CHICAGO (Reuters) - The year 2012 was the warmest on record for the contiguous United States, beating the previous record by a full degree in temperature, a government climate agency said on Tuesday.
Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the average temperature in 2012 in the contiguous United States was 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit (12.94 degrees Celsius), 3.2 degrees above the average recorded during the 20th century and 1.0 degree above 1998, until now the hottest on record. The contiguous United States excludes Alaska and Hawaii.
The agency also confirmed what many farmers in the nation's midsection and many residents of the western part of the country already knew: 2012 was drier than average.
The year was 15th driest year on record, it said. At the peak of the heat in July 2012, 61 percent of the country was in drought, NOAA said, including the nation's breadbasket of the Midwest, as well as the Southwest and Mountain West, where wildfires charred 9.2 million acres.
The agency's U.S. Climate Extremes Index, which tracks volatility in temperature and precipitation as well as the number of tropical cyclones making landfall, was twice as active as normal in 2012, the agency said. Only 1998 had more extreme weather, NOAA said.
There were 11 weather-related disasters in the continental United States during 2012, with losses topping $1 billion, including Hurricanes Sandy and Isaac and a series of tornadoes in the Great Plains, Texas and the Ohio Valley, it said.
Among the other findings released on Tuesday:
* Every state in the contiguous U.S. experienced above-average annual temperatures in 2012. Nineteen had a record warm year and an additional 26 had one of their 10 warmest.
* Spring started off with the warmest March on record, followed by the fourth-warmest April and the second-warmest May. The season's temperature was 5.2 degrees Fahrenheit above average, making it the warmest spring on record, surpassing the previous record by 2.0 degrees, the agency said.
* The above-average temperatures during the spring continued into summer. The heat peaked in July with an average temperature of 76.9 degrees Fahrenheit (24.94 degrees Celsius), 3.6 degrees above average, making it the hottest month ever observed in the continental United States.
* An estimated 99.1 million people - nearly one-third of the nation's population - experienced 10 or more days during the summer when temperatures exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the agency said.
* There were fewer-than-average tornadoes in 2012. Although the season got off to a busy start with large outbreaks in March and April, May and June - typically the most active months of the year - there were fewer than half the normal number of tornados. The final tornado count for 2012 was less than 1,000, NOAA said, the smallest number since 2002.
* While Hawaii and Alaska were outside the area where the hottest weather hit last year, NOAA said those two states had unusual weather of their own during the year. Alaska was cooler and slightly wetter than average during 2012, the agency said. In Hawaii, drought conditions spread during the year, with 63.3 percent of the state experiencing drought by the end of the year.
(Reporting by James B. Kelleher; Editing by Greg McCune and Tim Dobbyn)
This article is brought to you by DATING SERVICE.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Monday, January 7, 2013
Earth's Forecast Looks Warm and Full of Volcano Eruptions
Discovered: Global warming could cause more lava flow; humans started popping pills ages ago; babies begin acquiring language in womb; Mars astronauts would be very sleepy.
RELATED: Gay Marriage, Beach Volleyball, and Disney
Cloudy with a chance of lava. We know about the rising sea levels and increased incidence of superstorms associated with global warming. But here's another nasty side-effect of unrestrained climate change: more volcano eruptions. A new study from Germany's GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel finds that global warming could exacerbate Earth's igneous activity. By sifting through layers of volcanic ash at the bottom of Central American seabeds, the scientists reconstructed the timeline of eruptions stretching back over 460,000 years. 'In times of global warming, the glaciers are melting on the continents relatively quickly,' says GEOMAR geophysicist Marion Jegen. 'At the same time, the sea level rises. The weight on the continents decreases, while the weight on the oceanic tectonic plates increases. Thus, the stress changes within the Earth to open more routes for ascending magma.' [Scientific American]
RELATED: Earth Could Be 11 Degrees Warmer by 2100; Never-Before-Seen Whales Wash Ashore
Ancient pills treated sore eyes. Lest we think that self-medicating is something thoroughly modern, University of Pisa researchers have found that humans were popping pills as early as 140 BC. The place: ancient Rome. The affliction: sore eyes. The remedy: zinc carbonates hydrozincite and smithsonite, the same materials used in 21st century skin and eye treatments. 'To our knowledge, these are the oldest medical tablets ever analysed,' says lead researcher Erika Ribechini about the sampling of pills found on a wrecked cargo ship off the coast of Italy. 'Findings of such ancient medicines are extremely rare, so preservation of the Pozzino tablets is a very lucky case.' [New Scientist]
RELATED: Should Marijuana Dealers Unionize?
Language acquisition begins in the womb. Researchers have noticed that babies respond with familiarity to their parents' native tongues from the moment they're born, but seem to perceive other languages as unfamiliar. Pacific Lutheran University psychologist Christine Moon says that this suggests language acquisition begins while babies are still gestating. 'It seems that there is some prenatal learning of speech sounds, but we do not yet know how much,' Moon says. She and her colleagues reached this conclusion by studying 80 newborns, half in the United States and the other 40 in Sweden. They piped vowels associated with each country's respective language through headphones, observing how long the babies would suck their pacifiers (when they stopped, a new syllable would be triggered). They observed longer stretches of pacifier sucking when babies heard foreign syllables, suggesting that they were more interested in these strange sounds and more familiar with their native syllables. [Science News]
RELATED: Science Has a New Drug to Erase Your Painful Memories
A trip to Mars would make astronauts very sleepy. Inspring as a manned trip to Mars would surely be, astronaut walking on the red planet might not be as spunky as the Apollo crew that hopped so energetically around the moon. Simulations done by the Mars500 team in Moscow suggest that astronauts undertaking the trip from Earth to Mars would get sleepy and sedentary during the long journey. Six volunteers between the ages of 27 to 38 who participated in Mars500 committed to a 520 mission simulation. At the end of the study, they tended to sleep more and favor leisure activities like playing video games or reading books. Commenting on these findings, Gloria Leon of the University of Minnesota says, 'What they're showing is that NASA and other organizations need to pay close attention to developing some measures that will prevent hypokinesis.' [Science Now]
This article is brought to you by MATCH.
RELATED: Gay Marriage, Beach Volleyball, and Disney
Cloudy with a chance of lava. We know about the rising sea levels and increased incidence of superstorms associated with global warming. But here's another nasty side-effect of unrestrained climate change: more volcano eruptions. A new study from Germany's GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel finds that global warming could exacerbate Earth's igneous activity. By sifting through layers of volcanic ash at the bottom of Central American seabeds, the scientists reconstructed the timeline of eruptions stretching back over 460,000 years. 'In times of global warming, the glaciers are melting on the continents relatively quickly,' says GEOMAR geophysicist Marion Jegen. 'At the same time, the sea level rises. The weight on the continents decreases, while the weight on the oceanic tectonic plates increases. Thus, the stress changes within the Earth to open more routes for ascending magma.' [Scientific American]
RELATED: Earth Could Be 11 Degrees Warmer by 2100; Never-Before-Seen Whales Wash Ashore
Ancient pills treated sore eyes. Lest we think that self-medicating is something thoroughly modern, University of Pisa researchers have found that humans were popping pills as early as 140 BC. The place: ancient Rome. The affliction: sore eyes. The remedy: zinc carbonates hydrozincite and smithsonite, the same materials used in 21st century skin and eye treatments. 'To our knowledge, these are the oldest medical tablets ever analysed,' says lead researcher Erika Ribechini about the sampling of pills found on a wrecked cargo ship off the coast of Italy. 'Findings of such ancient medicines are extremely rare, so preservation of the Pozzino tablets is a very lucky case.' [New Scientist]
RELATED: Should Marijuana Dealers Unionize?
Language acquisition begins in the womb. Researchers have noticed that babies respond with familiarity to their parents' native tongues from the moment they're born, but seem to perceive other languages as unfamiliar. Pacific Lutheran University psychologist Christine Moon says that this suggests language acquisition begins while babies are still gestating. 'It seems that there is some prenatal learning of speech sounds, but we do not yet know how much,' Moon says. She and her colleagues reached this conclusion by studying 80 newborns, half in the United States and the other 40 in Sweden. They piped vowels associated with each country's respective language through headphones, observing how long the babies would suck their pacifiers (when they stopped, a new syllable would be triggered). They observed longer stretches of pacifier sucking when babies heard foreign syllables, suggesting that they were more interested in these strange sounds and more familiar with their native syllables. [Science News]
RELATED: Science Has a New Drug to Erase Your Painful Memories
A trip to Mars would make astronauts very sleepy. Inspring as a manned trip to Mars would surely be, astronaut walking on the red planet might not be as spunky as the Apollo crew that hopped so energetically around the moon. Simulations done by the Mars500 team in Moscow suggest that astronauts undertaking the trip from Earth to Mars would get sleepy and sedentary during the long journey. Six volunteers between the ages of 27 to 38 who participated in Mars500 committed to a 520 mission simulation. At the end of the study, they tended to sleep more and favor leisure activities like playing video games or reading books. Commenting on these findings, Gloria Leon of the University of Minnesota says, 'What they're showing is that NASA and other organizations need to pay close attention to developing some measures that will prevent hypokinesis.' [Science Now]
This article is brought to you by MATCH.
AT&T to launch home monitoring service in March
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - AT&T Inc plans to kick off its Digital Life home monitoring service in eight U.S. markets in March, part of its efforts to expand wireless services beyond phones.
The No. 2 U.S. mobile service provider will offer subscriptions with protection from everything from burglars to water leaks and services including remote energy conservation for what it hopes will become a $1 billion business.
Since most people already pay for smartphone data services, operators including AT&T and its rivals Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel are seeking new ways to make money from wireless connections.
AT&T, which first demonstrated the service in May, said on Monday that users would be able to manage it from a Cisco Systems control panel at home or remotely from a smartphone or computer.
It announced its launch plan at its developer conference day before the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and said it aims to expand beyond the initial markets to an additional 50 markets by the end of 2013.
Options will include a video package, which includes the ability to view live video of the outside or inside of the subscribers home, and an energy package, which allows remote control of appliances like lights, heating and air conditioning.
Another package will allow the subscriber to remotely open their door for a pet-sitter or repairman or to check from afar if the doors are opened or closed.
Its water package could detect a water leak and shut of the supply before any flooding occurs. It did not disclose prices.
The security service requires AT&T to build monitoring centers, which will be staffed around the clock so it can respond to emergencies and notify the subscriber as well as police or firefighters.
The service will work on smartphones from rival services as well as devices connected to the AT&T network.
(Reporting By Sinead Carew; Editing by David Gregorio)
This news article is brought to you by SAVING MONEY BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
The No. 2 U.S. mobile service provider will offer subscriptions with protection from everything from burglars to water leaks and services including remote energy conservation for what it hopes will become a $1 billion business.
Since most people already pay for smartphone data services, operators including AT&T and its rivals Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel are seeking new ways to make money from wireless connections.
AT&T, which first demonstrated the service in May, said on Monday that users would be able to manage it from a Cisco Systems control panel at home or remotely from a smartphone or computer.
It announced its launch plan at its developer conference day before the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and said it aims to expand beyond the initial markets to an additional 50 markets by the end of 2013.
Options will include a video package, which includes the ability to view live video of the outside or inside of the subscribers home, and an energy package, which allows remote control of appliances like lights, heating and air conditioning.
Another package will allow the subscriber to remotely open their door for a pet-sitter or repairman or to check from afar if the doors are opened or closed.
Its water package could detect a water leak and shut of the supply before any flooding occurs. It did not disclose prices.
The security service requires AT&T to build monitoring centers, which will be staffed around the clock so it can respond to emergencies and notify the subscriber as well as police or firefighters.
The service will work on smartphones from rival services as well as devices connected to the AT&T network.
(Reporting By Sinead Carew; Editing by David Gregorio)
This news article is brought to you by SAVING MONEY BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Biofuels cause pollution, not as green as thought - study
OSLO (Reuters) - Green schemes to fight climate change by producing more bio-fuels could actually worsen a little-known type of air pollution and cause almost 1,400 premature deaths a year in Europe by 2020, a study showed on Sunday.
The report said trees grown to produce wood fuel - seen as a cleaner alternative to oil and coal - released a chemical into the air that, when mixed with other pollutants, could also reduce farmers' crop yields.
'Growing biofuels is thought to be a good thing because it reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,' said Nick Hewitt, who worked on the study with colleagues from England's Lancaster University.
'What we're saying is 'yes, that's great, but biofuels could also have a detrimental effect on air quality',' he added.
The report, in the journal Nature Climate Change, looked into the impact of a European Union scheme to slow climate change by producing more biofuels.
Hewitt told Reuters there would be a similar impact wherever biofuels were produced in large quantities in areas suffering air pollution, including the United States and China.
Poplar, willow or eucalyptus trees, all used as fast-growing sources of renewable wood fuel, emit high levels of the chemical isoprene as they grow, the study said. Isoprene forms toxic ozone when mixed with other air pollutants in sunlight.
'Large-scale production of biofuels in Europe would have small but significant effects on human mortality and crop yields,' said Hewitt.
'As far as we know, no one has looked at the air quality of growing biofuel crops before,' he added.
The report estimated that ozone from wood-based energy to meet the European Union's 2020 goal would cause nearly 1,400 premature deaths a year, costing society $7.1 billion.
The European plan would also would reduce the annual value of wheat and maize production by $1.5 billion since ozone impairs crop growth, the study added.
LUNG PROBLEMS
Siting new biofuel plantations far away from polluted population centres would help limit ozone formation, the study suggested. Genetic engineering might be used to reduce isoprene emissions, it said.
Ozone can cause lung problems and is blamed for killing about 22,000 people a year in Europe. Overall air pollution, mainly from fossil fuels, causes about 500,000 premature deaths in Europe a year, according to the European Environment Agency.
Sunday's study did not compare the potential damage caused by biofuels to the impact on human health from producing coal, oil or natural gas as part of policies to slow global warming. 'We're not in a position to make that comparison,' Hewitt said.
He noted that the main reason to shift to biofuels was to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, mainly from fossil fuels, that U.N. studies project will become ever more damaging this century.
The United Nations' World Health Organization estimates global warming has caused more than 140,000 deaths annually worldwide since the 1970s.
The biggest impact was recorded in developing nations where the floods, droughts and other disasters blamed on climate change left millions suffering from diarrhea, malnutrition, malaria and dengue fever.
Burning biofuels is viewed as neutral for climate change because plants soak up carbon when they grow and release it when they burn or rot. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, add carbon to the atmosphere from underground stores millions of years old.
Biofuels are often blamed for causing food price spikes by competing for cropland. Responding to such criticisms, the European Commission said last year it aimed to limit crop-based biofuels - such as from maize or sugar - to five percent of transport fuels.
(Editing by Andrew Heavens)
This news article is brought to you by MOVIE GOSSIP NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
The report said trees grown to produce wood fuel - seen as a cleaner alternative to oil and coal - released a chemical into the air that, when mixed with other pollutants, could also reduce farmers' crop yields.
'Growing biofuels is thought to be a good thing because it reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,' said Nick Hewitt, who worked on the study with colleagues from England's Lancaster University.
'What we're saying is 'yes, that's great, but biofuels could also have a detrimental effect on air quality',' he added.
The report, in the journal Nature Climate Change, looked into the impact of a European Union scheme to slow climate change by producing more biofuels.
Hewitt told Reuters there would be a similar impact wherever biofuels were produced in large quantities in areas suffering air pollution, including the United States and China.
Poplar, willow or eucalyptus trees, all used as fast-growing sources of renewable wood fuel, emit high levels of the chemical isoprene as they grow, the study said. Isoprene forms toxic ozone when mixed with other air pollutants in sunlight.
'Large-scale production of biofuels in Europe would have small but significant effects on human mortality and crop yields,' said Hewitt.
'As far as we know, no one has looked at the air quality of growing biofuel crops before,' he added.
The report estimated that ozone from wood-based energy to meet the European Union's 2020 goal would cause nearly 1,400 premature deaths a year, costing society $7.1 billion.
The European plan would also would reduce the annual value of wheat and maize production by $1.5 billion since ozone impairs crop growth, the study added.
LUNG PROBLEMS
Siting new biofuel plantations far away from polluted population centres would help limit ozone formation, the study suggested. Genetic engineering might be used to reduce isoprene emissions, it said.
Ozone can cause lung problems and is blamed for killing about 22,000 people a year in Europe. Overall air pollution, mainly from fossil fuels, causes about 500,000 premature deaths in Europe a year, according to the European Environment Agency.
Sunday's study did not compare the potential damage caused by biofuels to the impact on human health from producing coal, oil or natural gas as part of policies to slow global warming. 'We're not in a position to make that comparison,' Hewitt said.
He noted that the main reason to shift to biofuels was to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, mainly from fossil fuels, that U.N. studies project will become ever more damaging this century.
The United Nations' World Health Organization estimates global warming has caused more than 140,000 deaths annually worldwide since the 1970s.
The biggest impact was recorded in developing nations where the floods, droughts and other disasters blamed on climate change left millions suffering from diarrhea, malnutrition, malaria and dengue fever.
Burning biofuels is viewed as neutral for climate change because plants soak up carbon when they grow and release it when they burn or rot. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, add carbon to the atmosphere from underground stores millions of years old.
Biofuels are often blamed for causing food price spikes by competing for cropland. Responding to such criticisms, the European Commission said last year it aimed to limit crop-based biofuels - such as from maize or sugar - to five percent of transport fuels.
(Editing by Andrew Heavens)
This news article is brought to you by MOVIE GOSSIP NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Google's original Android mascot would have given children everywhere horrible nightmares
It's a good thing that companies don't normally let software engineers produce marketing materials. Exhibit A is Android engineer Dan Morrill, who posted pictures on his Google+ page this week showing his original stand-in concept art for Google's (GOOG) Android logo that he prepared for a presentation. In short, Morrill's sketches are terrifying. Instead of the cute little green "bug man" Android logo that we've all come to love over the past few years, Morrill depicted a menacing, crazy-eyed deathbot that looks as though it was found drawn on the walls of a remote Siberian Soviet-era insane asylum. It's hard to pinpoint the most disturbing aspect of Morrill's doodle: The robot's multicolored spiral eyes, its ladder mouth or the way its pincers look poised to rip out your internal organs. At any rate, it's a good thing that Google wisely decided to not adopt Morrill's design, because the last thing someone wants is a mobile operating system that looks capable of killing you in your sleep.
[More from BGR: First leaked picture of the Samsung Galaxy S IV emerges]
This article was originally published by BGR
This article is brought to you by MATCHMAKING.
[More from BGR: First leaked picture of the Samsung Galaxy S IV emerges]
This article was originally published by BGR
This article is brought to you by MATCHMAKING.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Cost of combating climate change surges as world delays: study
OSLO (Reuters) - An agreement by almost 200 nations to curb rising greenhouse gas emissions from 2020 will be far more costly than taking action now to tackle climate change, according to research published on Wednesday.
Quick measures to cut emissions would give a far better chance of keeping global warming within an agreed U.N. limit of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6F) above pre-industrial times to avert more floods, heatwaves, droughts and rising sea levels.
'If you delay action by 10, 20 years you significantly reduce the chances of meeting the 2 degree target,' said Keywan Riahi, one of the authors of the report at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria.
'It was generally known that costs increase when you delay action. It was not clear how quickly they change,' he told Reuters of the findings in the science journal Nature based on 500 computer-generated scenarios.
It said the timing of cuts in greenhouse gases was more important than other uncertainties - about things like how the climate system works, future energy demand, carbon prices or new energy technologies.
The study indicated that an immediate global price of $30 a tonne on emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas, would give a roughly 60 percent chance of limiting warming to below 2C.
Wait until 2020 and the carbon price would have to be around $100 a tonne to retain that 60 percent chance, Riahi told Reuters of the study made with other experts in Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia and Germany.
And a delay of action until 2030 might put the 2C limit - which some of the more pessimistic scientists say is already unattainable - completely out of reach, whatever the carbon price.
'The window for effective action on climate change is closing quickly,' wrote Steve Hatfield-Dodds of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia in a separate commentary in Nature.
Governments agreed to the 2C limit in 2010, viewing it as a threshold to avert dangerous climate change. Temperatures have already risen by 0.8 degree C (1.4F) since wide use of fossil fuels began 200 years ago.
ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN
After the failure of a 2009 summit in Copenhagen to agree a worldwide accord, almost 200 nations have given themselves until 2015 to work out a global deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions that will enter into force in 2020.
Amid an economic slowdown, many countries at the last U.N. meeting on climate change in Qatar in December expressed reluctance to make quick shifts away from fossil fuels towards cleaner energies such as wind or solar power.
Each U.S. citizen, for instance, emits about 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. There is no global price on carbon, only regional markets - in a European Union trading system, for instance, where industrial emitters must pay of they exceed their CO2 quotas, 2013 prices are about 6.7 euros a tonne.
The report also showed that greener policies, such as more efficient public transport or better-insulated buildings, would raise the chances of meeting the 2C goal.
And fighting climate change would be easier with certain new technologies, such as capturing and burying carbon emissions from power plants and factories. In some scenarios, the 2C goal could not be met unless carbon capture was adopted.
This news article is brought to you by SHOCKING DATING ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
Quick measures to cut emissions would give a far better chance of keeping global warming within an agreed U.N. limit of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6F) above pre-industrial times to avert more floods, heatwaves, droughts and rising sea levels.
'If you delay action by 10, 20 years you significantly reduce the chances of meeting the 2 degree target,' said Keywan Riahi, one of the authors of the report at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria.
'It was generally known that costs increase when you delay action. It was not clear how quickly they change,' he told Reuters of the findings in the science journal Nature based on 500 computer-generated scenarios.
It said the timing of cuts in greenhouse gases was more important than other uncertainties - about things like how the climate system works, future energy demand, carbon prices or new energy technologies.
The study indicated that an immediate global price of $30 a tonne on emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas, would give a roughly 60 percent chance of limiting warming to below 2C.
Wait until 2020 and the carbon price would have to be around $100 a tonne to retain that 60 percent chance, Riahi told Reuters of the study made with other experts in Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia and Germany.
And a delay of action until 2030 might put the 2C limit - which some of the more pessimistic scientists say is already unattainable - completely out of reach, whatever the carbon price.
'The window for effective action on climate change is closing quickly,' wrote Steve Hatfield-Dodds of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia in a separate commentary in Nature.
Governments agreed to the 2C limit in 2010, viewing it as a threshold to avert dangerous climate change. Temperatures have already risen by 0.8 degree C (1.4F) since wide use of fossil fuels began 200 years ago.
ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN
After the failure of a 2009 summit in Copenhagen to agree a worldwide accord, almost 200 nations have given themselves until 2015 to work out a global deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions that will enter into force in 2020.
Amid an economic slowdown, many countries at the last U.N. meeting on climate change in Qatar in December expressed reluctance to make quick shifts away from fossil fuels towards cleaner energies such as wind or solar power.
Each U.S. citizen, for instance, emits about 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. There is no global price on carbon, only regional markets - in a European Union trading system, for instance, where industrial emitters must pay of they exceed their CO2 quotas, 2013 prices are about 6.7 euros a tonne.
The report also showed that greener policies, such as more efficient public transport or better-insulated buildings, would raise the chances of meeting the 2C goal.
And fighting climate change would be easier with certain new technologies, such as capturing and burying carbon emissions from power plants and factories. In some scenarios, the 2C goal could not be met unless carbon capture was adopted.
This news article is brought to you by SHOCKING DATING ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Seafloor Observatory Reveals Arctic Ocean Environment
A new observatory at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean will help keeps tabs on the delicate environment, relaying information continuously throughout the year for the first time ever, according to a release from Canada's University of Victoria, which runs the station.
The observatory includes an underwater camera, microphone and a device that can measure ice thickness, as well as instruments to measure temperature, salinity and other data that can be used to monitor the health of the environment. There is also an above-ground weather station to track local weather patterns and climate data.
University of Victoria researchers finished installing the observatory's instruments in late 2012 before frigid conditions could halt their progress. It's located in Cambridge Bay, in the Canadian province of Nunavut, north of the Arctic Circle. Information from the observatory can be found online.
The design of the new observatory is based in part on two larger networks of seafloor monitors off the coast of British Columbia's Victoria Island, named VENUS and NEPTUNE. The latter is made up of six different instrument stations that gather data on plate tectonics, hydrothermal vents and deep sea creatures.
The new observatory will 'support longer-term science-based understanding of the dramatic changes taking place in Arctic waters,' said Kim Juniper, with NEPTUNE Canada, in a statement from the University of Victoria. 'These changes include the historic receding of the northern sea ice and its impact on marine ecosystems.'
Reach Douglas Main at dmain@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @Douglas_Main. Follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter @OAPlanet. We're also on Facebook and Google+.
This article is brought to you by PERSONALS.
The observatory includes an underwater camera, microphone and a device that can measure ice thickness, as well as instruments to measure temperature, salinity and other data that can be used to monitor the health of the environment. There is also an above-ground weather station to track local weather patterns and climate data.
University of Victoria researchers finished installing the observatory's instruments in late 2012 before frigid conditions could halt their progress. It's located in Cambridge Bay, in the Canadian province of Nunavut, north of the Arctic Circle. Information from the observatory can be found online.
The design of the new observatory is based in part on two larger networks of seafloor monitors off the coast of British Columbia's Victoria Island, named VENUS and NEPTUNE. The latter is made up of six different instrument stations that gather data on plate tectonics, hydrothermal vents and deep sea creatures.
The new observatory will 'support longer-term science-based understanding of the dramatic changes taking place in Arctic waters,' said Kim Juniper, with NEPTUNE Canada, in a statement from the University of Victoria. 'These changes include the historic receding of the northern sea ice and its impact on marine ecosystems.'
Reach Douglas Main at dmain@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @Douglas_Main. Follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter @OAPlanet. We're also on Facebook and Google+.
- On Ice: Stunning Images of Canadian Arctic
- Images of Melt: Earth's Vanishing Ice
- Video: Powerful Arctic Cyclone Wreaks Havoc on Sea Ice
This article is brought to you by PERSONALS.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)