Remote Environments – envirobites

Voyage to Iceberg Alley

April 1, 2019April 4, 2019 Marlo Garnsworthy 0 Comments Antarctica, Ice Sheets, Iceberg Alley, icebergs, Pine Island Glacier, sea level rise, Southern Ocean, Thwaites Glacier

A couple of days ago, right around sunrise, we sailed out of the Straits of Magellan and into the southern Atlantic Ocean, bound for the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic waters known as Iceberg Alley. Giant petrels soared against a clear blue sky, and gentle waves rocked the ship—although we didn’t expect that to last! I am aboard the JOIDES Resolution, a research vessel and drilling ship, and we are intentionally sailing into some of the planet’s wildest seas and the area of greatest iceberg concentration in the Antarctic.

Environmental Science Human Exposure and Public Health Remote Environments

Animal Depopulation Due to Armed Conflict Can Drastically Alter Ecosystems For Decades

March 22, 2019March 22, 2019 Munim Deen 0 Comments Africa, Conflict, ecosystems, War

Armed conflict is one of the least-studied human activities that drastically affect the environment. A recent paper looks into the major changes in animal population patterns in Mozambique following decades of devastating war.

Snow with green, orange, pink, and red algae

Environmental Science Remote Environments

What gives glacier algae their wild colors?

March 21, 2019March 24, 2019 Abigail Lewis 0 Comments algae, color, sea level rise, snow

When a British expedition reported seeing pink mountain snow in 1818, the London Times said: “Our credulity is put to an extreme test upon this occasion, but we cannot learn that there is any reason to doubt the fact as stated.” Two hundred years later, we now can confirm that pink snow (“watermelon snow”) is real and it is caused by certain types of algae. But why is it that snow algae take on such distinctive red and purple colors? And how does this connect to melting glaciers or global sea level rise?

https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-coral-reef-under-water-668790/

Climate Environmental Science Remote Environments

The Five Deeps Expedition: The first attempt to dive to the deepest point in five oceans

January 5, 2019January 6, 2019 Maddie Halloran 0 Comments Ocean

The Five Deeps Expedition is led by Victor Vescovo, an American attempting to visit the five deepest areas of the ocean in a manned submersible. In December of 2018, he became the first human to reach the bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench in the Atlantic Ocean. Read on to learn more about this expedition, and keep an eye out for the results of the remaining four dives in 2019!

Climate Environmental Science Remote Environments Science through time

Seeing the Forest for the Trees

November 13, 2018November 19, 2018 E.M.B. Doran 0 Comments agriculture, carbon cycle, Climate Change, Conservation, earth system, Ecology, ecosystems, environmental science, forest policy, forests, greenhouse gases, machine learning, nutrient cycles, remote sensing, Restoration

Satellites have changed our ability to see the globe. We can now use satellite data is to monitor change in the amount of land covered by forests, and determine the reasons for that change. In this article, we discuss recent findings global forest monitoring and the impact of supply chain decisions by corporate actors.

Climate Environmental Science Remote Environments

Diving deep: benefits of deep sea coral refuges in the Atlantic

October 24, 2018October 31, 2018 Lushani Nanayakkara 0 Comments coral, coralreefs, fish, Ocean

Take a dive into the fascinating world of deep sea coral reefs off the South Atlantic Coast and their role in supporting diverse reef fish communities. The paper examines the differences between shallow and deep reefs and explores why they may require distinctions when setting management goals.

Case Studies Climate Environmental Science Remote Environments

Winter coat color determines species survival in a changing climate

October 4, 2018October 4, 2018 Lindsay Green-Gavrielidis 0 Comments adaptation, camouflage, Climate Change, evolution, natural selection, predation

We’ve all seen pictures of a bright white arctic fox or snowshoe hare in a snowy landscape. But did you know, these same animals actually have brown coats during the summer? The ability of animals to change their seasonal coat color enables them to camouflage themselves against the landscape year round. A decrease in the duration of winter snow cover is one of the most widespread signals of climate change. Without snow, bright white arctic foxes and snowshoe hares will be obvious to predators and have decreased survival. A recent study reports that populations that have a mix of individuals with either brown or white winter coats may be better able to adapt and persist during this age of climate change.

Climate Environmental Science Remote Environments

Antarctica is melting from the bottom-up!

September 24, 2018September 24, 2018 Chelsea Barreto 0 Comments Climate Change, environmental science, glaciers, sea level rise

Reference: Silvano, A., Rintoul, S.R., Pena-Molino, B., Hobbs, W.R., van Wijk, E., Aoki, S., Tamura, T., and Williams, G.D. 2018.

Climate Environmental Science Remote Environments Science through time

Where will the tall trees grow?

September 18, 2018September 20, 2018 E.M.B. Doran 0 Comments Climate Change, Ecology, ecosystems, environmental science, land use and land cover, landscape change, modeling, paleoecology

What will the landscape look like when the world is four degrees warmer? Seven degrees warmer? Will you see the same trees and shrubs? Will the same birds visit your bird feeder? If you live in a forest now, will you then live in a desert? The implications have wide consequences not least for the production of food and the provision of water for your future self.

Environmental Science Human Exposure and Public Health Remote Environments Toxicology

Drug resistance in one of the remote regions of the world

June 25, 2018June 26, 2018 Kiran Gurung 0 Comments antibiotic resistance, antibiotics, soil microbes

Drug resistance is a common problem due to the human activities. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics has resulted in the development of resistance in disease-causing bacteria (microorganisms) found in soil. But, scientists have also found this resistance even in the soil from remote regions far away from human influence.

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