The Latest Biology News And Medical NewsBiology News 2Health News 2Biology News 3Health News 3
HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Changing Continental Runoff Patterns Could Change Ocean Circulation

Denver, Colo. -- Human alteration of major waterways may cause more problems than drought downstream, according to a Penn State geologist who is studying circulation models of the ancient oceans.

"We have already seen some of the consequences of changing surface waterways," says Karen L. Bice, graduate student in geosciences. "The Colorado River barely flows to the ocean and the Aral Sea is drying up. We do have the capacity to alter the amounts of freshwater that run off into the oceans and that could alter ocean circulation patterns."

Bice, Dr. Eric J. Barron, professor of geosciences and director of Penn State's Earth System Science Center, and William H. Peterson, Earth System Science Center, are using a supercomputer-based General Circulation Model to look at the effects of continental runoff on ocean circulation patterns in the early Eocene about 55 million years ago when the Earth was substantially warmer than it is now.

The geography of the Eocene was different. The Tibetan plateau had not formed, India was the fastest moving continent and there was a large seaway in the subtropical middle latitudes called the Tethys Sea.

"What we found is that during the early Eocene, the oceans' deep water formation patterns may have been sensitive to variations in continental runoff," Bice told attendees today (Oct. 29) at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver.

Researchers using the general circulation models have not previously considered continental runoff.

The reason that continental runoff can change ocean circulation patterns is that the fresh water running out of continental rivers decreases the salinity of the oceans' surface. Natural evaporation in the Tethys sea tended to increase the salinity of the surface water. Circulation in the oceans can be caused by colder water sinking below warmer water or saltier, denser water sinkin
'"/>

Contact: A'ndrea Elyse Messer
aem1@psuvm.psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State
29-Oct-1996


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Changing one gene launches new fly species
2. Changing the face of biology
3. Changing focus of traditional hospital rounds improves patient care
4. Changing global nitrogen cycle impacting human health, says Colorado University-led study
5. Changing fish body shapes give clues to environmental factors
6. Relationships in a Changing World -- call for papers
7. Changing colors in mice
8. Changing childrens diets today could reduce bone problems 70 years from now
9. If You Cant Stop Polluting, Try Changing The Weather Instead
10. USGS Finds Sea Otters At Risk From Killer Whales In A Changing Ocean
11. Corn Rootworm Changing Behavior, Posing New Threat To Crops

Post Your Comments:
(Date:11/23/2009)...es "incontrovertible evidence" that the volcanic s...ut 73,000 years ago deforested much of central Ind...rs report. , The volcano ejected an estimated 80...ving a crater (now the world,s largest volcanic la...wide. Ash from the event has been found in India, ...
(Date:11/23/2009)... of the highest resolution images of peptides atta...r understanding how biomolecules manipulate the gr...atment for kidney stones using biomolecules. , T...dition of the journal Proceedings of the National...act with mineral surfaces by accelerating, switchi...
(Date:11/23/2009)...University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) research...ng medical conditions (co-morbidity) do not explai...ericans compared to Caucasians who also have colon... Cancer , a journal of the American Cancer Society...co-morbidity are independent predictors of poor su...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Supervolcano eruption -- in Sumatra -- deforested India 73,000 years ago 2Scientists watch as peptides control crystal growth with 'switches, throttles and brakes' 2Scientists watch as peptides control crystal growth with 'switches, throttles and brakes' 3Racial disparity in colon cancer survival not easily explained, UAB researchers say 2Cinergy Health Names Dr Margaret Lewin Chief Medical Director 56029 1Cinergy Health Names Dr Margaret Lewin Chief Medical Director 56029 2SHPS Wins Nine Healthcare Communication Awards in the 2009 Health Information Awards Program 56025 1SHPS Wins Nine Healthcare Communication Awards in the 2009 Health Information Awards Program 56025 2Bextra Whistleblower Case Started Investigation of Pfizer 56022 1Bextra Whistleblower Case Started Investigation of Pfizer 56022 2Bextra Whistleblower Case Started Investigation of Pfizer 56022 3
(Date:11/23/2009)...n layer in which the carbon atoms are arranged on ...n nanotubes are rolled-up sheets of graphene, and ...hene boasts some very special characteristics it ...conductor, and reconciles such conflicting qualiti...hene is impermeable to gases, which makes it inter...
(Date:11/23/2009)...Call/-YMBioSciencesInc.(NYSEAmex: YMI ;TSX:YM),ali...ndadvancesadiverseportfolioofpromisingcancer-relat...edthatCytopia(ASX:CYT)hascommencedenrollmentofaPha...teredJAK1/JAK2inhibitor.Thetrialisbeingconductedat...topiaintoYMhasbeenpreviouslyannouncedandispendinga...
(Date:11/23/2009)...cidin disinfectant solution and wipes are reliable...t H1N1 and Influenza A., , ...tec Inc, the leading manufacturer of clean room p...infectants have been deemed by the EPA as effecti...emic 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus (the swine flu). ...
(Date:11/23/2009)...armaceuticals,Inc.announcedtodaythatithasappointed...ramsbringsmorethan25yearsofdrugdiscoveryanddevelop...rmedicineimagingagent,Cardiolite,andworkedfrom1984...icalResearchWorldwide.In1996,Abramsledtheestablish...1996to2006.AnorMEDdiscoveredanddevelopedMozobil,ad...
Breaking Biology Technology:Polymer with honeycomb structure 2YM BIOSCIENCES REPORTS FIRST PATIENT IN PHASE I/II TRIAL OF JAK1/JAK2 INHIBITOR, CYT387 ENROLLED BY CYTOPIA 2YM BIOSCIENCES REPORTS FIRST PATIENT IN PHASE I/II TRIAL OF JAK1/JAK2 INHIBITOR, CYT387 ENROLLED BY CYTOPIA 3YM BIOSCIENCES REPORTS FIRST PATIENT IN PHASE I/II TRIAL OF JAK1/JAK2 INHIBITOR, CYT387 ENROLLED BY CYTOPIA 4Sporicidin Brand Disinfectant Kills H1N1 in 3 Minutes 2Inimex Announces Appointment of New CEO 2
Other News:
...pers for breakfast, smoked salmon on.their bagels,...e news of a new.technique that could help to assu...ount of salt. Researchers at Eastern Oregon Univ...ers fish processors a safer and more economical wa...
...nfection. Johns Hopkins researchers have fo...s involuntary muscle contractions and bursts of wo...ction.. "We think antibodies made by the ... may go on to attack brain nerve cells in a subset...
...s Discovery of First Progesterone.Mimic To Act Sel...ith Reduced.Impact On Breast Cells .SAN DIEGO, Cal...nd).Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: LGND) ha...otective activity in the uterus without concomitan...
... covered with scaly lesions,.cancerous growths--th...ou.Province in southwest China. Although these he...of impure coal, they are in reality the consequenc... energy needs, food preferences,.and cultural prac...
Now Chemistry Keeps Salty Taste Balanced In Smoked Fish 2Brain Antibodies Provide New Clues To Origins Of Tourette's 2Brain Antibodies Provide New Clues To Origins Of Tourette's 3Ligand Scientists Discover Tissue-Selective Female Hormone Mimics 2Ligand Scientists Discover Tissue-Selective Female Hormone Mimics 3China And USGS--Working Together On Environmental Issues 2China And USGS--Working Together On Environmental Issues 3
...infectious diseases run in families because one in...s generally agree that an individual's genetic mak...o infectious disease, new findings from researcher... error in a single gene is enough to dramatically ...
...difference between a lifeless sack of chemicals an...ized, according to Stanford biophysical chemist St...rsity of California-Davis and Lawrence Livermore N...e cell membranes with unprecedented resolution-on ...
...l Institute of Mental Health has awarded Roel A. O...s at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, ...tudy of schizophrenia in collaboration with scient...cht in the Netherlands. ... Ophoff is also an ass...
...ash. -- Salmonella bacteria, infamous for food poi... infect by stealth. They slip unnoticed into and m... cells the body relies on to seek and destroy inva...ction by macrophages, turning predator cells to pr...
Inheriting a tendency to brain infection 2Inheriting a tendency to brain infection 3With record resolution and sensitivity, tool images how life organizes in a cell membrane 2With record resolution and sensitivity, tool images how life organizes in a cell membrane 3With record resolution and sensitivity, tool images how life organizes in a cell membrane 4With record resolution and sensitivity, tool images how life organizes in a cell membrane 5With record resolution and sensitivity, tool images how life organizes in a cell membrane 6Genetic links to schizophrenia focus of international study 2An infectious agent of deception, exposed through proteomics 2