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Waterborne disease risk upped in Great Lakes
An anticipated increased incidence of climate-related extreme rainfall events in the Great Lakes region may raise the public health risk for the 40 million people who depend on the lakes for their drinking water, according to a new study.
Remote technology sees through ice, snow and hot air to monitor power plants
On Aug. 14, 2003, the power grid failure that left the northeastern United States in darkness surprised a country unaccustomed to interrupted electricity. Expectations of a plentiful energy supply in the United States contrast dramatically to the situation in some developing countries that limit public use of electricity to a few hours a day. Monitoring the amount of power produced by some of these countries is a U.S. national concern.
Evolving designer ecosystem sheds light on unintended consequences
Amidst the semi-arid stretches of Phoenix, a visitor might blink twice at the sight of a sailboat cutting across the horizon. Tempe Town Lake, on the northern edge of Arizona State University (ASU), is just one of a multitude of lakes, small ponds, canals and dams combining flood control, water delivery, recreational opportunities and aesthetics, and altering perception of water availability and economics in the area.
Female fish see right through false suitors' pickup acts
In a dark, damp corner of a University of Wisconsin-Madison laboratory, Jenny Boughman dropped a 3-inch, three-spined female fish into a fish tank, and waited. She sat perfectly still as she watched a male fish swim out slowly from its nest, beneath a cracked flower pot.
Biological invasions increasing due to freshwater impoundments
The growing number of dams and other impoundments is increasing the number of invasive species and the speed at which they spread, putting natural lakes at risk, says a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Shells - a unique climate archive on the ocean floor
Most people who find a seashell during their summer holiday on the coast will probably not be aware that they have found a unique record of the climate. For Professor Bernd Schöne, however, these hard calcium shells provide a profound insight into the history of our earth and especially into the climate of the past.
Quagga mussels threaten western U.S. waters, researcher reports
Pipe-clogging invasive mussels caused up to $1.5 billion in damage across 23 states between 1989 and 2007. Now, fingernail-sized quagga mussels, a close relative of zebra mussels, have spread to the West and threaten to do even more damage.
Giant flying reptiles preferred to walk
New research into gigantic flying reptiles has found that they weren’t all gull-like predators grabbing fish from the water but that some were strongly adapted for life on the ground.
