In less than 100 seconds, Philippe Blondel explains why the oceans are ringing with useful noises. Visit physicsworld.com for more videos, webinars and podcasts.
By: Physics World.
The oceans remain a realm of mystery, with an astonishing 95% still unmapped, but their secrets are starting to be revealed. Journey into the deep to explore exciting discoveries like sea sponges with cancer-fighting potential and underwater mountain ranges that may hold the clue to life’s origin. ABC News’ Bill Weir moderates a discussion with marine biologist Sylvia Earle, oceanographer David Gallo and Fabien Cousteau. Rare footage of pioneer Jacques Cousteau will take us back to the early days of passionate ocean exploration; the premiere of “behind-the-scenes” footage from Jacques Perrin’s new film Oceans will inspire with a vision of what lies ahead.
By: World Science Festival.
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Navigating ice, ocean, and land, brave women and men have always used the stars for guidance. Just think of the three kings who followed a star to witness the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem 2015 years ago. They were 6 days late. Keeping track of time track was always difficult for navigating, especially at sea and the British Navy lost many ships as a result of poor time keeping. There are books written on the history of determining longitude, the best of which is called, well, “Longitude.” Now why would I ponder these questions and histories two hours before I am boarding the Swedish icebreaker Oden to travel by sea and ice to Petermann Glacier?
The Global Position System (GPS) that many of us have in our smart phones or tiny hand-held devices makes navigating easy. Both measure time as our civilization has put “stars” into space that guide…
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When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005, more than 1800 people in New Orleans, Louisiana, lost their lives. Many of these deaths, though, didn’t come from the 200 mile-per-hour winds or the heavy rains: They resulted from a devastating storm surge, a phenomenon that scientists are trying to predict with more accuracy than ever before.
Storm surges are unusual rises in water levels caused by a storm. They can be enormously destructive; the storm surge from Hurricane Katrina measured almost 27 feet above the normally dry ground, wreaking havoc when it made landfall.
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By: Inside Science.
By STEPHANIE STROM
“We now have four of what we call G4s in the business” — members of the family’s fourth generation, Jim Perdue said, and they spent time in other companies.
Published: July 31, 2015 at 08:00PM
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I happened across a blog post (from 2013) by the mysterious blogger known as (*) titled “Climate Sensitivity and the 33C Discrepancy“. If I could, I’d reblog it here, but their blogging site is not WordPress-friendly. WHT is now posting future things at context/Earth and I will follow. WHT produces a lot of interesting sites and posts, like a “stochastic analysis of log sensitivity to CO2“, and “spatial and temporal correlations of wind“.
Anyway, “Climate Sensitivity and the 33C Discrepancy” gives (yet) another way to prove, without further obfuscation or distraction, the connection between increasing atmospheric CO2 and global climate change.
Coral reefs teem with life, colour and beauty. Experts involved in coral reef research, monitoring and conservation share their passion for this underwater paradise and reflect on their hopes and fears for its future. Learn about a Caribbean conservation effort: http://bit.ly/YT-Caribbean-Coral-Crusaders
Since it first disappeared in 2014, the missing Malaysian Airlines 370 flight has held the world in its grasp as scientists and search teams have spent hundreds of hours combing the oceans to find the wreckage and give the grieving families some sort of respite from the torture of not knowing where their missing loved ones are. Now, with the discovery of airplane debris on the French island of Reunion, which is off the coast of Madagascar, everyone personally and officially involved with this mystery is feeling a sense of hope knowing that we’re closer to finding the wreckage than we’ve ever been before.
The piece that was found was a flaperon, a piece of the plane that is used to control speed and height. While there is no official confirmation that the flaperon found belongs to the missing MA370 flight, the discovery of a piece of luggage near the flaperon is leading people to believe that this may be the first piece that finally helps solve the puzzle. Another piece of information that is leading to this conclusion is that initial tests have shown that the piece belongs to a Boeing 777 airplane and the only missing 777 in the world is the MA370 flight.
However not everyone is convinced. A number of oceanographers are on both sides of the case — some believe that this is a clue and others say it isn’t. On one side, Charitha Pattiaratchi, an oceanography professor at the University of Western Australia, created a models last year that said the ocean currents would drag the pieces of the plane off the coast of Madagascar within 18 months after the crash, a fact that fits the current date of finding the flaperon. However, other oceanographers, such as Erik van Sebille from Imperial College London, believe that the currents would drag debris towards the Pacific ocean, meaning that the flaperon isn’t part of MA370. Regardless of who is correct, this new discovery is giving hope to hundreds of people and very well may be the key to solving one of aviations biggest mysteries.
If you’d like to read more, the link is here.
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Human beings aren’t the only creatures in this world that make a habit of traveling and changing location throughout there lives. While we may be the only species to actively travel for pleasure, leisure, and education, other species of animal travel vast expenses in the search of food, survival, and a safe place to give birth and raise their young. Many bird species throughout the world undergo massive migrations every year when it gets cold in an attempt to find a warmer climate in which to wait out the winter and give birth to their offspring. Whales also undertake this massive migration, as do herd animals in the north like caribou and and elk. However one of the most efficient travelers in the animal, other than humans, is completely unexpected: spiders.
It turns out that along with jumping, crawling, and flying, spiders are also sailing their way across our world’s oceans using a technique called “ballooning”. Small and young spiders engage in this “ballooning” by using their strong silks to create a balloon-like web that they use to catch the wind and propel themselves through the air and over terrain that would previously be impassable to them. By traveling up to 30 kilometers a day, these young spiders can spread themselves over vast distances, allowing for further propagation of the species and for new resources to be used and consumed.
One terrain that ballooning allows spiders to cross is entire oceans. That’s right, these tiny arachnids are using their webs to sail their way across massive bodies of water. These spiders can use their silk balloon as an anchor so that they can change direction, change speed, and even stop to float on water. How do these little adventurers stay alive while they’re undergoing these massive migrations? It turns out that they actively hunt while they’re sailing their way across the ocean. They continue to capture and eat insects and other invertebrates, as well as larger prey depending on the size of the spider. With skills such as this, it’s easy to see how spiders have become populous all over the world.
If you’d like to read more, the link is here.
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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Brazilian government’s most recent data on water pollution in Rio de Janeiro show that water near where triathletes are preparing to compete this weekend is “unfit” for swimming.
Published: July 31, 2015 at 05:51AM
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By REUTERS
Vast, rotating currents sweeping the southern Indian Ocean could have deposited wreckage from a missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet near Africa, thousands of kilometres from where it is thought to have crashed, oceanographers said on Thursday.
Published: July 29, 2015 at 09:05PM
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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A mysterious blast on a Rhode Island beach likely was caused by the combustion of hydrogen gas buildup because of a corroded copper cable under the sand, investigators announced Friday.
Published: July 24, 2015 at 10:52AM
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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Scientists trying to figure out the reason why a mysterious beach blast that sent a woman flying into a jetty are now pursuing a specific cause, Rhode Island’s top environmental official says, but she isn’t disclosing their theory until testing is…
Published: July 23, 2015 at 05:27AM
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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Downtown Madison, Connecticut, has the feel of a beach town, though the beach itself is nearly 2 miles away.
Published: July 23, 2015 at 05:49AM
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