14
JUN
Antarctic Ice Melt and Sea Level Rise
Antarctic ice melt and sea level rise – The rate of sea level rise from melting ice sheets and ice shelves in Antarctica has trebled in the past 5 years, due to global warming. Satellite data is showing that ice loss from Antarctica has increased global sea levels by 7.6mm since 1992 and could reach 15 cm the end of the century.Earthquake Prediction Global earthquake models pass stress test. Combining GPS and seismic data gives us the best earthquake forecasts yet.Undersea fibre optic data cables that carry the world’s telecommunications data can also be used to detect seismic signals from earthquakes. This is particularly useful for picking up signals from remote undersea tectonically active regions which are not very well covered by land-based seismic recorders.Picture: Summer clouds swirl in around the Staccato Peaks of Alexander Island, Antarctic Peninsula. High snowfall and strong weather gradients in this mountainous area make assessment of glacier mass balance particularly challenging. Credit: Hamish Pritchard, BASPresenter: Roland PeaseProducer: Fiona Roberts
07
JUN
Selling Dinosaurs to Private Collectors
This week an auction of a 70% complete dinosaur skeleton took place in Paris. The Therapod species, dating from the late Jurassic (155m years ago) is scientifically very interesting. It’s an unknown predator which, argues the Society of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, is why it should not be owned by the highest bidder, but made available to palaeontologists for more scientific study.Category 6 Hurricanes The 1st of June marks the start of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season. Leading climate scientists debate whether we will see fewer or more tropical cyclones in the Atlantic as a consequence of anthropogenic climate change. There is a mounting consensus, however, that we will see more intense hurricanes. So do we need to add a more severe Category 6 to the Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale.Listening to Ice Melt If you listen carefully to ice sheets in the Arctic, you can hear the glaciers calving and even the bubbles bursting as the ice melts. Scientists are attempting to calibrate these sounds with the extent of ice-melt in order to remotely monitor the state of the polar ice.Bacterial Lending LibraryMore than 3000 medically relevant bacteria, including some of those responsible for the deadliest diseases (plague, dysentery and cholera) have had their genomes decoded. This brings the 100 year old national collection bang up to date. The collection is an invaluable resource for researchers wanting to understand how bacterial antibiotic resistance evolved over time and to help make detection of disease outbreaks now more accurate.Picture: A dinosaur skeleton, sold to a private buyer at an auction in Paris for €1.6m (£1.4m; $2m), Credit: AFP/Getty ImagesPresenter: Roland PeaseProducer: Fiona Roberts
