Gizmorama
April 20, 2011
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Good Morning,
The most accurate method for mapping historical climate data
is through the study of leaves. This method has been used for
some time, but scientists have added more variables to their
research, boosting precision even higher. Check out the first
article for more details.
Until Next Time,
Erin
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Tree leaves can yield climate history
WACO, Texas - Using size and shape traits of leaves to recon-
struct past climates over 120 million years is more accurate
than other current methods, U.S. researchers say. Geologists
at Baylor University and Wesleyan University collected thou-
sands of leaves from different species of plants from 92
climatically different and plant-diverse locations on every
continent except Africa and Antarctica, a Baylor release
said Monday. "Paleobotanists have long used models based on
leaf size and shape to reconstruct ancient climates," Daniel
Peppe, assistant professor of geology at Baylor, said.
"However most of these models use just a single variable or
variables that are not directly linked to climate, which
obviously limits the models' predictive power." Using mul-
tiple variables, the researchers developed mean annual temp-
erature and mean annual precipitation models and compared
them to nine well-studied fossil floras. The scientists found
leaves in cold climates typically have larger, more numerous
teeth, while leaves in wet climates are larger but have
fewer, smaller teeth. The relationships between climate and
leaf size and shape is affected by leaf type -- deciduous
versus evergreen -- local water availability and the
evolutionary history of leaf types, the researchers said.
"Our study demonstrates that the inclusion of additional
leaf traits that are functionally linked to climate improves
paleoclimate reconstructions," Peppe said.
Students develop mind control of computer
BEERSHEBA, Israel - Students at an Israeli university say new
technology could enable people to operate a computer without
using a keyboard or mouse, only their brainwaves. Software
engineering students at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
have developed a system featuring a helmet with 14 electro-
encephalography connect points that can sense brain activity,
a BGU release said Monday. Previous attempts to develop
devices to read brainwaves and operate specific programs
were cumbersome and not workable outside of a laboratory
setting, the release said. In a recent demonstration, a
student composed and sent a hands-free e-mail using only
thought combined with the adaptive hardware. "The technology
is designed to assist those who are physically disabled who
might otherwise be unable to manipulate a computer mouse or
keyboard," BGU professor Rami Puzis, one of the faculty mem-
bers supervising the students, said.
EPA: Greenhouse gases down in latest study
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has re-
leased it annual U.S. greenhouse gas inventory, reporting a
drop in 2009 of 6.1 percent from the previous year. The re-
duction was attributed to a decrease in fuel and electricity
consumption across all U.S. economic sectors, and EPA release
said Monday. Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases
in 2009 -- carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydro-
fluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride --
were equivalent to 7,311 million tons of carbon dioxide, the
EPA said. The EPA tracks annual greenhouse gases at the nat-
ional level and also calculates carbon dioxide emissions that
are removed from the atmosphere by carbon "sinks," for ex-
ample through the uptake of carbon by forests, vegetation
and soils. The report indicates that despite the drop in
2009, overall emissions have grown by more than 7.3 percent
from 1990 to 2009.
Robot readings in Japan nuke plant 'harsh'
TOKYO - Remote-control robots at the quake-damaged Fukushima
nuclear plant in Japan have measured a "harsh environment"
for humans to work in, officials said. The measurements,
which will complicate efforts to stabilize the damaged re-
actors, came a day after the company operating the Fukushima
Daiichi plant said it would take until the end of the year
to bring the crisis under control, the BBC reported Monday.
Robots measured elevated levels of radiation inside the
buildings housing reactors Nos. 1 and 3 Sunday. Plant oper-
ator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said exposure to the radiation
levels measured in the No. 3 reactor for 4 1/2 hours would
exceed the emergency safety limit for power plant workers.
"It's a harsh environment for humans to work inside," said
Hidehiko Nishiyama of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety
Agency. Operator TEPCO said it hoped to decrease radiation
leaks in three months and to cool the reactors within nine
months.
Arctic coastline eroding with warming
POTSDAM, Germany - Shorelines in the arctic are crumbling
and eroding with climate change as the permafrost holding
them together melts when sea ice disappears, researchers say.
With sea ice diminishing, waves are pounding the shore and
causing the permafrost to thaw, releasing the soil it holds,
which is then washed into the ocean, NewScientist.com re-
ported Monday. A study by the Alfred Wegener Institute for
Polar and Marine Research in Potsdam, Germany, says erosion
along 62,000 miles of Arctic coast -- nearly a quarter of the
total coastline -- is occurring at an average rate of about
20 inches per year. If the warming climate keeps coastal
waters ice-free after summer ends, autumn storms can dig
deep into the permafrost, a report issued this week by the
International Arctic Science Committee said. The most dram-
atic effects have been observed in the Beaufort Sea north of
Alaska, where ice-rich bluffs have retreated an average 45
feet a year from 2002 to 2007, already forcing some coastal
communities to relocate.
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