https://padlet.com/18hockk/2jny02d76yxy en-us 2017-04-03 19:18:03 UTC 2026-01-11 19:09:02 UTC hello@padlet.com 18hockk https://padlet.com/18hockk/2jny02d76yxy/wish/164463885 Melting in the Arctic as a result from global warming may actually increase productivity in this location.  The snow and ice that melt form melt ponds which are good because they provide more light and heat for the ice and the underlying water but it turns out that they also can influence and increase the life in the Arctic. Marine animals eat algae and bacteria as food and the algae and bacteria can evolve in these melt ponds. Scientists know that these melt ponds can provide food for some other organisms in the sea but they also have reason to believe that the melt ponds could possibly support very diverse communities. In addition, the melt ponds are acquiring more nutrients and also occurring more frequently and therefore scientists expect an increase in plant and animal productivity. ]]> 2017-04-03 19:41:47 UTC https://padlet.com/18hockk/2jny02d76yxy/wish/164463885 18hockk https://padlet.com/18hockk/2jny02d76yxy/wish/164471157 Global climate change can now be linked to China's worsened air pollution.  To investigate this idea, researchers looked into climate features such as sea ice,  snow fall, and Pacific Oscillations. They were able to find correlations between the stagnant air conditions over China to Arctic sea ice. One scientist explains that"The reductions in sea ice and increase in snowfall have the effect of damping the climatological pressure ridge structure over China. That flattens the temperature and pressure gradients and moves the East Asian Winter Monsoon to the east, decreasing wind speeds and creating an atmospheric circulation that makes the air in China more stagnant." These observations and correlations between increased snow fall and ice melt to increases pollution give scientists the reason to believe that these climate conditions only worsen the environment.]]> 2017-04-03 20:14:44 UTC https://padlet.com/18hockk/2jny02d76yxy/wish/164471157 18hockk https://padlet.com/18hockk/2jny02d76yxy/wish/164754760 A study shows that a large patch of unusually warm seawater known as "the blob" may be influencing air quality. "The blob" led scientists to observe an increase in ozone levels above states such as Washington, Oregon, Utah, and California. "The blobs" effects were low cloud cover, warm temperatures, and calmer air, all of which are perfect ingredients to produce ozone. When scientists began to realize how widespread the effects were, they began a new study that observed which areas were experiencing the same conditions, those resulting from "the blob". Scientists were able to link everything back to "the blob". In addition to these conclusions, the study also found that biogenic emissions from trees and plants in wildfires may also be adding particles to the atmosphere that can produce ozone. One scientist concludes that further research can help us better understand the relationship between climate variability and air quality and can help us know what to expect as the planet continues to heat up. ]]> 2017-04-04 23:21:19 UTC https://padlet.com/18hockk/2jny02d76yxy/wish/164754760 18hockk https://padlet.com/18hockk/2jny02d76yxy/wish/164759172 A type of bacteria known as comammox can completely turn ammonia into nitrates. Usually, this step in water treatment requires two different microorganisms, but with the use of comammox, the outcome could be helpful in regards developing energy-saving techniques in the field of nitrogen-removal. A lot of energy is used when removing nitrogen from waste water and the two microorganism approach was initially the best option for energy use reduction. In the future, many scientists believe that this bacteria, comammox, may be the key ingredient in reducing the use of energy in treating water.]]> 2017-04-05 00:08:56 UTC https://padlet.com/18hockk/2jny02d76yxy/wish/164759172 18hockk https://padlet.com/18hockk/2jny02d76yxy/wish/164765064 James E. Holm formed a non-profit called Clean Oceans International. He, along with his partner Swaminathan Ramesh, sought to use technology and convert waste hydrocarbon-based plastics to produce valuable diesel fuel, thus creating a market for initial plastic waste. A similar process has been used before, however; it calls for complex steps in order to make the fuel usable. Ramesh's goal is to create a metallocene catalyst deposited on a porous support material with a controlled pyrolysis reaction that creates direct diesel fuels. His method will be cost-effective on a small scale while also running on lower temperatures and being mobile. The technology is still being developed and tested but this team hopes that their product will be used around the world and help eliminate plastic in the oceans.]]> 2017-04-05 01:05:47 UTC https://padlet.com/18hockk/2jny02d76yxy/wish/164765064 18hockk https://padlet.com/18hockk/2jny02d76yxy/wish/164768446 Due to the fact that sea turtles don't have X or Y chromosomes, the process of determining their sex is more difficult. The determination has to be done during the development by the incubation environment. Warm sand temperatures produce more females whereas cool sand temperatures produce more males. Rising global temperatures are resulting in more females being born and this increases their risk of extinction. Scientists typically rely on laparoscopic procedures to verify the sex of the turtles, but recently a new method is being proven more effective. Scientists used a modified immunohistochemical and this was proven more effective and valuable because it minimizes the shortfalls of other techniques. ]]> 2017-04-05 01:45:01 UTC https://padlet.com/18hockk/2jny02d76yxy/wish/164768446