PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Scientists obtain new data on the weather 10,000 years ago from sediments of a lake in Sierra Nevada

Scientists obtain new data on the weather 10,000 years ago from sediments of a lake in Sierra Nevada
2014-09-02
(Press-News.org) A research project which counts with the participation of the University of Granada has revealed new data on the climate change that took place in the Iberian Peninsula around the mid Holocene (around 6.000 years ago), when the amount of atmospheric dust coming from the Sahara increased. The data came from a study of the sediments found in an Alpine lake in Sierra Nevada (Granada)

This study, published in the journal Chemical Geology, is based on the sedimentation of atmospheric dust from the Sahara, a very frequent phenomenon in the South of the Iberian Peninsula. This phenomenon is easily identified currently, for instance, when a thin layer of red dust can be occasionally found on vehicles.

Scientists have studied an Alpine lake in Sierra Nevada, 3020 metres above sea level, called Rio Seco lake. They collected samples from sediments 1,5 metres deep, which represent approximately the last 11.000 years (a period known as Holocene), and they found, among other paleoclimate indicators, evidence of atmospheric dust coming from the Sahara. According to one of the researchers in this study, Antonio García-Alix Daroca, from the University of Granada, "the sedimentation of this atmospheric dust over the course of the Holocene has affected the vital cycles of the lakes in Sierra Nevada, since such dust contains a variety of nutrients and / or minerals which do not abound at such heights and which are required by certain organisms which dwell there."

More atmospheric dust from the Sahara

This study has also revealed the existence of a relatively humid period during the early phase of the Holocene (10.000 – 6.000 years approximately). This period witnessed the onset of an aridification tendency which has lasted until our days, and it has coincided with an increase in the fall of atmospheric dust in the South of the Ibeian Peninsula, as a result of African dust storms.

"We have also detected certain climate cycles ultimately related to solar causes or the North Atlantic Oscillacion (NAO)", according to García-Alix. "Since we do not have direct indicators of these climate and environmental changes, such as humidity and temperature data, in order to conduct this research we have resorted to indirect indicators, such as fossil polen, carbons and organic and inorganic geochemistry within the sediments".

INFORMATION: This research has been conducted as part of several projects which count with the participation of scientists at the University of Granada, the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences (CSIC-UGR), the University of Murcia, the University of Glasgow, and the University of Northern Arizona.

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Scientists obtain new data on the weather 10,000 years ago from sediments of a lake in Sierra Nevada

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Muslim headscarf may buffer against negative body image among women

2014-09-02
Researchers have found that British Muslim women who wear a hijab generally have more positive body image, are less reliant on media messages about beauty ideals, and place less importance on appearance than those who do not wear a hijab. These effects appear to be driven by use of a hijab specifically, rather than religiosity. "While we shouldn't assume that wearing the hijab immunizes Muslim women from negative body image, our results do suggest that wearing the hijab may help some women reject prescriptive beauty ideals," said Dr. Viren Swami, lead author of the British ...

In pro baseball pitchers, weak core linked to more missed days

In pro baseball pitchers, weak core linked to more missed days
2014-09-02
COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research suggests that professional baseball pitchers with poor core stability are more likely to miss 30 or more days in a single season because of injury than are pitchers who have good control of muscles in their lower back and pelvis. In the study, 347 pitchers were assessed for lumbopelvic control during spring training. Pitchers with more tilt in their pelvis as they raised a leg to step up were up to three times more likely to miss at least 30 days – cumulative, not consecutive – during the season than were pitchers who showed minimal tilt ...

Throwing a loop to silence gene expression

2014-09-02
All human cells contain essentially the same DNA sequence – their genetic information. How is it possible that shapes and functions of cells in the different parts of the body are so different? While every cell's DNA contains the same construction master plan, an additional regulatory layer exists that determines which of the many possible DNA programs are active. This mechanism involves modifications of genome-bound histone proteins or the DNA itself with small chemical groups (e.g. methylation). It acts on top of the genetic information and is thus called 'epi'-genetic ...

Mechanical ventilation a key indicator for pre-term children's math problems

Mechanical ventilation a key indicator for pre-term childrens math problems
2014-09-02
A new study, led by researchers at the University of Warwick in the UK and the Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany, and just published in the Journal Early Human Development, has found that both the length of time spent in hospital after birth and the use of mechanical ventilation are key indicators of reduced mathematical ability in preterm children. Mathematic abilities are crucial for lifelong academic attainment. Impairments in mathematic abilities are common in very preterm children. Earlier studies of children who are born very preterm (before 32 weeks of gestational ...

What you eat and not just the number of calories, is a significant factor in diabetes risk

2014-09-02
If you think losing weight is enough to prevent Type 2 diabetes, don't get your hopes up. A new research report in September 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal, suggests that you don't have to be overweight to develop Type 2 diabetes. This study compared genetically identical twins-one heavier and one leaner-and found that after eating a fast-food meal, the circulating metabolites, including those related to Type 2 diabetes, were found in both individuals at the same levels. These findings suggest that the onset of this type of diabetes is largely influenced by genetic factors ...

Ben-Gurion University researchers develop new program to evaluate prominent individuals' personalities

2014-09-02
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL…September 2, 2014 – Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed a new program that automates classification of personality traits of prominent individuals -- both friend and foe -- according to a paper soon to be published in the American Intelligence Journal. "This new field, termed 'Computational Personality,' gives us the ability to better understand the minds of military and political leaders, which is an important aspect of strategic intelligence," explains BGU Prof. Yair Neuman of the Homeland Security Institute. "Psychologists ...

Are human breast milk microbiome 'neutral'?

2014-09-02
Human breast milk is considered the most ideal source of nutrition for infants and it should have played a critical role in the evolution and civilizations of human beings. Unlike our intuitive perception, human milk contains a large number of bacterial species, including some opportunistic pathogens of humans. This phenomenon comes as no surprise to scientists and physicians. Indeed, the existence of milk microbiome is considered to be the result of co-evolutionary and co-adaptive interactions between the microbiome and human host. Furthermore, the dynamic balance in ...

Media coverage of a celebrity suicide can cause a large-scale copycat effect

2014-09-02
Researchers who analyzed media coverage of the suicide of a national actress in South Korea and its impact on subsequent suicides found that the number of suicide-related articles surged around 80 times in the week after a suicide compared with the week prior. Many articles (37.1%) violated several critical items on the World Health Organization suicide reporting guidelines, like containing a detailed suicide method. The investigators estimated that there were approximately 430 excess suicides during the 4 weeks after her death due to media coverage. "This figure is ...

Clean air halves health costs in Chinese city

Clean air halves health costs in Chinese city
2014-09-02
Air pollution regulations over the last decade in Taiyuan, China, have substantially improved the health of people living there, accounting for a greater than 50% reduction in costs associated with loss of life and disability between 2001 and 2010, according to researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health, the Shanxi Medical University, the Center of Diseases Control and Prevention of Taiyuan Municipality, and Shanghai Fudan University School of Public Health. The study is the first to document the ...

Many nurses unprepared to meet dying patients

Many nurses unprepared to meet dying patients
2014-09-02
Most nurses in their work care for patients who are dying. A study of more than 200 students has shown that many nurses in training feel unprepared and anxious when faced with the prospect of meeting patients during end-of-life care. Scientists from the Sahlgrenska Academy have interviewed 222 nursing students at the University of Gothenburg, the University of Skövde and the Ersta Sköndal University College. The interviews dealt with their thoughts about caring for dying patients, their ideas about how to support and meet the patient in dialogue, and their own feelings ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Illinois researchers pair nanocatalysts, food waste to reduce carbon emissions in aviation

New research shows how nerve cells can be protected against ALS

Timing is everything: Finding treatment windows in genetic brain disease

MSU scientist partners on biofuel policy for a carbon-neutral agricultural future

Building blocks and quantum computers: New research leans on modularity

Clinical and medical-education pioneer to forge links throughout HonorHealth Research Institute, emphasizing disease prevention

Breakthrough in understanding amylin could pave way for next generation of weight loss drugs

UC Davis study reveals alarming browser tracking by GenAI assistants

GSA Guide offers strategies for helping patients make better health care choices

New study identifies key conditions for amplifying student voices in schools

SwRI-led Webb Telescope survey discovers new moon orbiting Uranus

Study of overdose dashboard in Cayuga County shows value of real-time data

UAlbany study finds more new doctors are choosing to stay in New York

Baycrest leader elected to Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

Restricted blood flow speeds tumor growth by aging the immune system

Exploring long term, complex biodiversity change in Scotland’s landscapes

Radio waves amp up smell without surgery or chemicals

A serve with serious swerve

Differential use of depression and anxiety medications in adults with a history of cancer

Study reveals how HPV reprograms immune cells to help cancer grow

Epigenetic aging markers predict colorectal cancer risk in postmenopausal women

A comprehensive survey of orbital edge computing: Systems, applications, and algorithms

Targeting high agility aviation electro-mechanical actuation: ADRC emerges as key to high-dynamic servo drives

How Zelda and Studio Ghibli inspire happiness and purpose

AI hybrid strategy improves mammogram interpretation

Texas Children’s provides new breakthrough treatment for patient with rare neurological disorder

Pneumococcal vaccine trial aims to provide more protection to babies

In Africa, heat waves are hotter and longer than 40 years ago, UIC researchers say

Healing takes a ‘toll’ and how mental health providers cope matters

Interim analysis of 48-week tenofovir amibufenamide treatment in chronic hepatitis B patients with normal alanine aminotransferase levels

[Press-News.org] Scientists obtain new data on the weather 10,000 years ago from sediments of a lake in Sierra Nevada