From: http://outreach.eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/ChileTsunami_1.gif
On February 27, 2010 at 06:34:14 A.M. (Chile time) there was a 8.8 magnitude earthquake offshore Maule, Chile. This area of Chile is known for its big earthquakes. There have been many vary large earthquakes 7.0 magnitude and larger in the last 100 or so years. The most famous of which, the 9.5 magnitude earthquake in 1960, killing about 1600 people with its deadly tsunamis. The earthquake on February 27 was predicted to generate a tsunami wave that could across the Pacifica Ocean hitting as far as Alaska.
The waves were way smaller that scientists had expected. The waves were only a few centimeters tall in Australia and Hawaii. Swimmers and boaters were still warned not to go out because of the strong currents made by the earthquakes could easily swipe you away.
Will there be more earthquakes?
Will the next one actually reach Alaska?
A new study claims that rising temperatures and acid levels in the ocean are causing coral reefs harm, and that coral reefs could be dissolved in only 100 years. Apparently, rising levels of carbon dioxide are what is causing ocean waters to become acidic. Dr Jacob Silverman from the Carnegie Institution, has done studies on this, and has concluded that if carbon dioxide levels reach 2 times as much as pre-industrial levels, coral reefs will stop being able to grow, and that they will start breaking up due to acid damage. Apparently this happens because the acid in the water prevents coral from being able to pull minerals out of the water to build their skeletons.
Using a global map and calculations, the people participating in this study have found that the point where oral reefs start disintegrating will probably be reached by the end of this century. Coral bleaching events have become more common.
Is there any way to keep water acidity from causing any further problems to coral?
Can anything be done to reverse the harmful effects of water acidity on coral that has already been damaged?
Imagine if you could just switch a disease on and off. Wouldn’t that be a teenager’s dream? You could say to your teacher, “Well, I’m literally feeling sick today – see I’m getting a rash. Sorry, but I can’t take this test today, I’m going home.” Although this is currently impossible, this article discusses how bottle nose dolphins have the ability to switch diabetes on and off, providing an example for how humans may be able to fight the disease as well.
These dolphins have adapted to be able to ” keep their blood glucose levels high in a diabetic-like state when they have no food to feed the demand from their brains.” They become diabetic at night, but wake up the next morning to eat and no longer have diabetes. Since both humans and dolphins share “the same glucose blood chemistry needed to feed our large brains,” if we are able to study how dolphins control their insulin levels, we may be able to manipulate our bodies in order to mimic dolphins and turn off diabetes in humans. Unfortunately, since nobody wishes to make bottle nose dolphins testing subjects in labs, it is unlikely that further research will occur and diabetes will continue to rise.
Would it be inhumane to use dolphins as lab animals in order to end diabetes?
Would there be a way to study dolphins without turning them into testing subjects in labs?
The Census of Marine Life has discovered 5,600 new species in the ocean (not counting microbes), since 2000. Thousands of researchers and scientists have been scouring the entire ocean floor from “pole to pole, surface to frigid depths” for a decade. How is a census set up and organized to explore the whole ocean?
The many benefits of this census include finding medical treatments, learning the effects of global warming and establishing marine preserves. I wonder how many researchers and scientist were involved in the study? In the study, researchers have discovered that deep-water sponges hold a chemical that is able to help treat herpes infections. Marine life may also be beneficial in painkillers and cancer treatments. Scientists are finding that because of climate change squid are no longer found in tropical climates but now in polar areas. Similar to the dwindling number of tigers, great white sharks are diminishing too. The research being conducted is persuading the government to allow reserve areas for marine life.
“Researchers near completion of ocean census, cite value of protecting marine life” By Randolph E. Schmid
In this article I learned about all of the things we don’t know about the Nautilus. Marine Biologists are unable to determine the life span or how long it takes a nautilus to reach maturity.. They also cannot determine were they lay there eggs.
Nautilus shells are very unique and valuable. There are currently no laws protecting the taking of Nautilus’. Since we are unsure of there life span and maturity rate this could be a hazard to this cephalopod. If the life span of these animals is a log time then these animals may not bounce back from the hunting and trapping of many of them.
I really think its neat how this cephalopod can keep it a secret as to it’s maturity rate and life span. I still don’t understand how they can find the life span of tons of other animals but not this popular cephalopod.
The only Penguin native to Africa is in danger of being endangered…
a 60% drop in population of these little guys has happened over the past 9 years..
due to the fact that there is a major shortage of food…
this penguin is dependent only on fish and sardines and anchovies being a major part of the South African fishing industry
is a major contribution to the reason why these birdies are getting wiped out…
the South African government has put a halt on the harvesting of these two main food sources.
in hope that the slow return of the African penguin is a good and steady one.
SAVE ME!
I think that the fact that octopuses can learn simple tricks. It is so true that they are the smartest invertebrates. They can open jars and things with there tentacles. In captivity the keepers of these invertebrates are offered enrichment toys to stimulate their minds. Many holes were drilled in a 480 ml pill container to let the octopus to sense the food inside the container. To open the lid it had to push down on the lid at the same time as turning it and Billye the octopus finished this in 55 minutes. They do not have a lot of brain power but somehow this octopus could finish this simple human task.
How do you think that this octopus accomplished this task?
We have been learning a lot about how smart octopuses are and how they are the smartest invertebrates. These guys are very interesting. This article called “Smart Octopus?” told me that octopuses can do a number of very intelligent things. Some of them are they can learn simple mazes tell between shapes and patterns, use landmark navigation while foraging, use tools, show play behavior and have individual personalities. And these are all proven by scientists!
I was amazed at reading this. They are almost like humans in a freakish way. I also read that they had an octopus open a screw top lid to get out food. This is a very cool thing that octopuses can do. I learned that the yare not as smart as human children but are very smart creatures.
What else could they train octopuses to do in the future?
From: http://arthurseverythingblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/elasticwater.jpg
According to this article, Japanese scientists at Tokyo University created a jelly-like substance that is 95% water; it is called Elastic Water. To create this, the scientists added “two grams of clay and a small quantity of appropriate organic matters into normal water.” This caused the water to coagulate into a gel-like substance.
This is a major advance in science and, because it is environmentally safe and safe for human contact, this new product could be used in medicine. The articles says that, “Its characteristics make it possible to use it in medicine for sticking together tissues. If its density is increased, the new material could be used for the production of ecologically clean plastic materials.” Elastic water is a huge leap forward in both the medicinal and environmental world! We should all be excited about this!
What other uses could “elastic water” have in the environmental field of science? In the medical field?
What is the “life expectancy” of this product (is it permanant or temporary)?
In this article, we learn that because of the acidification of the water, large amounts of melting ice in the arctic and an increase of upwelling from the bottom, the Arctic Ocean is quickly becoming dangerously corrosive. To start with, ocean water takes in CO2 from the atmosphere. However, Fiona McLaughlin, a research scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada says that “in the Arctic, this acidification process is happening faster than in southern regions because cold water absorbs more CO2 than warm water.” The second problem is the large amounts of ice melt caused by the warming at the poles. Because ice has very low levels of calcium carbonate, the melting is causing “diluting and reducing the concentration of the shell-building compound in the top 50 metres of water.” Then, because of less water being covered by ice, the winter storms are now reaching the surface and causing upwellings from the deep. These waters are also low in calcium carbonate.
All these things layered on top of one another are causing the waters in the Arctic to become corrosive. The lack of calcium carbonate is not just making it difficult for shelled creatures to build their shells, but is literally starting to dissolve the shells that are already there. These creatures, plankton in particular, are the basis of the ocean food chains. Without them, life in the ocean will soon become hard, if not impossible. Scientists are worried that because of water circulation, corrosive waters will soon begin to affect waters in other parts of the world as well.
Do you think that this lack of calcium carbonate in the Arctic will seriously affect life in the ocean?
Scientists think the Arctic ice will be melted before 2030. How long do you think it will take?
