Global Warming Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Global Warming, including details on causes, effects, impact, facts, myths, information. | ||||||
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The World Is not Flat: Defining Relevant Thermal Landscapes in the Context of Climate Change.Sears MW, Raskin E, Angilletta MJ *Department of Biology, Bryn Mawr College, 101 N. Merion Ave., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, USA; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA. Although climates are rapidly changing on a global scale, these changes cannot easily be extrapolated to the local scales experienced by organisms. In fact, such generalizations might be quite problematic. For instance, models used to predict shifts in the ranges of species during climate change rarely incorporate data resolved to <1 km(2), although most organisms integrate climatic drivers at much smaller scales. Empirical studies alone suggest that the operative temperatures of many organisms vary by as much as 10-20°C on a local scale, depending on vegetation, geology, and topography. Furthermore, this variation in abiotic factors ignores thermoregulatory behaviors that many animals use to balance heat loads. Through a set of simulations, we demonstrate how variability in elevational topography can attenuate the effects of warming climates. These simulations suggest that changing climates do not always impact organisms negatively. Importantly, these simulations involve well-known relationships in biophysical ecology that show how no two organisms experience the same climate in the same way. We suggest that, when coupled with thermoregulatory behavior, variation in topographic features can mask the acute effect of climate change in many cases. Published 21 October 2011 in Integr Comp Biol, 51(5): 666-75. Articles on Global Warming published 21 October 2011: Thermal genetic adaptation in the water flea Daphnia and its impact: an evolving metacommunity approach. Integr Comp Biol, 51(5): 703-18. Genetic adaptation to temperature change can impact responses of populations and communities to global warming. Here we integrate previously published results on experimental evolution trials with follow-up experiments involving the water flea Daphnia as a model system. Our research shows (1) the capacity of natural populations of this species to genetically adapt to changes in temperature in a time span of months to years, (2) the context-dependence of these genetic changes, emphasizing the ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Global Warming published 20 October 2011: The strength and direction of phenological responses to changes in climate have been shown to vary significantly both among species and among populations of a species, with the overall patterns not fully resolved. Here, we studied the temporal and spatial variability associated with the response of several insect species to recent global warming. We use hierarchical models within a model comparison framework to analyze phenological data gathered over 40 years by the Japan Meteorological Agency ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Fast and Exothermic Reaction of CO(2) and Li(3)N into C-N-Containing Solid Materials. J Phys Chem A, 115(42): 11678-81. The conversion of CO(2) to valuable compounds, which is considered as an effective approach to solve the global warming, represents a great challenge due to the high stability and low reactivity of CO(2). Herein, thermodynamic calculations predicted the feasibility of exothermic reactions between CO(2) and Li(3)N into two important solid materials-carbon nitride and lithium cyanamide. Furthermore, the feasibility was confirmed by experiments, namely, the fast reaction between CO(2) and Li(3)N ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Global Warming published 18 October 2011: Multiple effects and uncertainties of emission control policies in China: Implications for public health, soil acidification, and global temperature. Sci Total Environ, 409(24): 5177-87. Policies to control emissions of criteria pollutants in China may have conflicting impacts on public health, soil acidification, and climate. Two scenarios for 2020, a base case without anticipated control measures and a more realistic case including such controls, are evaluated to quantify the effects of the policies on emissions and resulting environmental outcomes. Large benefits to public health can be expected from the controls, attributed mainly to reduced emissions of primary PM and ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Transformations of biomass-derived platform molecules: from high added-value chemicals to fuels via aqueous-phase processing. Chem Soc Rev, 40(11): 5266-81. Global warming issues and the medium-term depletion of fossil fuel reserves are stimulating researchers around the world to find alternative sources of energy and organic carbon. Biomass is considered by experts the only sustainable source of energy and organic carbon for our industrial society, and it has the potential to displace petroleum in the production of chemicals and liquid transportation fuels. However, the transition from a petroleum-based economy to one based on biomass requires new ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Skin Reactions on Exposure to the Pine Processionary Caterpillar (Thaumetopoea pityocampa). Actas Dermosifiliogr, 102(9): 658-667. The pine processionary caterpillar is the larval form of the Thaumetopoea pityocampa moth. Mediterranean forests regularly suffer plagues of this insect, which has been moving north as a result of global warming. When the small urticating hairs that develop during the last 3 larval stages are shed and can become airborne. If they come in contact with skin, they can cause a variety of reactions, notably contact urticaria and papular rashes. Irritation can also occur if the hairs lodge in the ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Global Warming published 17 October 2011: Microcystin-LR induced DNA damage in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Mutat Res. Human exposure to microcystins, which are produced by freshwater cyanobacterial species, is of growing concern due to increasing appearance of cyanobacterial blooms as a consequence of global warming and increasing water eutrophication. Although microcystins are considered to be liver-specific, there is evidence that they may also affect other tissues. These substances have been shown to induce DNA damage in vitro and in vivo, but the mechanisms of their genotoxic activity remain unclear. In ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Anaerobic digestion of starch-polyvinyl alcohol biopolymer packaging: Biodegradability and environmental impact assessment. Bioresour Technol. The digestibility of a starch-polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) biopolymer insulated cardboard coolbox was investigated under a defined anaerobic digestion (AD) system with key parameters characterized. Laboratory results were combined with industrial operational data to develop a site-specific life cycle assessment (LCA) model. Inoculated with active bacterial trophic groups, the anaerobic biodegradability of three starch-PVOH biopolymers achieved 58-62%. The LCA modeling showed that the environmental ... [Abstract] [Full-text] © 2004-2013 Global Warming Research Today. All Rights Reserved. |
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