All 17 available at
http://www.eurekalert.org/bysubject/atmospheric.php
Public Release: 17-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
Adapting local ecosystems can soften impact of global climate change
“Think globally, act locally” makes for a nice
bumper sticker — but is it an effective policy
for coping with global climate change? The short
answer is “no,” according to the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We
cannot do much locally to lessen the effects of
global drivers; therefore, our local policies
must focus on adaptation. There is more to the
story, however, according to Charles Perrings, a
professor of environmental economics at Arizona
State University.
Contact: Skip Derra
skip.derra@asu.edu
480-965-4823
Arizona State University
Public Release: 17-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
Small sea creatures may be the ‘canaries in the coal mine’ of climate change
As oceans warm and become more acidic, ocean
creatures are undergoing severe stress and entire
food webs are at risk, according to scientists at
a press briefing this morning at the annual
meeting of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science in Boston.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Gail Gallessich
gail.g@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-7220
University of California – Santa Barbara
Public Release: 17-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
Managing uncertainty important in ecological balance: ASU researcher
The balance of nature looms prominently in the
public mind these days. Climate change,
genetically modified plants and animals, and
globally declining fish stocks are but a few of
the issues that remind us that ours is a fragile
world. Or is it? It depends on whom you ask, says
Ann Kinzig, an Arizona State University associate
professor in the School of Life Sciences
specializing in biology and society.
Contact: Skip Derra
skip.derra@asu.edu
480-965-4823
Arizona State University
Public Release: 17-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
Climate change has major impact on oceans
Climate change is rapidly transforming the
world’s oceans by increasing the temperature and
acidity of seawater, and altering atmospheric and
oceanic circulation, reported a panel of
scientists this week at the American Association
for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in
Boston.
Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans
Contact: Jane Lubchenco
lubchenco@oregonstate.edu
541-740-1247
Oregon State University
Public Release: 17-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
Mission critical for carbon management
Integrating science and public policy with
consumer needs and the global economy is critical
if we have any chance of reducing carbon’s
effects on the climate, say scientists at the
2008 Annual Meeting of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science. Scientists from
around the globe will discuss the role of
science, technology and policy in developing
solutions to manage carbon during the symposium
The Carbon Journey: Understanding Global Climate
Effects and Advancing Solutions.
US Department of Energy
Contact: Mary Beckman
mary.beckman@pnl.gov
509-375-3688
DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Public Release: 17-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
Will North Atlantic threshold response to ocean changes be enough?
Predictions that the 21st century is safe from
major circulation changes in the North Atlantic
Ocean may not be as comforting as they seem,
according to a Penn State researcher.
National Science Foundation, US Environmental Protection Agency
Contact: Andrea Elyse Messer
aem1@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State
Public Release: 16-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
MIT expert: How to toughen up environmental treaties
The Kyoto Protocol is one of more than 100 global
environmental treaties negotiated over the past
40 years to address pollution, fisheries
management, ocean dumping and other problems. But
according to MIT Professor Lawrence Susskind, an
expert in resolving complex environmental
disputes, few of the agreements have done more
than slow the pace of ecological damage, due to
lack of ratification by key countries,
insufficient enforcement and inadequate financial
support.
Contact: Elizabeth Thomson
thomson@mit.edu
617-258-5402
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Public Release: 16-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
Fish devastated by sex-changing chemicals in municipal wastewater
While most people understand the dangers of
flushing toxic chemicals into the ecosystem
through municipal sewer systems, one potentially
devastating threat to wild fish populations comes
from an unlikely source: estrogen. After an
exhaustive seven-year research effort, Canadian
biologists found that miniscule amounts of
estrogen present in municipal wastewater
discharges can decimate wild fish populations
living downstream.
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Contact: Doré Dunne
dore.dunne@nserc.ca
613-851-8677
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
Public Release: 16-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
Impacts of fossil fuels on fish and people
NOAA scientist John Incardona will tell a
scientific detective story that uncovers a
previously unrecognized threat to human health
from a ubiquitous class of air pollutants.
Incardona’s presentation delves into how one type
of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, a compound
found in oil, damaged the developing hearts of
Pacific herring and pink salmon embryos after the
Exxon Valdez spill of 1989.
Contact: Ben Sherman
ben.sherman@noaa.gov
202-253-5256
NOAA Research
Public Release: 16-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
Valuing ocean services in the Gulf of Maine —
New approaches for conflict resolution
Michael Fogarty, a NOAA biologist, says
interactions among species, the effects of
climate change, and the effects of human impacts
such as harvesting are among the factors that
need to be considered in moving toward an
ecosystem-based fishery management plan.
Conventional fishery management practices
concentrate on individual species rather than a
holistic approach that looks at the bigger
picture.
Contact: Ben Sherman
ben.sherman@noaa.gov
202-253-5256
NOAA Research
Public Release: 16-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
New findings on emerging contaminants
Substances that we use everyday are turning up in
our lakes, rivers and ocean, where they can
impact aquatic life and possibly ourselves. At a
press conference at the 2008 Annual Meeting of
the American Association for the Advancement of
Science in Boston, a panel of researchers will
discuss how these chemicals are affecting aquatic
environments and may be coming back to haunt us
in unanticipated ways.
Contact: Matthew Wright
mwright@seaweb.org
617-835-9395
SeaWeb
Public Release: 15-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
CIRA scientist among authors of book celebrating
50 years of Earth observations from space
Stan Kidder, a researcher at the Cooperative
Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at
Colorado State University, will talk about
contributions satellites make to weather
forecasting on Feb. 17 at the American
Association for the Advancement of Science annual
meeting in Boston.
National Academies
Contact: Emily Narvaes Wilmsen
Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu
970-491-2336
Colorado State University
Public Release: 15-Feb-2008
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
The key to quieter Atlantic hurricane seasons may be blowing in the wind
Every year, storms over West Africa disturb
millions of tons of dust and strong winds carry
those particles into the skies over the Atlantic.
According to a recent study led by University of
Wisconsin-Madison atmospheric scientists, this
dust from Africa directly affects ocean
temperature, a key ingredient in Atlantic
hurricane development.
Contact: Amato Evan
amato.evan@ssec.wisc.edu
608-263-3951
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Public Release: 15-Feb-2008
Dung happens and helps scientists
A scientist at Northern Arizona University is in
charge of the largest animal dung collection in
the world, used for clues about animal evolution
and extinction, Ice Age existence and climate
change. Researcher Jim Mead admits it is a
bizarre resource, but he is one of many around
the globe who access dung for DNA information.
Mead, a dung authority, continues to grow the
collection with specimens from as far away as
Siberia.
Contact: Diane Rechel
diane.rechel@nau.edu
928-523-0611
Northern Arizona University
Public Release: 15-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
Science
Oregon researchers study widespread areas of low oxygen off northwest coast
A team of scientists, including NOAA’s William
Peterson, studying the California Current — a
slow-moving mass of cold water that travels south
along the coast from British Columbia to Baja
California — are seeing increasing areas of
water off Washington and Oregon with little or no
oxygen, possibly resulting in the deaths of
marine animals that cannot leave the low-oxygen
areas.
Contact: Brian Gorman
brian.gorman@noaa.gov
206-526-6613
NOAA Headquarters
Public Release: 15-Feb-2008
Soil Science Society of America Journal
Melting snow provides clues for acidification
Scientists investigate accumulated sulfate and
nitrate in New England snow and follow it after
the snow melts for clues to acidification of
soils. The results of their study are reported in
the Soil Science Society of America Journal.
National Science Foundation, USDA Forest Service,
New York State Energy Research Development
Authority
Contact: Sara Uttech
suttech@soils.org
608-268-4948
Soil Science Society of America
Public Release: 15-Feb-2008
2008 AAAS Annual Meeting
Panel identifies greatest technological research challenges of the 21st century
A panel of maverick thinkers, convened by the
National Academy of Engineering, today identified
what they consider to be the greatest
technological research challenges facing society
in the coming century. In the following Q&A,
panel member Rob Socolow of Princeton University
expands upon the NAE Grand Challenges project and
the role that technological innovation plays in a
vibrant society.
National Academy of Engineering
Contact: Teresa Riordan
triordan@princeton.edu
609-258-9754
Princeton University, Engineering School
All 17 available at
http://www.eurekalert.org/bysubject/atmospheric.php
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