https://padlet.com/18levinsonk/l7mks8xjhx5k en-us 2018-04-11 19:29:49 UTC 2018-04-11 22:19:47 UTC hello@padlet.com 18levinsonk https://padlet.com/18levinsonk/l7mks8xjhx5k/wish/250915183 The University College London (UCL) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have found that a part of the circulation system of the ocean has declined in productivity. The weak spot lies in the Atlantic Ocean which is responsible for bringing warm water temperatures to Western Europe. The UCL and WHOI were able to realize the blip thanks to sediment records that revealed the Atlantic Ocean's productivity has been lowering since the Little Ice Age. Dr. David Thornally, UCL lecturer and WHOI ajunct, argues that freshwater released in  the saltwater has caused the issue since it dilutes the saltwater and makes it unable to sink as well. Moreover, he linked the influx of freshwater to climate change which has caused icebergs and glaciers to melt. If these trends continue, the US, Europe, and the African Sahel could experience disruptions in weather patterns and a rise in sea levels. ]]> 2018-04-11 20:05:15 UTC https://padlet.com/18levinsonk/l7mks8xjhx5k/wish/250915183 18levinsonk https://padlet.com/18levinsonk/l7mks8xjhx5k/wish/250923422 On March 19, a crack appeared along the surface of East Africa. It is reported to be 50 feet wide and several miles in length and still growing. It was caused by seismic activity among plate tectonics and dense rainfall. Since Eastern Africa rests on top of the Somali Plate and not the Nubian Plate with the rest of Africa, it is clear how and why this particular rift formed. An even bigger rift, known as the East African Rift, exists too and this along with the most recent split prove that Africa is breaking apart. The process will take tens of millions of years but in the meantime, Africa will experience an increase in seismic activity such as earthquakes as the lithosphere breaks down.]]> 2018-04-11 20:35:55 UTC https://padlet.com/18levinsonk/l7mks8xjhx5k/wish/250923422 18levinsonk https://padlet.com/18levinsonk/l7mks8xjhx5k/wish/250929328 Recently the US Fish and Wildlife Service has announced its decision to review permits concerning bringing trophies of animals from Africa to the US. The agency also declared it would revoke previous rulings against the importation of goods from elephants of South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Namibia and lions from South Africa. Furthermore, the US Fish and Wildlife Service stated its plans to revoke enhancement findings but with the intention of reviewing them for future permit consideration. Jimmiel Mandima, a member of the African Wildlife Foundation, reports that the agency's actions are not a direct lift of the ban on importing animal trophies, but expresses concern over the ambiguity of the agency's proposal. ]]> 2018-04-11 21:02:30 UTC https://padlet.com/18levinsonk/l7mks8xjhx5k/wish/250929328 18levinsonk https://padlet.com/18levinsonk/l7mks8xjhx5k/wish/250930692 Researchers have discovered that efforts to reduce flooding of the Mississippi have had reverse effects. They were able to determine this by studying flood rings within trees, in which tree ring vessels shrink or are distributed irregularly in the midst of flooding. The researchers report that the largest floods have had a 20% increase in their magnitudes.  Alterations done to the river's natural course are the main contributors to its increased flood severity, according to Samuel Munoz, a Northeastern University geoscientist. The levees built in and around the river drastically changed its shape and sediment composition which results in the floods, although the causation is not exactly known. Another cause could be the higher temperatures as they affect rainfall and river flow or the El Nino- Southern Oscillation and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. ]]> 2018-04-11 21:09:07 UTC https://padlet.com/18levinsonk/l7mks8xjhx5k/wish/250930692 18levinsonk https://padlet.com/18levinsonk/l7mks8xjhx5k/wish/250936502 Congressional leaders have revealed their 2018 federal spending bill in which they encourage the EPA and the Energy and Agriculture Department to consider biomass as a renewable energy source and to accept forest bioenergy's carbon-neutrality. Scott Pruitt, Adminstrator of the EPA, has declared biomass as carbon-neutral but environmental scientists argue otherwise in light of recent research. Experts such as William Schlesinger, a biogeochemist, suggest that burning wood would create net CO2 emissions. They affirm that planting trees and burning wood could be carbon-neutral, but more wood is burnt that planted or conserved which means the scarcity of trees cannot make up for the CO2 added in the atmosphere via biomass. The transportation of lumber to foerign countires would also add CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, further proving the inaccuracy of the congressional leaders. ]]> 2018-04-11 21:41:44 UTC https://padlet.com/18levinsonk/l7mks8xjhx5k/wish/250936502 18levinsonk https://padlet.com/18levinsonk/l7mks8xjhx5k/wish/250941912 The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded a study conducted by the University of California (UC) in which they learned bedrock produces about a quarter of the nitrogen on Earth. 26% of the nitrogen supply is attributed to rocks while the atmosphere provides the remaining amount. This discovery is brand new information to the scientific community as it has been long believed that all of the Earth's nitrogen came from the atmosphere. With this in mind, nitrogen from rocks can augment forest and grassland growth while also lowering the amount of carbon dioxide. Having learned about nitrogen supplies within the earth, scientists were able to come to a conclusion concerning their confusion over why soil could accumulate so much nitrogen. ]]> 2018-04-11 22:09:34 UTC https://padlet.com/18levinsonk/l7mks8xjhx5k/wish/250941912