UK's deep sea mountain life filmed. 3 August 2014Last updated at 21:36 ET By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News Marine biologist Professor J Murray Roberts describes the life found on the slopes of a mountain a kilometre beneath the sea surface Scientists have sent a remotely operated vehicle to film one of the UK's three undersea mountains, known as seamounts. The Hebrides Terrace Seamount, off the west coast of Scotland, is higher than Ben Nevis, but its peak is 1,000m beneath the surface. Prof J Murray Roberts, from Heriot-Watt University, and his colleagues filmed more than 100 species on its slopes. They published their findings in the open access journal Scientific Reports.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote Corals will be exposed to more acidic seawater and their skeletons will dissolve away” End QuoteProf J Murray RobertsHeriot-Watt University Prof Roberts has now shared the footage from the dive exclusively with the BBC. "These are vast structures in the ocean," Prof Roberts explained to the BBC. Acid oceans. Ocean trench: Take a dive 11,000m down. Icy cold, pitch black and with crushing pressures - the deepest part of the ocean is one of the most hostile places on the planet. Only three explorers have made the epic journey there: 11km (seven miles) down to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench. As a new wave of deep-sea exploration begins, take a look at the mysterious world that they will be plunging into.
Pressure Test: Diving 100m down With the help of some polystyrene heads, science reporter Rebecca Morelle finds out what happens at the pressure experienced 100m below sea level. Pressure Test: Diving 1,000m down The BBC's Rebecca Morelle reveals what happens to a polystyrene head as it is subjected to the pressure 1,000m below the waves. Atmospheric diving suit They may look as clunky as a suit of armour but some atmospheric diving suits (ADS) can enable people to reach depths of up to 600-700m. Elephant seal - expert diver This southern elephant seal is a fantastic diver and reach depths of up to 2,000m. A 13-year-old eagle huntress in Mongolia. A photographer who snapped what could be the world's only girl hunting with a golden eagle says watching her work was an amazing sight.
Most children, Asher Svidensky says, are a little intimidated by golden eagles. Kazakh boys in western Mongolia start learning how to use the huge birds to hunt for foxes and hares at the age of 13, when the eagles sit heavily on their undeveloped arms. Svidensky, a photographer and travel writer, shot five boys learning the skill as well as the girl, Ashol-Pan. "To see her with the eagle was amazing," he recalls. "She was a lot more comfortable with it, a lot more powerful with it and a lot more at ease with it. " The Kazakhs of the Altai mountain range in western Mongolia are the only people that hunt with golden eagles, and today there are around 400 practising falconers. Ashol-Pan, the daughter of a particularly celebrated hunter, may well be the country's only apprentice huntress.
They hunt in winter, when the temperatures can drop to -40C (-40F). Wild Canada - Dall sheep and eagles - The Nature of Things - CBC Player. Deep Earth has oceans' worth of water, $10 diamond reveals - Technology & Science. A dirty, $10 diamond with a prize inside has helped reveal that there are vast quantities of water stored deep inside the Earth. The diamond formed in the "transition zone" around 410 to 660 kilometres below our planet's surface. Analysis of a mineral grain trapped inside it suggests that it came from surroundings that were about one per cent water, report researchers led by University of Alberta geochemist Graham Pearson. They published their findings online in the journal Nature today. If the sample is representative of that part of the deep Earth, the amount of water there could be "about the same as the mass of all the world’s oceans combined," wrote Hans Keppler, a geophysicist at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, in an analysis article.
That, in turn, changes our understanding of the way water cycles through our planet, and has implications for the way tectonic plates and volcanoes behave, Pearson notes. Meteorite mineral from Earth August birthstone Lucky find. Ripley's rare penguin - Animals - CBC Player. How reintroducing wolves helped save a famous park. Wolves were once the top predator in America’s world-famous Yellowstone National Park.
But the population was eradicated in the 1920s, leaving the wilderness wolf-free for seven decades. In 1995, however, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone; this gave biologists a unique opportunity to study what happens when a top predator returns to an ecosystem. They were brought in to manage the rising elk population, which had been overgrazing much of the park, but their effect went far beyond that. In this film, The Nature Conservancy’s lead scientist Dr M Sanjayan, Dr Valerie Kapos of the UN Environment Programme and animal behaviourist Kirsty Peake describe how the returning wolves dramatically changed the park’s rivers, forests – and the landscape itself.
Pinaleno Mountains. The Pinaleño Mountains, or the Pinal Mountains, are a remote mountain range in southeastern Arizona. They have over 7,000 feet (2,100 m) of vertical relief, more than any other range in the state. The mountains are surrounded by the Sonoran-Chihuahuan Desert. Subalpine forests cover the higher elevations. According to The Nature Conservancy, they traverse five ecological communities and contain "the highest diversity of habitats of any mountain range in North America.
" [1] The highest point is Mount Graham at 10,720 feet (3,267 m). Some groups of the Hwaalkamvepaya band of the Guwevkabaya-Yavapai settled in the southern parts of the Pinals, and somewhat to the west. The Pinal Apache band of the San Carlos Apache subgroup of the Western Apache also settled in the Pinal Mountain region at this time, to the east and north. Safford and Willcox, Arizona are the nearest towns to the Pinaleños. Flora and fauna[edit] Pre-Columbian flora[edit] Heliograph station[edit] CCC[edit] 2004 fire[edit] 1. 2.
Pakistan earthquake: How did it create a 'sudden island'? - CBC News - Latest Canada, World, Entertainment and Business News. Cartographers might have to put another island on the map after Tuesday's massive earthquake created a new island five kilometres off the southern coast of Pakistan, in the Arabian Sea near Gwadar area. "It's not a common way for islands to be created," says Andrew Miall, a geology professor at the University of Toronto. "But vertical movement of the crust is really common, and it just so happens that, in this case, the crust was very near the surface of the water. " Residents of Gwadar, Pakistan, scramble over a new 30 metre long "instant island" created in the wake of Tuesday's 7.7 magnitude earthquake. Authorities are warning them to keep off the structure as it is leaking methane gas.
(Associated Press) Sudden islands like this can be swallowed back up by the seas, as has happened in Pakistan in the past. But there have been cases, such as following the Great Alaskan Earthquake almost 50 years ago, when new landforms like these can stay around. 1 of 11. Ancient oxygen discovery shakes up history of life on Earth - Technology & Science. Oxygen appeared in the Earth’s atmosphere up to 700 million years earlier than thought, according to a study led by a B.C. scientist, suggesting that revisions need to be made to current theories about how life evolved on Earth. Up until now, scientists thought photosynthesis — the ability of living things such as algae and plants to harvest energy from the sun — first evolved in single-celled organisms about 2.7 billion years ago.
Because oxygen is produced during photosynthesis, early photosynthetic organisms are thought to have given rise to the Great Oxygenation Event, also known as the Great Oxidation, about 2.3 billion years ago. The incident was thought to be the first time the atmosphere began accumulating significant amounts of oxygen. That is significant because complex multicellular organisms such as humans require an oxygen-rich atmosphere to survive. The findings were published online in the journal Nature on Wednesday. Oxygen leaves chemical fingerprint. Science & Environment | Animated guide: Hurricanes. Making Time: How to rescue whales tangled in nets. 20 September 2013Last updated at 12:37 ET By Sam Judah BBC News Magazine The Campobello Island Whales Rescue team at work The Campobello Island Whale Rescue team disentangles whales caught in fishermen's gear and nets around the Bay of Fundy off the east coast of Canada.
To free a trapped whale, you have to tire it out. When writhing around in the water, they can be impossible to cut loose, so volunteer Mackie Greene ties polyurethane balloons to the fishing nets wrapped around their fins. These make it harder for the giant mammals to dive back beneath the surface, and allow his team to start severing the ropes.
In the early 1990s, Greene had wanted to become a fisherman, but years of overfishing in the Bay of Fundy had left cod stocks heavily depleted. "I still wanted to be on the water though," he says, "so I started a little whale watching business back in 1995. " The bay is a rich feeding ground for a variety of sea life, attracted to the coast in search of food. “Start Quote. BBC Nature - Animal colour through animal eyes. Government rejects the science behind neonicotinoid ban. 10 September 2013Last updated at 10:13 ET By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News Scientific disputes continue over the impacts of neonicotinoid chemicals on bees The government says it accepts the EU ban on the use of some pesticides linked to bee deaths, but it rejects the science behind the moratorium.
In a response to the Environmental Audit Committee, the government does not acknowledge the case for a ban on these chemicals for gardeners. The Committee says they are disappointed with this approach. The National Farmers Union says the government view is "balanced and sensible". Last April, the European Commission agreed to a EU wide ban for two years from December on some neonicotinoid chemicals, used on crops attractive to bees. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote There is no justification for people using these products on their Dahlias when they could be damaging pollinator populations” End QuoteJoan Whalley, MPEnvironmental Audit Committee. Snakehead fish: Can invasive species be eaten of existence? Huge canyon discovered under Greenland ice. 29 August 2013Last updated at 14:00 ET By Roger Harrabin Environment analyst Scientists are surprised the feature has not been worn away by successive glaciations One of the biggest canyons in the world has been found beneath the ice sheet that smothers most of Greenland.
The canyon - which is 800km long and up to 800m deep - was carved out by a great river more than four million years ago, before the ice arrived. It was discovered by accident as scientists researching climate change mapped Greenland’s bedrock by radar. The British Antarctic Survey said it was remarkable to find so huge a geographical feature previously unseen. The hidden valley is longer than the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The ice sheet, up to 3km (2 miles) thick, is now so heavy that it makes the island sag in the middle (central Greenland was previously about 500m above sea level, now it is 200m below sea level). Prof Jonathan Bamber describes how the Greenland canyon was discovered.
Blueberries, not fruit juice, cut type-2 diabetes risk. 29 August 2013Last updated at 21:52 ET Blueberries and apples contain high levels of anthocyanins Eating more fruit, particularly blueberries, apples and grapes, is linked to a reduced risk of developing type-2 diabetes, suggests a study in the British Medical Journal. Blueberries cut the risk by 26% compared with 2% for three servings of any whole fruit - but fruit juice did not appear to have the same effect. The research looked at the diets of more than 187,000 people in the US. But Diabetes UK said the results of the study should be treated with caution. Researchers from the UK, US and Singapore used data from three large studies of nurses and health professionals in the US to examine the link between fruit consumption and the risk of contracting type-2 diabetes.
Continue reading the main story What is type-2 diabetes? Diabetes is an incurable condition in which the body cannot control blood sugar levels, because of problems with the hormone insulin. What is diabetes? “Start Quote Juice effect. East Antarctic ice sheet 'vulnerable' to temperature changes. 29 August 2013Last updated at 06:04 ET By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News The researchers looked at the ebb and flow of huge glaciers like this one in the Transantarctic Mountains as it enters the Ross Ice Shelf The world's thickest ice sheet may be at greater risk from variations in the climate than previously believed. Scientists found that glaciers on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) advance and retreat in synch with changes in temperature. Since it contains enough water to raise global sea levels by over 50m, there is an urgent need to study the threat the researchers said. The research has been published in the journal Nature.
Scientists have long been worried about the threat to sea levels from the prospect of melting in Greenland and in West Antarctica. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote We are seeing a very sensitive reaction which we've never really seen before” End QuoteDr Chris StokesDurham University Now a new analysis questions that assumption. The Economist explains: How do birds navigate? Dolphins 'call each other by name' 22 July 2013Last updated at 19:02 ET By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC World Service The research sheds new light on the intelligence of dolphins Scientists have found further evidence that dolphins call each other by "name". Research has revealed that the marine mammals use a unique whistle to identify each other. A team from the University of St Andrews in Scotland found that when the animals hear their own call played back to them, they respond.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr Vincent Janik, from the university's Sea Mammal Research Unit, said: "(Dolphins) live in this three-dimensional environment, offshore without any kind of landmarks and they need to stay together as a group. "These animals live in an environment where they need a very efficient system to stay in touch. " Signature whistles It had been-long suspected that dolphins use distinctive whistles in much the same way that humans use names. Continue reading the main story. Star Wars home of Anakin Skywalker threatened by dune. 19 July 2013Last updated at 15:35 ET By Simon Redfern BBC News Continue reading the main story Sand dunes migrating over the Tunisian desert are poised to bury a famous Star Wars film set. The buildings of the fictional city Mos Espa featured in The Phantom Menace, "Episode I" of the Jedi saga.
Sited on the planet Tatooine, this was the home of the young Anakin Skywalker, later to become Darth Vader. Scientists have used the dwellings as a fixed geographic reference to measure the migration of giant wind-blown crescent-shaped dunes, or barchans. They have published details in the journal Geomorphology. Homes are rarely built in dune fields, and this study illustrates why. Wind-blown sand can build huge mounds in arid deserts, with sand grains pushed up the shallow rear slope before falling down the steep front slope in the lee of the wind.
Crescent-shaped dunes glide across the face of many planets, from Mars to Tatooine. Thresher sharks stun prey with tail slaps. RHS 'sheep-eating' plant about to bloom in Surrey. 'Hoff' yeti crab hitched ride on ocean highway. Could you outrun a Tyrannosaurus rex? Dinosaur 'fills fossil record gap' Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia | Beautiful Places to Visit - StumbleUpon. BBC Nature - Largest whale's acrobatic ambush. Ocean trench: Take a dive 11,000m down. 8 Ways to Make Flowers Last Longer. BBC World News - Fast Track, 31/08/2013 GMT, Insider Guide: Whale watching. Science & Environment - Sundarbans: Nature's bioshield. Deep sea vents: Exploring a strange world. Dinosaur-killing space rock 'was a comet' Fragments of ancient continent buried under Indian Ocean. Sea creature mystery around B.C. - CBC News Vancouver at 6 - CBC Player.