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Declines in shellfish species on rocky seashores match climate-driven changes

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The waters of the Gulf of Maine are warming faster than oceans almost anywhere on Earth. And as the level of carbon dioxide rises in the atmosphere, it’s absorbed by the oceans, causing pH levels to fall. Ocean acidification makes it difficult for shellfish to thicken their shells – their primary defense against predators.

In a new study in the journal Communications Biology, researchers Peter Petraitis, a retired professor of biology in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences, and Steve Dudgeon, a biology professor at California State University, Northridge, who completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Petraitis at Penn in the 1990s, show that the changing climate is taking a toll on Maine’s sea life.

A dataset collected over two decades, including numbers of five species of mussels, barnacles, and snails, shows that all have been experiencing declines – some slow, some more rapid – in part owing to climate change. [Read more…] about Declines in shellfish species on rocky seashores match climate-driven changes

NASA finds heavy rainfall ringing major Hurricane Maria’s eye

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Imagine being able to look down at a storm from orbit in space, and provide data that lets scientists calculate the rate in which rain is falling throughout it.

That is what a NASA satellite rainfall product does as it incorporates data from satellites and observations. NASA found very heavy rainfall ringing around the compact eye of Major Hurricane Marie. [Read more…] about NASA finds heavy rainfall ringing major Hurricane Maria’s eye

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NASA satellite finds Haishen now a super typhoon

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NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Philippine Sea on September 4 and provided a visible image of Haishen that had strengthened into a super typhoon.

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard Suomi NPP provided a visible image of Haishen that revealed a large, circular, organized structure of strong thunderstorms circling the open eye.

The eyewall, the strong thunderstorms that circle the open eye, is estimated to be 81 nautical miles-wide. Satellite data indicate the eye is about 31 nautical miles wide. [Read more…] about NASA satellite finds Haishen now a super typhoon

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  • NASA finds heavy rainfall ringing major Hurricane Maria’s eye
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Soils mission will unite farmers and researchers to end degradation and restore fertility

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Soil is an abundant yet underrated asset that is rapidly degrading. Now Europe wants to save this neglected resource, with the upcoming Horizon Europe mission aiming for a 100 per cent increase in healthy soils by 2030.

The mission is one of Europe’s five research ‘moonshots’ set to launch in 2021. It is “maybe the most difficult one,” said Teresa Pinto Correia, professor at the University of Évora. “Other [missions] are on topics which people know about.”

Pinto Correia is one of fifteen members of the soils mission board that is drawing up plans for the mission in the EU’s next research programme, Horizon Europe. [Read more…] about Soils mission will unite farmers and researchers to end degradation and restore fertility

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Fossil trees on Peru’s Central Andean Plateau tell a tale of dramatic environmental change

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On an expedition to the Central Andean Plateau, researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and colleagues were astounded to find a huge fossil-tree buried in the cold, grassy plain. The plant fossil record from this high-altitude site in southern Peru contains dramatic reminders that the environment in the Andes mountains changed drastically during the past 10 million years, but not in the ways that climate models of the past suggest. Findings from the expedition are presented in the journal Science Advances.

“This tree and the hundreds of fossil wood, leaf and pollen samples we collected on the expedition, reveal that when these plants were alive the ecosystem was more humid–even more humid than climate models of the past predicted,” said Camila Martinez, a fellow at STRI, who recently finished her doctorate at Cornell University. “There is probably no comparable modern ecosystem, because temperatures were higher when these fossils were deposited 10 million years ago.”

The anatomy of the petrified (permineralized) wood the researchers found is very much like wood anatomy in low-elevation tropical forests today. Indeed, the altitude then was probably only 2,000 meters above sea level.

But that ecosystem did not last for long. Today, the arid, intermountain plateau lies at 4,000 meters above sea level.

Five million year-old fossils from the same sites confirmed that the Puna ecosystem that now dominates the Andes’ high mountain plateaus had been born: the younger pollen samples were mostly from grasses and herbs, rather than from trees. Leaf material was from ferns, herbs and shrubs, indicating that the plateau had already risen to its current altitude.

“The fossil record in the region tells us two things: both the altitude and the vegetation changed dramatically over a relatively short period of time, supporting a hypothesis that suggests the tectonic uplift of this region occurred in rapid pulses,” said Carlos Jaramillo, STRI staff scientist and project leader.

“Andean uplift played an important role in shaping the climate of South America, but the relationship between the rise of the Andes, local climates and vegetation is still not well understood,” Martinez said. “By the end of this century, changes in temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will again approximate the conditions 10 million years ago. Understanding the discrepancies between climate models and data based on the fossil record help us to elucidate the driving forces controlling the current climate of the Altiplano, and, ultimately, the climate across the South American continent.

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Author affiliations include: STRI; Cornell University; CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; Museo de Historia Natural, Lima, Peru; University of Rochester, Rochester, New York; and the Florida Institute of Technology.

Reference: Martinez, C., Jaramillo, C., Correa-Metrio, A, et al. 2020. Neogene precipitation, vegetation and elevation history of the Central Andean Plateau. Science Advances, 6: eaaz4724 Doi:10.1126/sciadv.aaz4724. https://advances.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aaz4724

Minimum legal age for cannabis use should be nineteen, study suggests

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The optimal minimum legal age for non-medical cannabis use is 19 years of age, according to a study published in BMC Public Health.

A team of researchers at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, investigated how Canadians who started using cannabis at several young ages differed across important outcomes (educational attainment, cigarette smoking, self-reported general and mental health) in later-life.

Dr Hai Nguyen, lead author of the study said: “Prior to legalisation, the medical community recommended a minimum legal age of 21 or 25 for non-medical cannabis use in Canada. This recommendation was based on scientific evidence around the potential adverse impacts of cannabis on cognitive development. However, policymakers feared a high minimum legal age may lead to large underground markets, with those under the legal age continuing to use cannabis illegally. Ultimately, a lower legal age of 18 or 19 was decided across provinces, however there remains ongoing debate and calls to raise the legal age to 21.” [Read more…] about Minimum legal age for cannabis use should be nineteen, study suggests

China Green Companies Summit held in Dunhuang

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The China Green Companies Summit 2019 was successfully held in Dunhuang, Gansu Province.

More than 1,100 domestic and foreign business leaders, political figures, academic authorities, NGO representatives and influential media participated in this conference.

Including Fan Youshan, Deputy Secretary of Party Committee and vice chairman of ACFIC, Song Liang, vice governor of Gansu Province, Ma Yun, Chairman of China Entrepreneur Club (CEC) and Executive Chairman, Alibaba Group, as well as Ma Weihua, Liu Chuanzhi, Wang Yusuo, Guo Guangchang, Liu Yonghao, Liu Donghua, Xu Jinghong, Cao Guowei, Hu Baosen, and Xu Xiaonian.

The theme of the China Green Companies Summit 2019 is “winning is the essence of business.” The world today is undergoing new developments and changes. Technological revolution and economic development have brought tremendous changes to the market.

In the new business environment, if companies want to “win”, they need to return to the original mission of the enterprise.

During the summit, entrepreneurs explored various topics of concern, including scientific and technological innovation, business growth, digital transformation, industrial poverty alleviation, investment logic, digitalization and organizational transformation, reinvention of the cultural and tourism industries, “winning in the cold winter” and other sub-forums, to identify current business trends, discuss new methodologies and solve business problems.

At this year’s annual meeting, diplomats from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Ireland, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States attended the conference.

Representatives from these countries discussed business cooperation between China and foreign countries with Chinese entrepreneurs. Some other activities were held, including industrial matchmaking meetings and visits with local enterprises.

These focused on encouraging entrepreneurs to play an active role in the development of the western region.

Jack Ma (main picture), chairman of the China Entrepreneur Club, delivered a speech at the plenary session. He noted that the first batch of businessmen in Chinese history began their exploration along the Silk Road to West Asia and Europe.

Entrepreneurs are explorers in the economic field. It required perhaps courage then than businessmen need today because traders and businessmen at that time faced great dangers crossing the desert.

However, he thought this is the “endless entrepreneurial spirit, the spirit of adventure”.

The annual summit is organized by the China Entrepreneur Club, co-organized by the Gansu Provincial Department of Commerce, the Jiuquan Municipal People’s Government and the Dunhuang Municipal People’s Government.

It receives support from the Gansu Provincial People’s Government, Gansu Electronic & Power Investment Group Corporation and Panasonic.

The China Green Companies Summit is hosted by the China Entrepreneur Club. It is dedicated to promoting smart and long-term economic growth. Launched by CEC since 2008, the Summit is held on April 22nd, Earth Day, every year.

It hosts over 1,000 guests from home and abroad who are visionaries and game-changing leaders in the fields of business, government, academics, NGO and media. They present views, exchange ideas, explore effective ways for sustainable business development.

The annual summit has been held for 12 years and is widely recognized as one of the most high-level globally impactful conferences in China on sustainable development.