Here are some very interesting science news picks from one of my favorite science news sites—ScienceDaily—that I’ve recently read and want to share with you.
CLIMATE CHANGE: Forests May Play Overlooked Role In Regulating Climate, Second Warmest October For Global Temperatures, NOAA Says, Global Warming Predictions Are Overestimated, Suggests Study On Black Carbon
EVOLUTION: Discovery Of Giant Roaming Deep Sea Protist Provides New Perspective On Animal Evolution, Flies May Reveal Evolutionary Step To Live Birth
GREEN CONSTRUCTION: Dangers Of Going Green: Industrial Hygienists Suggest Watching Out For Mold When Going Green
INVASIVE SPECIES: Earthworms’ Underground Invasion Threatens Forest Sustainability
MATHEMATICS: Mathematicians And Artists Use Algorithms To Make Complicated Paper Sculptures
POLLUTION: Polymer Sponge Catches Household Pollutants in Storm Drains
RENEWABLE ENERGY: ‘Fish Technology’ Draws Renewable Energy From Slow Water Currents
RFID CHIPS: RFID Chips: A Privacy And Security Pandora’s Box?
SEA LEVEL RISE: Sea Level Rise Alters Chesapeake Bay’s Salinity
SPACE: Strangulation Of Spiral Galaxies: ‘Missing Link’ Discovered, Hubble Captures Outstanding View Of Mammoth Stars, Mars Express Observes Aurora On The Red Planet, Mystery Of Missing Hydrogen: Apparent Absence From Distant Galaxies Puzzles Astronomers
WATER QUALITY: Environmental Scientists Use Fish Behavior To Monitor Water Quality
WETLANDS: Value Of Satellites Recognized For Conserving Wetlands
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I have been reading the blog regularly. You might want to pull down the article “Second Warmest October For Global Temperatures, NOAA Says”. NOAA has changed the report and October turns out to be one of the cooler ones on record.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/11/16/do1610.xml
Phil
Many thanks for the comment Phil, but NOAA hasn’t retracted the story. In fact, NOAA’s press release states, “Much of the unusual warmth occurred over Asia, Australia, and Eastern Europe.” Furthermore, NOAA is measuring “combined global land and ocean surface average temperature.” As a result, some areas may be experiencing a colder October, while some areas have either experienced an average or above average October. The above average numbers may been high enough to offset the cooler areas. If you have further information, I’d like to see it. I’m not going to pull down the article just yet. According to NOAA (http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/20081118_octobertemps.html):
* The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for October was 58.23 degrees F — 1.13 degrees F above the 20th century mean of 57.1 degrees F.
* Separately, the global land surface temperature was 50.72 degrees F — 2.02 degrees F above the 20th century mean of 48.7 degrees F, ranking as the warmest October on record. Much of the unusual warmth occurred over Asia, Australia, and Eastern Europe.
* The global ocean surface temperature of 61.41 degrees F tied October 2005 as sixth warmest on record and was 0.81 degree F above the 20th century mean of 60.6 degrees F.
* The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for January-October was 58.25 degrees F – 0.85 degree above the 20th century mean of 57.4 degrees F and ranking as the 9th warmest January-October on record.