations are hard on fish that have to travel from their river homes to oceans and back each year. To avoid the hassle, older Alaskan trout opt for an early retirement at the point when they have grown big and strong enough to survive off of their own fat reserves, according to a University of Washington (UW) study.
"As far as we know, no one has ever seen a population of large-bodied fish come back to freshwater and just park there for the rest of their lives," Morgan Bond, lead author...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Migration: Alaskan Trout Retire Early and Feed On Salmon Eggs To Avoid Ocean PredatorsDid Dust Bowl’s ravages end in 1940s? New study says no
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on October 31st, 2015
ScienceDaily: A recent study led by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Goodrich Chair of Excellence Thanos Papanicolaou could very well change the way we view the health of our nation's soil, even potentially altering history books.
The paper, soon-to-be published in the Journal of Geophysical Research--Biogeosciences, focuses on modeling carbon budgets in agricultural areas.
A carbon budget is one measure of the amount of health or energy in a particular area. The study found that carbon budgets in...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Did Dust Bowl’s ravages end in 1940s? New study says noNASA study: Net gains for Antarctic ice sheets
Posted by United Press International: Brooks Hays on October 31st, 2015
United Press International: According to a new NASA study, ice sheet gains outweigh losses on the Antarctic continent. The findings conflict with those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which in 2013 suggested gains were not keeping up with losses.
The new study, published in the Journal of Glaciology, doesn't totally undermine the handful of studies showing significant glacier, ice sheet and sea ice shrinkage. Instead, if offers evidence of previously unaccounted gains.
The new tallies reveal an annual...
What it will take to put Snake River dam breaching back on the table?
Posted by Idaho Statesman: Rocky Barker on October 31st, 2015
Idaho Statesman: The science and economics supporting breaching the four lower Snake River dams has only gotten stronger. But anyone who says the politics has changed are wishing and hoping, not accurately reading the tea leaves.
A recent story by Nicholas Geranios of The Associated Press said that “the idea has gained new momentum,” after 200 boats did a floating protest on the Snake River October 3.
“The groundswell that is occurring right now to remove the four dams is like nothing I’ve seen since 1998,”...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on What it will take to put Snake River dam breaching back on the table?Superstorm Sandy revisited
Posted by Herald News: Editorial on October 31st, 2015
Herald News: IT'S NOW been three years since Superstorm Sandy ravaged New Jersey, plunging much of the state into darkness, causing billions of dollars in property damage and disrupting thousands of people's lives. Most attention was paid to the Jersey Shore, but the storm that hit the state on Oct. 29, 2012 substantially damaged such low-lying areas in northern New Jersey as Hoboken, Little Ferry and Moonachie. And it was to Moonachie that Governor Christie came Thursday to note the third anniversary of the...
Scientists Reveal a Bit of Good News About Greenland’s Great Melt
Posted by Agence France-Presse: Emily J. Gertz on October 31st, 2015
Agence France-Presse: Climate change is speeding up the melting of the great sheet of ice covering Greenland, a frozen mass the size of Alaska that holds an estimated 10 percent of the world’s ice--and scientists are sure of it.
If the entire ice sheet melted, it would raise the level of the sea by more than 20 feet worldwide.
But within that certainty, there are still many open and important questions. How much faster is the ice sheet melting? Is that melt affecting the ice sheet in other ways? What does it mean...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Scientists Reveal a Bit of Good News About Greenland’s Great MeltTwo missing after Texas floods as storms move east through state
Posted by Associated Press: Tornado Reported Near Houston Amid Series Of Water Rescues on October 31st, 2015
Associated Press: Another round of storms and strong winds was moving east across Texas on Saturday, and two people were missing from earlier flash floods in the Austin area.
In the Houston area, an official said a tornado has been reported in southern Harris County, and officials were checking on any possible damage there.
Francisco Sanchez of the Harris County Office of Emergency Management said four to seven inches of rain has fallen since Friday night and more was expected. He said many locations had high...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Two missing after Texas floods as storms move east through stateAt sea level, climate change in Georgia is more than theoretical
Posted by Atlanta Journal Constitution: Jim Galloway on October 31st, 2015
Atlanta Journal Constitution: At the 35,000-foot level, climate change remains a matter of loud dispute among Republicans.
In the undercard portion of last Wednesday’s CNBC presidential debate, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham pushed the GOP envelope and acknowledged that “we’re heating up the planet.” Likewise, former New York Gov. George Pataki declared it “not appropriate” to think that human activity isn’t at least partially to blame.
But those are outlying opinions, offset by hardcore skepticism expressed by Republicans closer...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on At sea level, climate change in Georgia is more than theoreticalParis 2015: Carbon promises lock in 2.7 degrees warming, UN says
Posted by Sydney Morning Herald: Peter Hannam on October 31st, 2015
Sydney Morning Herald: The world remains on course to exceed dangerous temperature increases even if nations carry out pledges they make at next month's global climate summit in Paris, the United Nations says.
An assessment by the UN of 146 national goals and those of the European Union covering about 86 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions found they would cut average per capita pollution by as much as 8 per cent by 2025 and 9 per cent by 2030 compared with the current trajectory.
So-called Intended Nationally Determined...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Paris 2015: Carbon promises lock in 2.7 degrees warming, UN says