National Ecological Observatory Network featured at ESA/SER Joint International Conference
...mplex ecological processes at multiple scales-from biosphere dynamics to microorganisms in soil and water. Now ...ther long-term data on ecological responses of the biosphere to changes in land use and climate, and on feedbacks with the geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere...University of Arizona launches major scientific research initiative at Biosphere 2
...t will advance our understanding of the Earth, its biosphere and the impact upon it," said Ed Bass, co-founder of Biosphere 2 and president of the Philecology Foundation. Biosphere 2 was initially created as a tool to probe the essential environmental questions we must ask in the 21st century, and I look forwa...Candidate research sites selected for the National Ecological Observatory Network
...processes at multiple scalesfrom continental-scale biosphere dynamics to the microorganisms in soil and water. Now they are preparing to build it. Since 2005, designers of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) have worked with their colleagues in the ecological community to refine the science an...Puzzling plankton yield secrets to role in evolution/global photosynthesis
... process that is responsible for about half of the biosphere net primary production," said collaborator and co-author Herv Moreau of the Pierre & Marie Curie University Oceanic Observatory in Banyuls-sur-mer, France. "This active absorption of hundreds of millions of tons of carbon per day is essential for ma...Satellites play vital role in understanding the carbon cycle
...s (CCDAS) for better understanding the role of the biosphere in the global carbon cycle," Gobron said. Phytoplankton, microscopic marine plants that drift on or near the surface of the sea, absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis just as their terrestrial cousins do. While individually micr...New deep-sea hydrothermal vents, life form discovered
...hose rocks and the oceans above, as well as a rich biosphere that depends on vent processes," said Adam Schultz, program director in NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences, which funded the expedition through its Ridge 2000 program. "This discovery has implications for understanding the origin of Earth's crust, its ...Antarctic marine explorers reveal first biological changes after collapse of polar ice shelves
...l advance our ability to predict the future of our biosphere in a changing environment." When Antarctic glaciers reach the coast of the continent, they begin to float and become ice shelves, from which icebergs calve. Since 1974, a total of 13,500 square km of ice shelves have disintegrated in the Antarctic P...Climate change only one symptom of a stressed planet Earth
... the fact that additional carbon released from the biosphere in a warmer climate will enhance climate change du...mate. For instance, the oceans and the terrestrial biosphere slow down climate change by absorbing half of the CO2 emitted to the atmosphere, but how long will t...Satellite data vital to UN climate findings
... the Earth System including the atmosphere, ocean, biosphere and cryosphere. The ability of satellites to deliver global data on the Earth System makes them particularly useful to study climate change and to validate and assess the quality of climate models. In addition, long-term and consistent Earth obse...Microbe fixes nitrogen at a blistering 92 degree Celsius
...he realm of where life can grow in the subseafloor biosphere and other nitrogen-limited ecosystems, perhaps even on other planets, Mehta says. Scientists have speculated since 1981 that nitrogen fixation was occurring at hydrothermal vents because vent animals had completely different nitrogen isotope ratios t...Leibniz Prize winners 2007 announced
...istry of impact processes and their effects on the biosphere (astromineralogy). Falko Langenhorst was the first to detect high-pressure minerals in the Martian meteorite Zagami, which itself had been ejected from the surface of Mars by a meteorite and flung all the way to Earth. For the impact event that produ...NASA ice images aid study of Pacific walrus arctic habitats
...en," said Jay Skiles, senior research scientist in biosphere science at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. "The count took almost two months, required the use of ships and smaller craft, airplanes and helicopters with thermal sensors. Russia provided valuable support by supplying an ice-breaker f...Extreme life, marine style highlights 2006 ocean census
...lation about what rare species contribute to their biosphere and an estimate that the kinds of bacteria in the oceans exceed five to 10 million. The researchers also began assembling the best-ever video of protists (mostly microscopic organisms that are neither animals, plants, or fungi) and to pioneer optica...Resilient form of plant carbon gives new meaning to term 'older than dirt'
...her northern forests, it would put the terrestrial biosphere in a more prominent position as a slow but progressively important atmospheric carbon sink on geologic time scales. It could even influence current predictions about carbon cycling and soil carbon storage in response to increasing amounts of carbon d...The Milky Way shaped life on Earth
... between cosmic rays and the variable state of the biosphere being just a coincidence, and it offers a new pers...ers were alive in other words, how productive the biosphere was at that time. To his surprise, Dr Svensmark noticed that the biggest fluctuations in productiv...Researchers link ocean organisms with increased cloud cover and potential climate change
... Discovery of the new link between clouds and the biosphere grew out of efforts to explain increased cloud cov...ne may help reshape the way we think about how the biosphere interacts with clouds and climate," said Nenes, an assistant professor in Georgia Tech's School of E...Marine life stirs ocean enough to affect climate, says FSU study
... What's more, their study found that the marine biosphere the chain of sea life anchored by phytoplankton ... the tides," Dewar said. In fact, he explained, biosphere mixing appears to provide about one third the power required to bring the deep, cold waters of the w...Symposium 'Environmental Change in Siberia -- Insights From Earth Observation and Modeling'
...reenhouse gas accounting scheme of the terrestrial biosphere from a combined satellite remote sensing and vegetation modeling approach. "The symposium will comprise of 22 talks and 6 poster presentations, and conclude with discussion of the main scientific questions that need addressing and how this internat...Ecological change, climate variation addressed at international conference, September 20-24
...more important than ever to understand how Earth's biosphere is changing over the long term," said Collins. "NSF's LTER program is at the forefront of scientific research in developing that understanding." NSF supports a network of 26 LTER sites located in the world's major biomes, from the coldest desert to...... Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, will study how the biosphere affects the atmosphere. He will examine the gases methane, chloromethane and bromomethane and their contribution to the greenhouse effect and global warming. His group will investigate the formation of climate-relevant volatile organic compounds (VOC...