The great oyster crash – ‘I’m afraid the ocean will be dead long before we have to worry about the other implications of global warming’

By Eric Scigliano18 August 2011 In the summer of 2007, something strange and troubling happened at the Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery on Netarts Bay in Oregon, which raises oyster larvae for shellfish growers from Mexico to Canada. The hatchery’s “seed,” as the oyster larvae are called, began dying by the millions, for no apparent reason. […]

Increased tropical forest growth could release carbon from the soil

Contact: Barnaby Smithbpgs@ceh.ac.uk44-792-029-5384 A new study shows that as climate change enhances tree growth in tropical forests, the resulting increase in litterfall could stimulate soil micro-organisms leading to a release of stored soil carbon. The research was led by scientists from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the University of Cambridge, UK. The results […]

Peter Ward: We’ve entered the Age of Mass Extinction – Goodbye fish and a whole lot more

By Scott Thill8 August 2011 Mass extinction is finally fighting its way back into the news cycle, thanks to recent scary reports on climate change from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean, the United Nations Environment Program and the July issue of Science. But University of Washington paleontologist Peter Ward has been […]

Record-breaking Arctic fire in 2007 accelerated climate change

By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News28 July 2011 An exceptional wildfire in northern Alaska in 2007 put as much carbon into the air as the entire Arctic tundra absorbs in a year, scientists say. The Anaktuvuk River fire burned across more than 1,000 sq km (400 sq miles), doubling the extent of Alaskan tundra […]

Graph of the Day: Countries’ Actions and Commitments on Climate Change

The Smith School at Oxford has rated each country’s actions and commitments on climate change. Dark green is ‘Very good’, dark orange is ‘Very poor’, and gray is ‘Not participating in the UNFCCC process’. Update: Thanks to a reader we have the source document from the Smith School: International climate change negotiations: Key lessons and […]

Acidifying ocean expected to damage shellfish around world

By Shelby Lin Erdman, CNN; CNN’s Ninette Sosa and Barbara Hall contributed to this reportJuly 18, 2011 (CNN) – Massive global greenhouse gas pollution is changing the chemistry of the world’s oceans so much that scientists now predict it could severely damage shellfish populations and the nations that depend on the harvests if significant action […]

Acidified oceans detrimental to California mussels

ScienceDaily (July 14, 2011) — Ocean acidification, a consequence of climate change, could weaken the shells of California mussels and diminish their body mass, with serious implications for coastal ecosystems, UC Davis researchers will report July 15 in the Journal of Experimental Biology. California mussels (Mytilus californianus) live in beds along the western coast of […]

Climate change could kill one in 10 species by end of the century

By Steve Conner, Science Editor12 July 2011 Climate change is speeding up the rate at which animals and plants are becoming extinct. By the end of the century, one in 10 species could be on the verge of extinction because of the effects of global warming, a study has found. The findings support the view […]

Acidified Baltic Sea waters corrode benthic foraminifera

ABSTRACT: Culturing experiments, simulating a projected future rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, were performed with the benthic foraminifer Ammonia aomoriensis from Flensburg Fjord, southwestern Baltic Sea. The experiments simulated a future rise in atmospheric CO2. We exposed living specimens to five seawater pCO2 levels ranging from 618 µatm (pH 7.9) to 3130 µatm (pH 7.2) […]

Oceans ‘dying very quickly’: Canada’s most experienced solo yachtsman

By Chris Morris, Times & Transcript Staff2 July 2011 Derek Hatfield has always known about the loneliness of the long-distance sailor, but he’s never felt as alone as he does these days when racing over the vast, empty expanses of our dying oceans. Hatfield recently completed his second successful race around the world, sprinting to […]

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