Earth | Page 977 | Science Codex

Incoming! Then outgoing! Waves generated by Russian meteor recorded crossing the US

A network of seismographic stations recorded spectacular signals from the blast waves of the meteor that landed near Chelyabinsk, Russia, as the waves crossed the United States.

The National Science Foundation- (NSF) supported stations are used to study earthquakes and the Earth's deep interior.

While thousands of earthquakes around the globe are recorded by seismometers in these stations--part of the permanent Global Seismographic Network (GSN) and EarthScope's temporary Transportable Array (TA)--signals from large meteor impacts are far less common.

New gender benchmarking study: Brazil succeeding in providing a positive STI environment for women

São Paolo, March 7, 2013 – In the first gender benchmarking study of its kind, researchers have found that numbers of women in the science, technology and innovation fields are alarmingly low in the world's leading economies, and are actually on the decline in many, including the United States. Results from Brazil show that despite women having a strong representation in parts of the science, technology and innovation sector, and a slight increase in engineering, physics and computer science, overall numbers are on the decline.

New gender benchmarking study: India is making slow progress in advancing women in S & T

Delhi, March 7, 2013 - In the first gender benchmarking study of its kind, researchers have found that numbers of women in the science, technology and innovation fields are alarmingly low in the world's leading economies, and are actually on the decline in many, including the United States. India's low overall ranking in the study shows slow progress despite women friendly policies which have been in place for a number of years.

New gender benchmarking study: South Africa ranks low on women participating in STI

Cape Town, March 7, 2013 – In the first gender benchmarking study of its kind, researchers have found that numbers of women in the science, technology and innovation fields (STI) are alarmingly low in the world's leading economies, and are actually on the decline in many, including the United States. For South Africa, results show that women have more opportunities available to them than ever before, however, their participation in the science, technology and innovation workforce remains low.

Sharing HIV research findings with participants

Is it feasible to share research findings with HIV-infected participants enrolled in observational research in rural sub-Saharan African? Anna Baylor and colleagues orally disseminated their findings to 477 research participants during a meeting modelled on a traditional wedding event. The information was enthusiastically received by participants. The meeting was a rewarding experience for the research team and identified new areas for investigation, say the authors.

Source: Public Library of Science

Statistical physics offers a new way to look at climate

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Scientists are using ever more complex models running on ever more powerful computers to simulate the earth's climate. But new research suggests that basic physics could offer a simpler and more meaningful way to model key elements of climate.

A flood of controversy on the Colorado River

Alexandria, VA – As the Colorado River winds through the Colorado Plateau's soft sedimentary strata, it picks up a tremendous amount of sediment.

This sediment – which once left the river's waters so muddy that Spanish explorers christened it El Rio Colorado "the reddish river" – is a vital component to the unique ecosystems of the river.

Study shows mirabegron effective and well tolerated for overactive bladder

(Photo Credit: ) (Photo Credit: ) (Photo Credit: ) (Photo Credit: )Source:

UCSB physicists make discovery in the quantum realm

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Physicists at UC Santa Barbara are manipulating light on superconducting chips, and forging new pathways to building the quantum devices of the future –– including super-fast and powerful quantum computers.

Vortex loops could untie knotty physics problems

University of Chicago physicists have succeeding in creating a vortex knot—a feat akin to tying a smoke ring into a knot. Linked and knotted vortex loops have existed in theory for more than a century, but creating them in the laboratory had previously eluded scientists.

Vortex knots should, in principle, be persistent, stable phenomena. "The unexpected thing is that they're not," said Dustin Kleckner, a postdoctoral scientist at UChicago's James Franck Institute. "They seem to break up in a particular way. They stretch themselves, which is a weird behavior."

Man-made material pushes the bounds of superconductivity

MADISON — A multi-university team of researchers has artificially engineered a unique multilayer material that could lead to breakthroughs in both superconductivity research and in real-world applications.

The researchers can tailor the material, which seamlessly alternates between metal and oxide layers, to achieve extraordinary superconducting properties — in particular, the ability to transport much more electrical current than non-engineered materials.

Improved synchronicity: Preventive care for the power grid

President Obama in this year's State of the Union address talked about the future of energy and mentioned "self-healing power grids" -- a grid that is able to keep itself stable during normal conditions and also to self-recover in the event of a disturbance caused, for example, by severe weather.

New study reveals how sensitive US East Coast regions may be to ocean acidification

A continental-scale chemical survey in the waters of the eastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico is helping researchers determine how distinct bodies of water will resist changes in acidity. The study, which measures varying levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other forms of carbon in the ocean, was conducted by scientists from 11 institutions across the U.S. and was published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography.

Volcanic aerosols, not pollutants, tamped down recent Earth warming, says CU-Boulder study

A team led by the University of Colorado Boulder looking for clues about why Earth did not warm as much as scientists expected between 2000 and 2010 now thinks the culprits are hiding in plain sight -- dozens of volcanoes spewing sulfur dioxide.

Biological particles, dust from Sahara and Asia, love visiting California

A field study of aerosol impacts on clouds and precipitation in the Sierra Nevada mountains shows that dust and microorganisms transported from as far away as the Sahara desert help to spur the precipitation that California counts on for its water supply.