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

Geophysicists employ novel method to identify sources of global sea level rise

2012-04-25
(Press-News.org) TORONTO, ON – As the Earth's climate warms, a melting ice sheet produces a distinct and highly non-uniform pattern of sea-level change, with sea level falling close to the melting ice sheet and rising progressively farther away. The pattern for each ice sheet is unique and is known as its sea level fingerprint. Now, a group of geophysicists from the University of Toronto, Harvard and Rutgers Universities have found a way to identify the sea level fingerprint left by a particular ice sheet, and possibly enable a more precise estimate of its impact on global sea levels.

"Our findings provide a new method to distinguish sea-level fingerprints in historical records of sea levels, from other processes such as ocean waves, tides, changes in ocean circulation, and thermal expansion of the ocean," says Carling Hay, a Ph D candidate in the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto and lead author of a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). "It may indeed allow us to estimate the contributions of individual ice sheets to rising global sea levels."

Scientists around the world are trying to estimate both the current rate of sea level rise and the rates of ice sheet melting, and yet little work has been done to combine the two problems and answer these questions simultaneously.

Hay and colleagues Jerry Mitrovica and Eric Morow of Harvard University, and Robert E. Kopp of Rutgers University sought out statistical techniques that had not previously been applied to this problem, and began developing the new method using data analysis techniques common in other fields such as engineering science, economics, and meteorology. The researchers then tested and refined the method by applying it to synthetic data sets – i.e., data sets with the same amount of noise as real data, but with known melting signals. The tests provide important guidance for the application of the method to actual sea-level records.

"We are now applying our methodology to historical sea level records to provide a new estimate of total sea level rise and the melt rates of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, over the 20th century," says Hay. "Preliminary results show intriguing evidence for acceleration of globally averaged sea-level rise in the second half of the period, along with a simultaneous rise in temperature. Once our study of historical records is complete, the next step will be to incorporate satellite-based measurements of sea-level changes."

The findings are reported in the paper "Estimating the sources of global sea level rise with data assimilation techniques." The research is supported by funding from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Harvard University, and the US Department of Energy American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowship Program.

### MEDIA CONTACTS:

Carling Hay
Department of Physics
University of Toronto
chay@atmosp.physics.utoronto.ca
617-899-3323

Sean Bettam
Communications, Faculty of Arts & Science
University of Toronto
s.bettam@utoronto.ca
416-946-7950


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Microsoft System Center 2012 Release Event Presented by Concurrency's Microsoft MVPs

Microsoft System Center 2012 Release Event Presented by Concurrencys Microsoft MVPs
2012-04-25
Two Concurrency consultants who are also Microsoft "Most Valuable Professionals" will present Microsoft System Center 2012 best practices at two related events early next month. Concurrency is sponsoring the largest System Center 2012 release events in the Midwest, to be held in Brookfield, WI on May 3 and the following day at Microsoft's downtown Chicago facility. Presenting for Concurrency will be infrastructure team lead Nathan Lasnoski, who is based at Concurrency's Brookfield, WI headquarters, and information architect Annur Sumar, who is based in Chicago. ...

Dynamic earth processes across time and space

2012-04-25
Boulder, Colo., USA – The dynamics of Earth are discussed in this new batch of GSA Bulletin papers posted online 6 April. Topics include the link between wildfire-flooding events and the supply of sand to beaches, with specific focus on a coastal California watershed; high-pressure metamorphism in the mountains of northwest China; generation of the Gold Hill shear zone and widespread tectonism in the Appalachian mountain belt; and the nature of magma-filled fractures (dikes) in the earth. GSA BULLETIN articles published ahead of print are online at http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/content/early/recent. ...

Vibrating steering wheel guides drivers while keeping their eyes on the road

2012-04-25
PITTSBURGH—A vibrating steering wheel is an effective way to keep a driver's eyes safely on the road by providing an additional means to convey directions from a car's navigation system, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and AT&T Labs have shown. The study, one of the first to evaluate combinations of audio, visual and haptic feedback for route guidance, found that younger drivers in particular were less distracted by a navigation system's display screen when they received haptic feedback from the vibrating steering wheel. For elder drivers, the haptic feedback ...

Physical abuse may raise risk of suicidal thoughts

2012-04-25
The study, published online this month in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, found that approximately one-third of adults who were physically abused in childhood had seriously considered taking their own life. These rates were five times higher than adults who were not physically abused in childhood. The findings suggest that children exposed to physical abuse may be at greater risk for suicidal behaviours in adulthood. Investigators examined gender specific differences among a sample of 6,642 adults, of whom 7.7 per cent reported that they had been physically ...

In protein folding, internal friction may play a more significant role than previously thought

In protein folding, internal friction may play a more significant role than previously thought
2012-04-25
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– An international team of researchers has reported a new understanding of a little-known process that happens in virtually every cell of our bodies. Protein folding is the process by which not-yet folded chains of amino acids assume their specific shapes, hence taking on their specific functions. These functions vary widely: In the human body, proteins fold to become muscles, hormones, enzymes, and various other components. "This protein folding process is still a big mystery," said UC Santa Barbara physicist Everett Lipman, one of several ...

Outpatient surgery patients also at risk for blood clots

2012-04-25
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A University of Michigan Health System study examined who's having outpatient surgery in the U.S. today, and showed 1 in 84 highest-risk patients suffers a dangerous blood clot after surgery. Hospitalized patients are often warned of the possibility of venous thromboembolism, which include blood clots that can form in the veins and travel to the lungs. However these warnings have not necessarily been extended to the outpatient surgery population, says U-M surgeon and lead study author Christopher J. Pannucci, M.D. With more than 60 percent of procedures ...

Blood transfusions still overused and may do more harm than good in some patients

2012-04-25
Citing the lack of clear guidelines for ordering blood transfusions during surgery, Johns Hopkins researchers say a new study confirms there is still wide variation in the use of transfusions and frequent use of transfused blood in patients who don't need it. The resulting overuse of blood is problematic, the researchers say, because blood is a scarce and expensive resource and because recent studies have shown that surgical patients do no better, and may do worse, if given transfusions prematurely or unnecessarily. "Transfusion is not as safe as people think," says Steven ...

Kinder Houston Area Survey reveals more Houstonians support mass transit

2012-04-25
One of America's most automobile-dependent large cities may be heading into a new era, according to the 31st annual Kinder Houston Area Survey conducted by Rice University. Among the findings in this year's survey: Houstonians support mass transit, feel better about the economy and say relations between ethnic groups are better than ever. The survey results were released today at a luncheon hosted by the Greater Houston Partnership and Rice's Kinder Institute for Urban Research. Mass transit and a preference for urban living A large and growing proportion of Harris ...

No Holidays or Day Trips for Cash-Strapped Scots as Mortgage Rates Set to Rise, Says Sequestration Scotland

No Holidays or Day Trips for Cash-Strapped Scots as Mortgage Rates Set to Rise, Says Sequestration Scotland
2012-04-25
A recent report from Scottish Widows revealed that for 47% of Scots a holiday is an unaffordable luxury, while a day out with children is an impossibility for 45%, but any homeowners in the survey that are on variable rate deals with Halifax or RBS could expect to have even less money after the announcement of a rate hike on May 1st. While millions of Scots struggle to make ends meet, two of the biggest mortgage providers have plunged a million of their customers into uncertainty over their financial futures. RBS will raise their rates 0.25% to 4% while Halifax will ...

New microdevice enables culture of circulating tumor cells for cancer diagnosis, treatment

2012-04-25
A research collaboration between the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Children's Hospital Boston has created a microfluidic device that can harvest rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood to enable their expansion in culture for analysis. These cells, which have detached from a primary cancer site and often create a secondary—or metastasized—tumor, hold an extraordinary amount of information regarding patient-specific drug sensitivity, cancer progression, and patient response to therapy. Such information could help clinicians ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

The percentage of women who went without a Pap smear for cervical cancer screening increased following the COVID-19 pandemic, from 19% in 2019 to 26% in 2022

AI tools fall short in predicting suicide, study finds

Island ant communities show signs of ‘insect apocalypse’

Revealed: The long legacy of human-driven ant decline in Fiji

Analyzing impact of heat from western wildfires on air pollution in the eastern US

Inadequate regulatory protections for consumer genetic data privacy in US

Pinning down protons in water — a basic science success story

Scientists reveal how the brain uses objects to find direction

Humans sense a collaborating robot as part of their “extended” body

Nano-switch achieves first directed, gated flow of chargeless quantum information carriers

Scientist, advocate and entrepreneur Lucy Shapiro to receive Lasker-Koshland special achievement award

Creating user personas to represent the needs of dementia caregivers supporting medication management at home

UTIA participates in national study analyzing microbial communities, environmental factors impacting cotton development

Mizzou economists: 2025 farm income boosted by high cattle prices and one-time payments

What 3I/ATLAS tells us about other solar systems

University of Cincinnati allergist receives $300,000 grant to research rare esophageal disease

Ohio State scientists advance focus on nuclear propulsion

New study reveals a hidden risk after cervical cancer

Environment: Indigenous Amazon territories benefit human health

Zoology: Octopuses put their best arm forward for every task

New research reveals wild octopus arms in action

NEW STUDY: Across eight Amazon countries, forests on Indigenous lands reduce spread of 27 diseases – From respiratory ailments to illnesses spread by insects, animals

How many ways can an octopus flex its supple arms? Now we know

Analysis of ‘magic mushroom’ edibles finds no psilocybin but many undisclosed active ingredients

Modifiable parental factors and adolescent sleep during early adolescence

Excess HIV infections and costs associated with reductions in HIV prevention services in the us

Clocks created from random events can probe ‘quantumness’ of universe

Schaeffer Center white paper outlines FDA reforms to boost pharmaceutical innovation and expand access 

Michael Welsh, MD, wins Lasker Award for cystic fibrosis research

The metals reveal: The Bronze Age was more connected than we previously thought

[Press-News.org] Geophysicists employ novel method to identify sources of global sea level rise