In hot water: Ice Age findings forecast problems

Data from end of the last Ice Age confirm effects of climate change on oceans

2011-12-21

(Press-News.org) The first comprehensive study of changes in the oxygenation of oceans at the end of the last Ice Age (between about 10 to 20,000 years ago) has implications for the future of our oceans under global warming. The study, which was co-authored by Eric Galbraith, of McGill's Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, looked at marine sediment and found that that the dissolved oxygen concentrations in large parts of the oceans changed dramatically during therelatively slow natural climate changes at the end of the last Ice Age. This was at a time when the temperature of surface water around the globe increased by approximately 2 °C over a period of 10,000 years. A similar rise in temperature will result from human emissions of heat-trapping gases within the next 100 years, if emissions are not curbed, giving cause for concern.

Most of the animals living in the ocean, from herring to tuna, shrimp to zooplankton, rely on dissolved oxygen to breathe. The amount of oxygen that seawater can soak up from the atmosphere depends on the water temperature at the sea surface. As temperatures at the surface increase, the dissolved oxygen supply below the surface gets used up more quickly. Currently, in about 15 per cent of the oceans – in areas referred to as dead zones – dissolved oxygen concentrations are so low that fish have a hard time breathing at all. The findings from the study show that these dead zones increased significantly at the end of the last Ice Age.

"Given how complex the ocean is, it's been hard to predict how climate change will alter the amount of dissolved oxygen in water. As a result of this research, we can now say unequivocally that the oxygen content of the ocean is sensitive to climate change, confirming the general cause for concern."

### This research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR)

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Blue Steel Acquisitions Says Ireland has Plenty of Work Opportunities

2011-12-21

Blue Steel Acquisitions observe Australia as one of the few countries that have not entered recession. The economy is booming, and with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world the work there is plenty. Over the next few years Australia will require tens of thousands of skilled migrants, especially those with a background in medicine, nursing, engineering, and construction. Blue Steel Acquisitions have noticed with employment opportunities in Ireland scarce and employers seeking only experienced workers, many Irish people are now considering immigrating to Australia. Despite ...

Will Antarctic worms warm to changing climate?

2011-12-21

Researchers at the University of Delaware are examining tiny worms that inhabit the frigid sea off Antarctica to learn not only how these organisms adapt to the severe cold, but how they will survive as ocean temperatures increase. The National Science Foundation study, led by Adam Marsh, associate professor of marine biosciences in UD's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, also will compare the process of temperature adaptation in the polar worm, known scientifically as Capitella perarmata, with that of a close relative that inhabits temperate waters, Capitella ...

Leading Business Brokerage Firm Announces New Territories for Business Broker Franchises

2011-12-21

Capital Business Solutions, a full service business brokerage firm, announces new territories for those looking to own a business broker franchise. Capital Business Solutions provides an extensive training and orientation process for each of their new franchisees to prepare them with the knowledge and expertise necessary to strive in the business brokerage industry and build their own business with unlimited opportunity. "Over the past few years we have been modeling our platform to facilitate expansion" said Michelle Seiler, Managing Partner. "Our franchisees ...

University of Nevada, Reno using new technology to record Antarctic Ocean, ice temperatures

2011-12-21

RENO, Nev. – Half-mile long thermometers have been dropped through the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica that will give the world relevant data on sea and ice temperatures for tracking climate change and its effect on the glacial ice surrounding the continent. The study based at the University of Nevada, Reno is funded by the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs and other NSF grants. "This technology is allowing us to do something never before done; to record continuous temperature data in and under the ice shelf," said Scott Tyler of the University of Nevada, ...

Study reveals turn 'signals' for neuron growth

2011-12-21

Irvine, Calif., and Arlington, Texas -- Researchers at UC Irvine and The University of Texas at Arlington have discovered how spinning microparticles can direct the growth of nerve fiber, a discovery that could allow for directed growth of neuronal networks on a chip and improve methods for treating spinal or brain injuries. Michael Berns, the founding director of the Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic at UCI, and Samarendra Mohanty, an assistant professor of physics at UT Arlington, are coauthor of the paper, which is now available online and will appear in ...

Sensing the deep ocean

2011-12-21

Futuristic robots may be coming soon to an ocean near you. Sensorbots are spherical devices equipped with biogeochemical sensors, that promise to open a new chapter in the notoriously challenging exploration of earth's largest ecosystem—the ocean. The devices are being designed and developed in the laboratory of Professor Deirdre Meldrum, ASU Senior Scientist and Director of the Center for Biosignatures Discovery Automation at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute. Much of Meldrum's genomic research focuses on deep ocean environments and leverages her extensive ...

National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association's Online Kids Nutrition Specialist Training Focuses on Reducing Childhood Obesity and Diabetes and Improving Health

2011-12-21

With the growing epidemic of both childhood obesity and childhood diabetes in the United States and across the globe, kid-focused nutrition is more critical than ever. To help train more people in this specialized field of nutrition, the National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association (NESTA) offers an online, self-paced Kids Nutrition Specialist program. The online Kids Nutrition Specialist training helps create more fun and healthy food choices for kids, with kids' nutrition games and strategies for overcoming objections to certain foods. The program also includes ...

Lower classes quicker to show compassion in the face of suffering

2011-12-21

Emotional differences between the rich and poor, as depicted in such Charles Dickens classics as "A Christmas Carol" and "A Tale of Two Cities," may have a scientific basis. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that people in the lower socio-economic classes are more physiologically attuned to suffering, and quicker to express compassion than their more affluent counterparts. By comparison, the UC Berkeley study found that individuals in the upper middle and upper classes were less able to detect and respond to the distress signals of others. ...

Early dietary experience shapes salt preference of infants and preschoolers

2011-12-21

PHILADELPHIA -- Researchers from the Monell Center report that 6-month-old infants who have been introduced to starchy table foods – which often contain added salt – have a greater preference for salty taste than do infants not yet eating these foods. Reflecting their greater liking for salty taste, the exposed infants consumed 55 percent more salt during a preference test than did infants not yet introduced to starchy foods. At preschool age, the same infants were more likely to consume plain salt, demonstrating the enduring influence of early dietary exposure. The findings ...

New analysis casts doubt on results of tobacco industry studies into safety of cigarette additives

2011-12-21

New analysis casts doubt on results of tobacco industry studies into safety of cigarette additives Published tobacco industry scientific research on the safety of cigarette additives cannot be taken at face value, according to an analysis led by Stanton Glantz from the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California in San Francisco, and published in this week's PLoS Medicine. In the PLoS Medicine study, the authors reanalyzed data from "Project MIX" in which chemical analyses of smoke, and the potential toxicity of 333 cigarette ...

Inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 upregulates the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signaling pathway to mitigate hepatocyte ferroptosis in chronic liver injury

In hot water: Ice Age findings forecast problems

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: