https://padlet.com/18hockk/9dz0e081049w Made with wonder en-us 2016-11-03 14:20:27 UTC 2017-05-10 14:19:24 UTC hello@padlet.com 18hockk https://padlet.com/18hockk/9dz0e081049w/wish/135959717 The Altiplano-Puna plateau is located in South America and is home to the Andes Mountains. Through use of remote sensing data and topographic modeling tools, researches have recently discovered a cause to the growth of the mountain range. In addition to the fact that the South American continental plate is overriding the Nazca oceanic plate, the range is also growing due to a large dome formed underneath the surface. Hot magma is pushing up against the crust here, causing a dome that is 1 km high and several hundred miles wide to form. This dome is then adding to the growth of the mountains. Studies have shown the the dome is growing at a rather rapid rate in some places. At the center of the dome it is growing at a rate of 1cm per year. What is occuring now is similar to how the Sierra Nevada Mountains were formed 90 million years ago, however, scientists are excited because this time they actually get to witness this happening. With this knowledge, they will also hopefully get better insight on the formation of continents. ]]> 2016-11-07 22:34:07 UTC https://padlet.com/18hockk/9dz0e081049w/wish/135959717 18hockk https://padlet.com/18hockk/9dz0e081049w/wish/135963508 A recent study done by a team from the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences at Bournemouth University has shown that sharks can reduce climate change. Through over-fishing and shark finning, humans have begun to reduce the number of sharks, one of the top predators in the ocean. By doing this, there is a higher biomass of prey animals which results in greater levels of respiration and therefore greater levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Shark finning is the process of removing the fins off of live sharks and then leaving the sharks to die. This has become so popular due to the demand for shark fin soup in the far east. A big reason why this problem is so hard to solve is because of how the media depicts sharks. They are more often portrayed as the perpetrators of fatal attacks on humans rather than as vital links of marine ecosystems. With the lack of public knowledge, people are less likely to support these animals in their marine ecosystems but little do they know that by not supporting them, they are adding to a cause of climate change. ]]> 2016-11-07 23:04:23 UTC https://padlet.com/18hockk/9dz0e081049w/wish/135963508 18hockk https://padlet.com/18hockk/9dz0e081049w/wish/136269890 It is common for human's eyesight to worsen as they age, but researchers from Cell Press journal have recently discovered that the same thing happens in bonobos, a close primate relative. They found the bonobos show symptoms of long-sightedness at around age 40 by looking at their grooming habits. They noticed that one of the oldest observed bonobos had to have his arms stretched out while grooming and then moved in closer to remove something after it was located. To understand more, the researches measured the grooming distance of 14 other bonobos of the same sex ranging from ages 11 to 45. Sure enough the measurements showed that the grooming distance increased as the age of the bonobos increased. This long-sightedness may cause problems for the bonobos because they will not be favored when it comes to selecting grooming partners and they also may have trouble seeing in the dark. These observations also prove to humans that our long-sightedness isn't caused by staring at a screen but rather by the natural process of aging.]]> 2016-11-09 00:07:35 UTC https://padlet.com/18hockk/9dz0e081049w/wish/136269890 18hockk https://padlet.com/18hockk/9dz0e081049w/wish/136272647 A new study is beginning at Yellowstone National Park. With the help of helicopter electromagnetic and magnetic (HEM) survey, a team of researchers from the US Geological Survey, University of Wyoming and Aarhus University hope to distinguish zones of cold fresh water, hot saline water, steam, unaltered rock, and clay from one another. The parks hydrothermal systems are mapped on the surface but very little is know about what lies beneath it. The HEM survey will provide the first ever subsurface view of the systems that lie under the surface. A helicopter flying 200 feet above the ground will carry a electromagnetic system that will sense and record voltages. These voltages can then be linked to the ground's electrical conductivity. The information provided by this study will help close a gap between surface and deeper magmatic systems. One gap that it will help close is the question as to what paths the water of the area takes. It is believed that the water that comes up from the geysers is old precipitation that has gone down into the crust and been there for thousands of years. This study may help provide more knowledge on this theory. ]]> 2016-11-09 00:32:32 UTC https://padlet.com/18hockk/9dz0e081049w/wish/136272647 18hockk https://padlet.com/18hockk/9dz0e081049w/wish/136372758 The Agulhas Current is the Indian Ocean's version of the Gulf Stream. Since the 1990s, the current has strengthened due to turbulence. This current transports warm salty water from the tropics to the poles along the east coast of Africa. It is hundreds of kilometers long and over 2000 meters deep. The ocean heat that it transports not only influences the climate of Africa but also that of world. Changes of currents in these regions could either alleviate or aggravate climate change. These regions of currents are also warming at three times the rate of the rest of the world oceans and may be related to the growth of the Agulhas Current. It is believed that due to the expansion in wind systems and the warming of western boundary region currents may relate to the pole-ward shift of these currents and which may be a result of human climate change. ]]> 2016-11-09 13:12:28 UTC https://padlet.com/18hockk/9dz0e081049w/wish/136372758 18hockk https://padlet.com/18hockk/9dz0e081049w/wish/136423712 Bees do not eat pollen when they collect it but rather carry it using the hairs or "sacs" attached to their back legs. Researchers have struggled for a while trying to figure out how bees can determine between which flowers are nutritious and which aren't. An expert in insect neuroethology believes that it seems that bees respond to a range of sensory cues in pollen of flowers. It is also believed that they have memory of locations and types of flowers that helps them decide which flowers to go to. With more observations and studies in this area, researchers hope to gain knowledge that will help with biodiversity conservation and crop production. Bees also use the strong odor and color of the flowers and the pollen to distinguish. ]]> 2016-11-09 15:16:16 UTC https://padlet.com/18hockk/9dz0e081049w/wish/136423712