Articles By Alex Card

seaweeds / Experiment specimens of the fleshy, red alga Plocamium cartilagineum in individual beakers. (Credit: Susan Kram / UC San Diego)

Oceans

Study Examines Impact Of Rising Carbon, Acidifying Oceans On San Diego Seaweeds

A new study from UC San Diego examines how rising atmospheric carbon and acidifying oceans affects calcified and fleshy seaweeds differently.

  • Posted September 16, 2015
A monitoring buoy installed at Barco Lake. (Credit: National Ecological Observatory Network)

Lakes

National Ecological Observatory Network Installs New Buoys At Two Florida Lakes

New sensor buoys at Suggs and Barco Lakes will provide open-access data to scientists and the public through the National Ecological Observatory Network.

  • Posted September 3, 2015
A USGS scientist samples a stream for neonicotinoid concentrations as part of the first national-scale investigation of these insecticides. (Credit: Hank Johnson / USGS)

Rivers

USGS Study Finds Neonicotinoids In Over Half Of Sampled U.S. Streams

A study from the USGS has found concentrations of a controversial class of insecticides in more than half of streams sampled in the U.S.

  • Posted August 27, 2015
Cedar Creek is a typical intermittent stream with flow rates changing drastically from year to year. (Credit: USGS)

Rivers

USGS Intermittent Streams Study Finds Correlation Between Climate, Flow Regime

A new USGS study analyzing the effects of climate variability on intermittent streams finds their flow regimes closely reflect historical climate patterns.

  • Posted August 21, 2015
Treated plot that subsequently burned in the Peterson Fire of 2008. (Credit: Jens Stevens / UC Davis)

Earth

California Forest Fires Create Conditions Promoting Southern Plant Species Abundance

A study of 12 Californian wildfires found that plant species associated with a southern distribution grew more abundant than northern species post-fire.

  • Posted August 19, 2015
The Galapagos penguin is the second smallest penguin and the rarest in the world. (Credit: Aquaimages)

Earth

“Accident Of Geography” Brings Rare Galapagos Penguin Back From The Brink

Shifts in oceanic and atmospheric conditions helped bring the rare Galapagos penguin back from the edge of extinction over a 30-year period.

  • Posted August 17, 2015
The MODIS instrument onboard NASA’s Terra satellite scans for the characteristic green of chlorophyll to detect phytoplankton blooms. (Credit: NASA Earth Observatory)

Oceans

Phytoplankton Bloom Byproducts Make Cloud-Forming Water Droplets Brighter

A new study using NASA satellite data finds that phytoplankton blooms contribute to the brightness and reflectivity of clouds in the Southern Ocean.

  • Posted August 7, 2015
strip-till farming Researchers find that strip-tilling yields better crops. (Credit: Soil Science/CC BY 2.0)

Earth

Strip-Till Farming Provides More Organic Matter

A five-year study of corn and soybean growth in strip-till and no-till fields finds that strip-tilling improves soil quality and crop nutrient uptake.

  • Posted August 6, 2015
The research buoy houses a hyperspectral instrument that stares down into the lake and measures light distribution and wavelength in very fine increments. (Credit: UC Davis)

Lakes

Lake Tahoe’s Signature Blueness Comes From Algae, Not Clarity

Using data from a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory buoy, UC Davis researchers find that Lake Tahoe's captivating blueness comes from algae, not water clarity.

  • Posted August 4, 2015
Palm plantation in Cigudeg, Bogor. (Credit: Achmad Rabin Taim/CC BY 2.0)

Earth

Turning Peatlands Into Oil Palm Plantations Releases More Carbon Than Once Thought

Waterlogged soils known as peatlands are great natural carbon storage systems, but are regularly developed into oil palm plantations. A new study from University of Minnesota suggests that developing peatland into plantations releases twice as much carbon from soil as previously thought, according to a release from the university....

  • Posted August 4, 2015
climate change

Earth

Combating Climate Change Through Forest Management About More Than Carbon Capture

A study from Dartmouth College found that forests’ roles in combating climate change extend beyond their capacity for carbon capture.

  • Posted July 31, 2015
NOAA has released the software program CAFE to help responders dealing with pollution answer two important questions: What’s going to happen to the contaminant released and what, if any, species will be harmed by it? (Credit: Beckye Stanton, California Department of Fish and Wildlife)

Oceans

NOAA’s CAFE Database Determines Fates Of Toxic Chemical Spills, Ecosystem Impacts

NOAA's Chemical Aquatic Fate and Effects database provides information on more than 35,000 toxic materials and can help determine impacts of spills.

  • Posted July 30, 2015
Bleached and dead coral in the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. (Credit: NOAA)

Oceans

Warmer Pacific, Western Atlantic Oceans Increase Coral Bleaching Threat

Unseasonably warm temperatures in the Pacific and western Atlantic oceans could lead to more rapid bleaching of corals in the Northern Hemisphere, according to a statement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Corals bleach when they are stressed by major environmental shifts that cause them to eject the...

  • Posted July 30, 2015
Mangrove forests help stabilize sediment as they collect on river and estuary banks, creating more mangrove habitat and providing a buffer against sea level rise. (Credit: Peyri Herrera/CC BY-ND 2.0)

Oceans

Mangroves Could Help Protect Estuaries And Coastlines Against Sea Level Rise

A new study suggests that mangrove forests could mitigate the impacts of sea level rise in some of the world’s most threatened regions.

  • Posted July 28, 2015
Moving the drilling equipment used to bore through half a mile of Antarctic ice required massive machinery and the majority of the three-month field season. (Credit: WISSARD)

Earth

Geothermal Flux Beneath West Antarctic Ice Sheet Is Surprisingly High

An interdisciplinary research team from UC Santa Cruz obtained the first-ever measurement of geothermal flux beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet.

  • Posted July 27, 2015

Rivers

Map Reveals Rotavirus Pathogen Emission Rates In Global Waterways

A map of rotavirus pathogen emission rates in waterways around the world highlights a need for improved wastewater infrastructure in many regions.

  • Posted July 24, 2015
Soil moisture trends in Northern China during growing seasons from 1983-2012. (Credit: Yaling Liu / Purdue University)

Earth

Fertilizer Overuse, Increased Irrigation Dry Out Soil In Key China Farming Region

Despite the onset of a warmer, drier climate in northern China, a new study suggests that increased farming is responsible for drying soil in one of the nation’s vital agricultural regions, according to a Purdue University press release. Researchers from Purdue and China Agricultural University examined soil moisture data...

  • Posted July 24, 2015
Deployment of bio-amended activated carbon pellets (SediMite) to treat PCB contaminated sediment in Abram’s Creek on the Quantico Marine Base. (Credit: Kevin Sowers)

Earth

Researchers Develop New Biotechnology That Cleans Up Toxic PCBs

Researchers with the University of Maryland have developed a new method to remove PCBs from sediment using bacteria and carbon.

  • Posted July 23, 2015
High concentrations of the toxic algae Pseudo-nitzschia have prompted officials in Washington to shut down shellfish fisheries. (Credit: Anthony Odell/University of Washington)

Oceans

Largest Toxic Algae Bloom Seen In Over A Decade Shuts Down West Coast Fisheries

Stretching from southern California to British Columbia, a toxic algae bloom is shutting down fisheries along the west coast and puzzling researchers.

  • Posted July 20, 2015
Bumblebees aren't moving north to escape hotter temperatures. (Credit: Science / AAAS)

Earth

Bumblebees Fail To Move North In Response To Climate Change

Climate change has driven many terrestrial and aquatic species northward, but North American and European bumblebees are proving an exception to the rule. By not shifting their ranges north, bumblebees have lost up to 300 kilometers of viable habitat across both continents, according to a study by scientists at...

  • Posted July 16, 2015