Marine phytoplankton declining: Striking global changes at the base of the marine food web linked to rising ocean temperatures

ScienceDaily (July 28, 2010) — A new article published in the 29 July issue of the journal Nature reveals for the first time that microscopic marine algae known as “phytoplankton” have been declining globally over the 20th century. Phytoplankton forms the basis of the marine food chain and sustains diverse assemblages of species ranging from […]

Hundreds of dead penguins wash up on Brazil beaches

Scientists suspect starvation from changing water temperatures or overfishing after 500 birds found in 10 days Associated Press in São Paulo, www.guardian.co.ukWednesday 21 July 2010 07.41 BST Hundreds of penguins that have apparently starved to death are washing up on the beaches of Brazil, worrying scientists who are investigating what exactly killed them. About 500 […]

Scientist says hundreds may die as smog blankets Moscow

By Gleb Bryanski, additional reporting by Alexei Anishchuk and Amie Ferris-Rotman; editing by Angus MacSwanTue Jul 27, 2010 5:37pm EDT NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia (Reuters) – A prominent scientist said hundreds of people could die as smog from peat fires blanketed a sweltering Moscow for a second day on Tuesday. Moscow region chief Boris Gromov asked Prime […]

Graph of the Day: Abundance of Australia Waterbirds, 1983-2004

Ten aerial survey bands (each 30 km in width), every two degrees of latitude, crossing eastern Australia and providing estimates for up to 50 species of waterbirds in October each year (1983-2004). Letters identify seven particular wetlands: Styx River wetlands (A), Lake Hope (B), Paroo River overflow lakes (C), and Macquarie Marshes (D). Australia State […]

Russia farmers suffer ‘catastrophe’ in baking summer

By Mokrye Kurnali, Russia (AFP) July 25, 2010 Russian farm owner Ilshat Gumerov stands in the middle of his fields under the mercilessly hot sun with a look of despair on his face. His 700-hectare land in the central Volga region of Tatarstan has not been touched by a drop of rain in weeks amid […]

20 percent of livestock breeds threatened in global ‘livestock meltdown’

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (SPX) Jul 26, 2010 Urgent action is needed to stop the rapid and alarming loss of genetic diversity of African livestock that provide food and income to 70 percent of rural Africans and include a treasure-trove of drought- and disease-resistant animals, according to a new analysis presented at a major gathering of […]

Ancient ocean acidification intimates long recovery from climate change

It may takes tens of thousands of years for oceans to recover from the acidity caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide By David Biello  July 22, 2010 Single-cell life-forms thrive throughout the world’s oceans—and have for hundreds of millions of years. Tiny varieties known as calcareous nanoplankton build exuberant, microscopic shells—resembling wagon wheels, fishlike […]

Thick smog from heatwave fires covers Moscow

  Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman, Tanya Ustinova, Ben Judah and Alexei Anishchuk; Writing by Amie Ferris-Rotman, Editing by Peter GraffMOSCOW | Mon Jul 26, 2010 7:53am EDT MOSCOW (Reuters) – Muscovites struggled to breathe on Monday and Red Square was blanketed in smoke as a record-setting heatwave that that has already ruined crops caused fires […]

Graph of the Day: Abnormally High Annual Precipitation in the Lower 48 States, 1895–2008

This figure shows the percentage of the land area of the lower 48 states that experienced much greater than normal precipitation in any given year, which means it scored 2.0 or above on the annual Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The thicker orange line shows a nine-year moving average that smooths out some of the year-to-year […]

Arctic ice ‘melting fast,’ may reach all-time low, Russia Says

By Maria Kolesnikova in Moscow, editors: Brad Cook, Alex Nicholson.July 20, 2010, 8:22 AM EDT July 20 (Bloomberg) — Arctic sea ice is melting faster than expected and this season’s loss may match the record reached three years ago, Russia’s environmental agency said. “Ice in the Arctic is melting very fast,” Federal Hydrometeorological and Environmental […]

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