The Drosophila simulans species complex continues to serve as an important model system for the study of new species formation. The complex is comprised of the cosmopolitan species, D. simulans, and …
Link to the orginal site: http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/
md
Measuring and testing the teeth of living primates could provide a window into the behavior of the earliest human ancestors, based on their fossilized remains. New research takes us one step closer …
Link to the orginal site:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/fossils_ruins/
md
The U.S. Geological Survey is better prepared to help protect the public this hurricane season by ensuring that emergency managers have quick access to critical water information.
A new downlink backup system guarantees the availability of streamflow information from more than 7,000 USGS streamgages across the nation. The backup system would kick in if the current downlink system is damaged during a storm, insuring that emergency managers have uninterrupted access to the information they need.
Information about stream flows is critical to making informed decisions about flood and storm response activities before, during and after a hurricane. In cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal, state and local agencies, the USGS operates a streamgage network that provides up-to-the-minute data that is critical in order to issue flood warnings and community evacuations.
“We could not accurately forecast river flows and water-levels without the data and support we receive from the USGS. When river and tide data are not available, our job of forecasting is much more difficult and typically results in diminished accuracy of those forecasts,” said Dave Reed, Hydrologist-In-Charge of the National Weather Service Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center in Slidell, Louisiana.
Real-time water data from the streamgage network is transmitted to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s GOES satellite. The satellite then relays the transmissions to various satellite downlinks.
The command-and-data acquisition station at Wallops Island, Virginia is the most critical downlink because it is the only one to receive all of the transmissions. Since this station is located near the coast and is only about 15 feet above sea level, it is vulnerable to hurricanes and other storms. To ensure the continuity of continuous critical data in real time, the USGS, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, and other agencies have partnered to establish an emergency satellite data acquisition and dissemination unit at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Real-time information on flooding (from hurricanes as well as other causes) is always available on the USGS web site: http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/flood.
For direct access to USGS hurricane-related efforts visit USGS Science: Before, During and After the Storm.
MD
New research suggests
that how often Old Faithful and other Yellowstone geysers erupt may depend on
annual rainfall patterns.
Geysers are rare hot
springs that periodically erupt bursts of steam and hot water. Old Faithful has
remained faithful for at least the past 135 years, showering appreciative
tourists every 50 to 90 minutes (most recently an average of 91 minutes).
USGS researcher Shaul
Hurwitz and his colleagues from Stanford University and Yellowstone National
Park have discovered that changes of water supply to a geyser’s underground
plumbing may have a large influence on eruption intervals; that is, the time
between eruptions. For example, geysers
appear to lengthen and shorten their intervals on cycles that mimic annual dry
and wet periods.
Multi-year precipitation
records also strongly correlate with geyser behavior. Based on these results, the study
proposes that an extended drought should result in longer intervals between
eruptions, and perhaps even cessation of activity in some geysers. In contrast,
in years with high precipitation, eruption intervals should be more
frequent. The new research paper,
“Climate-Induced Variations of Geyser Periodicity in Yellowstone National Park,
USA,” is published in the June issue of the journal Geology.
Additional information: Geysers
are extremely rare; perhaps less than 1000 exist worldwide, with more than half
of them in Yellowstone National Park. The
famous Old Faithful Geyser was named in 1870 during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Yellowstone expedition
and was the first geyser in the Park to be named. Old Faithful eruptions can be viewed on any
computer on Earth via a video camera deployed by the National Park Service.
Instrumental data which records geyser eruption times is available at the Geyser Observation and Study Association web site. Long-term meteorological trends can be
inferred from seasonal streamflow trends like those in the Madison River.
This study is a cooperative effort
involving the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service.
MD
Scientific
research indicates that warmer temperatures may create substantial water supply
shortages in the Colorado River. This would
greatly impact the more than 25 million people who rely on this source for
water and power. Science-based tools and information are needed to adapt to
changing climate conditions in this region of growing population and limited
water resources. Come learn how the USGS and its partners are working to
provide and apply the science needed by resource managers and policy makers to
anticipate and address climate change impacts on the Colorado
River.
What:
The
USGS will host a congressional briefing on how science can be used to anticipate and address the impacts of climate change on the
Colorado River.
Who:
Terrance J. Fulp, Bureau of Reclamation
Eric Kuhn, Colorado River Water Conservation
District
Gregory J. McCabe, USGS
Where:
1324 Longworth
House Office
Building, Washington, D.C.
When:
Friday, June 6, 2008
10:00 a.m.
Sponsors:
Representative Earl Blumenauer
Representative Wayne Gilchrest
Representative Jim Moran
Representative Jon Porter
Host:
Western States Water Council
Climate Change Science Program
For more information about the briefing, visit the USGS Congressional Briefings web site.
MD
