Study reveals an oily diet for subsurface life

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(Santa Barbara, Calif.) - Thousands of feet below the bottom of the sea, off the shores of Santa Barbara, single-celled organisms are busy feasting on oil.

Until now, nobody knew how many oily compounds were being devoured by the microscopic creatures, but new research led by David Valentine of UC Santa Barbara and Chris Reddy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts has shed new light on just how extensive their diet can be.

Topsoil's limited turnover: A crisis in time

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Boulder, CO and Madison, WI -- 1 OCTOBER 2008 -- Topsoil does not last forever. Records show that topsoil erosion, accelerated by human civilization and conventional agricultural practices, has outpaced long-term soil production. Earth's continents are losing prime agricultural soils even as population growth and increased demand for biofuels claim more from this basic resource.

Case Western Reserve University researchers track Chernobyl fallout

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CLEVELAND - When a reactor in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in 1986 in what was then the Soviet republic of Ukraine, radioactive elements were released in the air and dispersed over the Soviet Union, Europe and even eastern portions of North America.

Nitrogen applied

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MADISON, WI, September 29, 2008 -- Combating soil erosion is a primary concern for agricultural producers in the United States, and many have incorporated conservation tillage systems in their effort to maintain a profitable crop output.

Cover crops are an important tool in this cycle, and while it is known that using nitrogen fertilizers can increase these crops biomass, the resulting levels of nitrogen for the following cash crops have been unknown.

Case Western Reserve University project ties soil conservation and river management together

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CLEVELAND – Sediment in rivers comes from erosion of the landscape as well as the erosion and collapse of the banks themselves. Just how much each source contributes to a river – and how it affects the flow and path of that river – is the subject of research by Peter Whiting, professor of geological sciences at Case Western Reserve University.

Green coffee-growing practices buffer climate-change impacts

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ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Chalk up another environmental benefit for shade-grown Latin American coffee: University of Michigan researchers say the technique will provide a buffer against the ravages of climate change in the coming decades.

Over the last three decades, many Latin American coffee farmers have abandoned traditional shade-growing techniques, in which the plants are grown beneath a diverse canopy of trees. In an effort to increase production, much of the acreage has been converted to "sun coffee," which involves thinning or removing the canopy.

From mothballs to mobilization: Taking the salt out of sea water

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Boulder, CO, USA -- The United Nations estimates that 1.1 billion people across the globe lack access to sustainable, clean drinking water and that 1.6 million children will die each year because of that lack of access. How can science help provide more drinkable water for a growing population on an Earth with limited fresh surface-water and groundwater resources?

Captain Birdseye's robotic nose

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The Captain can't freeze smelly fish that's past its best - and Icelandic scientists can now help him out by detecting the levels of stench-making bacteria faster than ever before.

The research in the Royal Society of Chemistry's Journal of Environmental Monitoring reports a new method to detect bacteria that break down dead fish and produce the distasteful smell of rotting fish.

It opens the door to a standard of quality control even higher and speedier than the finely-tuned nose of the bushy-bearded Birdseye.

The green Sahara, a desert in bloom

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This press release is also available in German.

The Prince of Wales outlines concerns about climate change in interview

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In an interview published today in Weather, the magazine of the Royal Meteorological Society, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales talks about his longstanding interest in the weather and its impact on the environment. The interview covers His Royal Highness's love of gardening and his environmental work to protect the rainforests, as well as his memories of the impact of weather on communities at home and abroad.