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The Birds
We put our minds together as one and thank all the Birds who move and fly about over our heads. The Creator gave them beautiful songs. Each day they remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader. To all the Birds - from the smallest to the largest - we send our joyful greetings and thanks.
Now our minds are one.
- Native American Poems and Prayers ("Thanksgiving" Prayer )
کوهنوردی هیچ گاه فقط یک ورزش نبوده و نخواهد بود. کوهنوردی هنر پرورش جسم و پالایش روان است و نیز هنر دوست داشتن طبیعت و عشق به این تجلی گاه خداوند است
دکتر مسعود حمیدی در دانستنیهای کوهنوردی . ص ۱۳۷
دکتر مسعود حمیدی در دانستنیهای کوهنوردی . ص ۱۳۷
برفتم به فرمان کیهان خدای
به البرز کوه ، اندر آن سخت جای
روم ، هرچه گفتی به جای آورم
سر کوه ، یک سر ، به پای آورم
مرا رفت باید به البرز کوه
به کاری که بسیار دارد شکوه
پیاده همه کوهساران به پای
بپیموده ، با دانشی رهنمای
فردوسی
منبع
"Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."
-John Muir
Wilderness survival
- prepare for the worst - 10 Essential items to bring
1. Extra food and water.
Extra food means food that is not part of a planned meal or snack, food you do not expect to eat. So you won't be tempted to eat it except in case of emergency, it probably should not be one of your favorites. It does not have to be a large quantity. It probably will not keep you from starving, but it might give you some comfort as well as a few calories to burn to keep you warm. One or two high-energy sports bars might be a good choice. Always carry a full liter of water, and keep it full. Refill at every water source. The next source may be a long way off. Always keep some iodine in your emergency kit (as long as you are not allergic to it) whether or not you travel with a filter in your pack.
2. Extra clothing.
This, too, is gear you do not expect to use. A polypropylene or wool sweater is fine. Even better is a small Mylar space blanket, the kind that comes folded up in a little cellophane package about 2 inches by 4 inches. Add a couple of 30-gallon trash bags, 2 or 3 millimeters thick if you can find them. These are extremely compact, weigh practically nothing, and can be tucked into your emergency kit and forgotten until needed. Garbage bags make good rain and wind protection. They can also be used for gathering food, insulating, as fire-making material, for forming part of a shelter, or for melting snow.
3. Map.
A topographic map is essential for any wilderness navigation. It also can be tucked inside your clothes for insulation or used to leave notes or directions addressed to potential rescuers.
4. Compass.
Be sure you know how to use both a map and compass or they won't do you much good. If your compass is the type with a mirror, it can double as a signaling device.
5. Flashlight with Extra Batteries and Bulb.
A small AA-battery light is fine. Its most important use is for reading a map, and perhaps for signaling. You will probably find that if it is absolutely necessary to walk after dark, starlight alone provides enough light once your night vision adjusts and you are sure of your footing.
6. Sunglasses and sunscreen.
These might not be critical for wandering through the Eastern woods, but they are absolutely essential for survival in deserts, on snow, or in high mountains above timberline where the atmosphere is thin. Sunburn can lead to severe dehydration. The same conditions can cause snow blindness, a particularly painful, though usually temporary, condition that can occur within less than an hour's exposure, though the symptoms may not show up until eight hours later.
7. Matches in a waterproof container.
The wooden strike-anywhere variety is best. Just be sure to store them in such a way that they cannot rub against one another and light themselves. An airtight pill bottle or film canister will keep both oxygen and water out.
8. Fire starter or candle.
In rain or wind a match will not stay lit long enough to ignite damp tinder. A candle, or even a small piece of candle at least a half-inch in diameter will give a more lasting flame. Better yet is fire starter, available at outfitting stores in several forms, from tablets or small blocks of paraffin or other flammable material to a gel that squeezes from a tube.
9. Pocket knife or utility tool.
One simple blade will do, though the models with scissors, saws, tweezers, screwdrivers, and other utility tools are handy for preparing tinder, preparing food, first aid, equipment repair, and almost any other task you can imagine.
10. First-aid kit.
Your kit should include a few alcohol swabs or moist towelettes, antibiotic ointment, aspirin or ibuprofen, Band-Aids, small tweezers, and scissors. Also include whatever prescription drugs you take regularly. If you travel alone or carry the main kit for a group, take a more elaborate kit. See Wilderness First Aid by Gilbert Preston (Falcon, 1997) for a thorough discussion of wilderness first-aid kits.
- Excerpted from Wilderness Survival by Suzanne Swedo
برف پائیزی در ارتفاعات
Wolves, Moose And Biodiversity: An Unexpected Connection
ScienceDaily (Nov. 3, 2009)
Moose eat plants; wolves kill moose. What difference does this classic predator-prey interaction make to biodiversity?
A large and unexpected one, say wildlife biologists from Michigan Technological University. Joseph Bump, Rolf Peterson and John Vucetich report in the November 2009 issue of the journal Ecology that the carcasses of moose killed by wolves at Isle Royale National Park enrich the soil in "hot spots" of forest fertility around the kills, causing rapid microbial and fungal growth that provide increased nutrients for plants in the area.
"This study demonstrates an unforeseen link between the hunting behavior of a top predator -- the wolf -- and biochemical hot spots on the landscape," said Bump, an assistant professor in Michigan Tech's School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science and first author of the research paper. "It's important because it illuminates another contribution large predators make to the ecosystem they live in and illustrates what can be protected or lost when predators are preserved or exterminated."
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Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth
are never alone or weary of life.
- Rachel Carson
Nature
Nature is mighty
Nature is strong
Nature is usually always right
Nature is rarely ever wrong
Nature is beauty
Nature is moody
Nature is smart
Nature always has the greater part
Nature is blue
Nature is green
Nature is every color possibly seen
Nature is true
Nature is beaming
Nature is dreaming
Nature is in every place
Nature is always with grace
Nature is true
Nature is you
Nature is me
Nature will forever be free.
Michael Carlson
Links Between City Walkability And Air Pollution Exposure Revealed
ScienceDaily (Nov. 2, 2009) — A new study compares neighborhoods' walkability (degree of ease for walking) with local levels of air pollution and finds that some neighborhoods might be good for walking, but have poor air quality. Researchers involved in the study include University of Minnesota faculty member Julian Marshall and University of British Columbia faculty Michael Brauer and Lawrence Frank.
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What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet,
Long live the weeds and the wildness yet.
- Gerard Manley Hopkins, Inversnaid
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
~ Joyce Kilmer from 'Trees', 1914
Alone with myself
The trees bend to caress me
The shade hugs my heart
- Candy Polgar
Who leaves the pine-tree, leaves his friend,
Unnerves his strength, invites his end.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, from 'Woodnotes'
Venomous Shrew And Lizard: Harmless Digestive Enzyme Evolved Twice Into Dangerous Toxin In Two Unrelated Species
ScienceDaily (Nov. 2, 2009) — Biologists have shown that independent but similar molecular changes turned a harmless digestive enzyme into a toxin in two unrelated species -- a shrew and a lizard -- giving each a venomous bite.
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Ants Are Friendly To Some Trees, But Not Others
ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2009) — Tree-dwelling ants generally live in harmony with their arboreal hosts. But new research suggests that when they run out of space in their trees of choice, the ants can get destructive to neighboring trees.
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We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.
- Thomas Fuller 'Gnomologia' 1732
Secrets In A Seed: Clues Into The Evolution Of The First Flowers
ScienceDaily (Oct. 28, 2009) — Approximately 120-130 million years ago, one of the most significant events in the history of the Earth occurred: the first flowering plants, or angiosperms, arose. In the late 1800s, Darwin referred to their development as an "abominable mystery." To this day, scientists are still challenged by this "mystery" of how angiosperms originated, rapidly diversified, and rose to dominance.
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Understanding Plant Reactions To Environment
ScienceDaily (Nov. 2, 2009) — One might say plants don't have a leg to stand on, but that may actually give them a leg up on the animal kingdom when it comes to environmental adaptability.
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دارآباد ۷ آبان ۸۸ - یک روز ابری در پائیز
He that planteth a tree is a servant of God,
he provideth a kindness for many generations,
andfaces that he hath not seen shall bless him.
- Henry Van Dyke
Civilization Collapsed After Cutting Key Trees
Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News
Nov. 2, 2009 -- The ancient Nazca people, who once flourished in the valleys of south coastal Peru, literally fell with the trees they chopped down, new research has concluded.
The Nazca caused their own collapse when they cleared their forests in order to make way for agriculture, thus exposing the landscape to wind and flood erosion, according to a study published in the journal Latin American Antiquity. Best known for carving hundreds of geometric lines and images of animals and birds in the Peruvian desert that are fully visible from the air, the Nazca flourished between the first century B.C. and the fifth century A.D.
During these centuries they made sophisticated ceramics and textiles and amassed one of South America's largest collection of human trophy heads. Then, between 500 and 600 A.D., this enigmatic civilization slid into oblivion.
"It was not just that they were hit by a huge mega El Nino in about 500 A.D., but that they had already cleared their forests of huarango, a tree that lives in highly arid zones and stabilizes the soil with some of the deepest roots of any tree known-and can live up to 1000 years," Alex J. Chepstow-Lusty a palaeoecologist from the French Institute for Andean Studies in Lima, Peru, told Discovery News.
Stretching down as deep as 180 feet to subterranean water channels, the huarango roots not only suck up water for the tree, but bring it into the higher subsoil, creating a water resource for other vegetation. "This is one of the most fragile ecosystems on Earth. It hardly ever rains here and the huarango tree is indeed a keystone ecological species," David Beresford-Jones, from the McDonald institute for archaeological research at Cambridge University, told Discovery News.
A leguminous hardwood tree, the huarango (Prosopis pallida) enhances soil fertility and moisture, while being a source of food for humans and animals. "If you remove it, you destroy the ecosystem," Beresford-Jones said. That was exactly what the Nazca did. Analysis of pollen from an excavation area of the lower Ica Valley of the Nazca domain, which is in complete desert today, has revealed a sequence of human-induced events that led to the Nazca's catastrophic collapse., "At the bottom of the profile, I found lots of huarango pollen. This indicates that large forests were originally growing in that area.
Subsequently, I saw cotton pollen and other weeds, but still a lot of huarango pollen. It seems at this stage farming was in balance with the environment," Chepstow-Lusty said. Then, about 400 A.D., the Nazca apparently stopped growing cotton, switching to large crops of maize. The researchers found a major reduction of huarango pollen, indicating that people started clearing the forests to plant more crops.
But the agricultural gain from clearing forests was short-lived. When a mega El Nino event hit the south coast of Peru in about 500 A.D., there were no huarango roots to anchor the landscape. The fields and canal systems were washed away, leaving a desert environment. Today, only pollen from plants adapted to salty and arid conditions can be found, Chepstow-Lusty said.
"The bottom line is that the Nazca could have survived the devastating El Nino floods had they kept their forests alive. Basically, the huarango trees would have cushioned that major event," Beresford-Jones said.According to the researchers, some important lessons can be learned today from the Nazca's disastrous environmental strategies.Indeed a similar scenario threatens Peru as the few remaining pockets of old-growth huarango trees on the south coast are being cleared by illegal charcoal burning.
"With most of Peru's glaciers predicted to disappear by 2050, the Andes need trees to capture the moisture coming from Amazonia. A major program of reforestation is desperately required both in the Andes and on the coast " Chepstow-Lusty said.
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Economic Crisis Could Spread Invasive Species
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Flower Power: Blooming Plants Spawned Forests
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The Importance of Wetlands
Alegra Bartzat
Wetlands are special ecosystems where water and land meet, making “wet land.” The scientific definition is that water covers the soil or is present at or near the surface of the land for the majority of the year. There are many different kinds of wetlands, and wetlands can be found on all the continents except Antarctica. While wetlands share the basic definition around the globe, the specific ecology of wetlands varies in different parts of he world, and even in wetlands that are relatively close to each other.
There are two major types of wetlands: coastal and inland. These are also sometimes called tidal and non-tidal. Inland wetlands are created from freshwater, and are often seasonal. Swamps, bogs, and fens are examples of the variety of types of inland wetlands, and these, like coastal wetlands, can be found across the country and around the world. Estuaries are a special sub-category of coastal wetlands, where fresh water and salt water mix in the wetland, making a habitat of varying salinity..........
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Why Do Animals, Especially Males, Have So Many Different Colors?
ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2009) — Why do so many animal species -- including fish, birds and insects -- display such rich diversity in coloration and other traits? In new research, Gregory Grether, UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and Christopher Anderson, who recently earned his doctorate in Grether's laboratory, offer an answer.
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A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease.
-John Muir
I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do.
- John Muir
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
- John Muir
آسيب هاي ناشي از سرما
توانايي بدن در مقابله با سرما بسيار كمتر از توان آن براي مقابله با گرما است و در واقع روش اصلي براي گرم نگه داشتن بدن استفاده از لباس و پوشش مناسب است . علاوه بر اين عواملي است مثل خستگي , تغذيه نامناسب , سابقه بيماري (مرض قند , بيماري قلبي - عروقي يا تنفسي , ...) , مصرف داروهاي خاص (مثل داروهاي فشارخون , و از همه مهمتر مصرف الكل ) , نامناسب بودن لباس و پوشش فرد و عوامل مختلف ديگري نيز باعث مستعد شدن فرد به كاهش درجه ي حرارت بدن و آسيب هاي ناشي از آن خواهد بود . عدم تحرك براي مدت طولاني (مثل سربازان داخل سنگر ) به علاوه ي سرد بودن هوا , رطوبت بالا , وزيدن باد و خيس بودن لباس ها نيز باعث مستعد شدن فرد و بروز سريع تر و شديدتر آسيب هاي ناشي از سرما خواهد شد .
نكته : رطوبت هوا به همراه وزش باد باعث از دست رفتن درجه ي حرارت بدن مي گردد . به ويژه هرچه سرعت باد بيشتر باشد , كاهش درجه حرارت بدن سريع تر خواهد بود . وزش باد تند در يك آب و هواي سرد و مرطوب به سرعت باعث كاهش درجه حرارت بدن فرد خواهد شد .
منبع
اطلاعات بیشتر
Hypothermia
Also called: Cold-related illness
In cold weather, your body may lose heat faster than you can produce it. The result is hypothermia, or abnormally low body temperature. It can make you sleepy, confused and clumsy. Because it happens gradually and affects your thinking, you may not realize you need help. That makes it especially dangerous. A body temperature below 95° F is a medical emergency and can lead to death if not treated promptly.
Anyone who spends much time outdoors in cold weather can get hypothermia. You can also get it from being cold and wet, or under cold water for too long. Babies and old people are especially at risk. Babies can get it from sleeping in a cold room.
Other cold-related health problems are
Frostbite - frozen body tissue, most often the face, ears, fingers or toes
Frostnip - an early warning sign of frostbite that leaves affected areas white and numb
Chilblains - red, swollen skin caused by inflamed small blood vessels
Source
ای كوه تو مظهر صفايی
الحق كه نشان كبريايی
عشقی تو و پاک و بی غشی تو
لطفی تو و سر به سر وفايی
ای كوه بود دمت چو عيسی
بهر همه دردها شفايی
هر جمعه خوشيم كه با دلی شاد
آييم به درگهت گدايی
هرگز چو تو كس نديده باشد
با اين همه حسن و دل ربايی
هرگز نبود بتر در اين دهر
كز تو بودم دمی جدايی
اي كوه تو مظهر جلالی
تو آيت هيبت خدايی
جاريست بدامن تو اشگت
تو مظهر عشق بی ريايی
اي كوه به هر غمی و دردی
آرامش و مرهم و دوايی
وز خلق چگونه من نبرم
دارم چو تو يار آشنايی
هرگز نشود كه بی تو باشيم
ماز ان تو و توز آن مايی
اي كوه دل تو آسمانست
تو جای اجابت دعايی
مردان خدا چه بس كه از تو
بگرفته ضيا و روشنايی
اندر دل توست حوض كوثر
چون روضه خلد خوش هوايی
مجذوب تو كوه نورد پاكست
ما را چو تو نور ديده هايی
از نشريه ی كوهستان شماره ی 10
خرداد 1343
منبع
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
- John Muir
High Altitude Adventures
We reach for the skies on this week's Naked Scientists, with High Altitude Adventures. We find out how the body reacts to the low oxygen at high altitudes and ....Science Radio
Cold Environments
How does cold affect work performance?
Uncomfortably cold working conditions can lead to lower work efficiency and higher accident rates. Cold impairs the performance of complex mental tasks. Manual tasks are also impaired because the sensitivity and dexterity of fingers are reduced in the cold. At even lower temperatures, the cold affects the deeper muscles resulting in reduced muscular strength and stiffened joints. Mental alertness is reduced due to cold-related discomfort. For all these reasons accidents are more likely to occur in very cold working conditions.
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Why should we be concerned about working in the cold?
How do we lose heat to the environment?
How do we produce and retain heat within the body?
How do we maintain thermal balance?
What are some examples of jobs in which cold may be an occupational hazard?
How does cold affect work performance?
Are there any factors that determine an individual's response to the cold?
Can you become acclimatized to cold?
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Cold Environments - Health Effects and First Aid
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Air Pollution Facts
Here is an account of the adverse air pollution effects, and what you can do to protect yourself against it.
Here are a few reports that have come out recently about the adverse effects of air pollution which will make you sit up and sniff the air around you apprehensively:
According to a study, living in a major city places people at a higher risk than living in the radioactive zone in Chernobyl.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 2 million premature deaths are caused each year due to air pollution in cities across the world.
A recent study has revealed that exposure to fine particle matter in polluted air increases the risk of hospitalization due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
According to a German study, people who breathe in the fumes of heavy traffic regularly have higher chances of getting hardening of the arteries, which is associated with the risk of heart attack.
A Scottish study has shown that jogging with traffic around results in reduced blood flow to the heart. This is particularly dangerous for people with stable heart disease, because it can trigger off cardiac arrhythmia or even a heart attack.
According to a study conducted on eight-year-olds in Mexico City, being exposed for a long time to high levels of polluted air reduces lung function and growth in children.
According to a 20-year study conducted on the residents of Los Angeles, it has been shown that the adverse effects of air pollution have been grossly underestimated. The researchers opine that chronic health problems due to particulate matter in the air may be double or even triple times greater than the estimates available currently. .........
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Big Air Pollution Impacts On Local Communities: Traffic Corridors Major Contributors To Illness From Childhood Asthma
ScienceDaily
— Heavy traffic corridors in the cities of Long Beach and Riverside are responsible for a significant proportion of preventable childhood asthma, and the true impact of air pollution and ship emissions on the disease has likely been underestimated, according to researchers at the University of Southern California (USC).
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Conserving Historic Apple Trees
ScienceDaily (Nov. 10, 2009) — The apple trees of yesteryear are slowly disappearing. Many apple varieties common in the United States a century ago can no longer be found in today's orchards and nurseries. But some historic apple trees still survive in abandoned farmsteads and historic orchards throughout the U.S.
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Air Pressure Changes Trigger Landslides
A river of rock and soil nearly 2.5 miles long and 1,000 feet wide, the Slumgullion landslide winds like an earthy freight train down the hills of southwestern Colorado. But this incredible force of nature is swayed by the tiniest push.
According to a new study, the daily ups and downs in air pressure -- equivalent to the weight of about half a glass of water -- are enough to get the behemoth rolling.
Just like the ocean, the atmosphere has tides of air that swish over the planet, controlled by the sun's heat. Around the hottest part of the day, air pressure is diminished -- 'low tide' -- and it gradually goes up as things cool off...
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Dirty air, heat, cold may all trigger heart attacks
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Extreme temperatures and heavy air pollution boost heart attack risk, according to a major new study.
And on days when the air is extra dirty and the temperature is unusually hot or cold, the effects are likely to be particularly bad, given that temperature and pollution seem to harm the body in different ways, Dr. Krishnan Bhaskaran of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK, the lead author of the research, told Reuters Health.
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M a n a g i n g m o u n t a i n b i o d i v e r s i t y
Mountains are storehouses of global biodiversity.
They support approximately one quarter of
terrestrial biological diversity, with nearly half of
the world’s biodiversity hot spots concentrated in
mountains. Mountain biodiversity supports the
livelihoods of mountain populations and provides
basic ecosystem services, such as fresh water, timber,
medicinal plants and recreation for the surrounding
lowlands and their increasingly urbanized areas.
Mountains are unique islands of biodiversity, often
exceeding the diversity of adjacent lowlands. Isolated
mountains are often rich in endemic species, i.e. plants
and animals that occur nowhere else. Mountain areas
have also acted as refuges from environmental change
and are also characterized by moderate disturbances
such as landslides, avalanches and grazing, which often
increase biological richness and habitat diversity.
Mountains are storehouses of the genetic diversity
that helps feed the world. Several crops – maize,
potatoes, barley, sorghum, tomatoes and apples – and
a large portion of domestic animals – sheep, goats,
yaks, llama and alpaca – originated in mountains.
Other crops – wheat, rice, beans, oats, grapes, oranges
and rye – found new homes in the mountains and
evolved into many different varieties. Furthermore,
waterbodies in mountains also harbour fish...........
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The latest issue of the Mountain Forum Bulletin is now available online. The issue is focused on the theme 'Managing Mountain Diversity for Better Lives' and has feature articles from Morocco, Eritrea, Philippines, Afghanistan, Italy and Venezuela amongst others.
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More ---> Page 19 E
عادت کنید هیچ گونه زباله ای حتی در اندازه ای بسیار کوچک را در طبیعت رها نکنید و این عادت و درک صحیح از محیط زیست را به دیگران نیز سفارش کنید و این خصلت نیکو را گسترش دهید
دانستنی های کوهنوردی - دکتر مسعود حمیدی
Age When Dogs Understand Human Pointing Determined
.. don't expect your pup to fully understand your pointing until your pet is 21 weeks of age and older.
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Saving The World's Rarest Wolf
The world's rarest wolf is probably also the one that's had the longest relationship with humans -- the Ethiopian wolf. These canines are hemmed in on a few mountain "islands" of high altitude flanking Africa's Great Rift Valley. Global warming is shrinking their range while diseased domestic dogs are bringing them new and deadly diseases. The good news is that there are some folks working hard to save these beautiful carnivores.
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Air Pollution Takes a Toll on Young Lungs
Early exposure to airborne pollutants could increase the risk of infection in newborn babies....
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Bird "Sings" Through Feathers
Solving a longstanding puzzle among bird experts, scientists have found that the sharp, violin-like sounds of a South American songbird come not from the beak but from a suite of specially evolved, vibrating feathers.
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هنر زنده ماندن
US Army Survival Manual
This is a manual targeted at soldiers, but a lot of information it contains is very relevant for civilians. It has the merit of existing, it is up to date, and talks about subjects in a no non-sense, pratical way. Its content has been field tested for years, and is therefore much more to be trusted than the writing of a single author.
Hidden Threat: Elevated Pollution Levels Near Regional Airports
ScienceDaily (Nov 2009)
— Scientists are reporting evidence that air pollution -- a well-recognized problem at major airports -- may pose an important but largely overlooked health concern for people living near smaller regional airports. Those airports are becoming an increasingly important component of global air transport systems. The study, one of only a handful to examine airborne pollutants near regional airports, suggests that officials should pay closer attention to these overlooked emissions, which could cause health problems for local residents.
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Research Challenges for Understanding Landscape Changes Identified
ScienceDaily (Nov 2009)
— Nine research challenges and four research initiatives that are poised to advance the study of how Earth's landscapes change were unveiled November 18 in a new report by the National Research Council. These challenges and initiatives could open the path to resolving environmental issues, from coastal erosion to landslides, by helping predict how processes such as wind, ice, water, tectonics, and living organisms drive changes in the Earth's surface.
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Spring Flowers: Clues To Climate Change
Climate Change Researchers Ask Amateur Botanists To Record Signs Of Spring
— Researchers began a nationwide initiative to track climate change by recording the timing of the first bud, first flower, and seed dispersal for plants across the country. They encouraged people to record information in their own neighborhoods and plan to compile those findings to build a comprehensive record of the changing climate.
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Longest-Living Tree Growing Faster With Warming
Bristlecone pine trees, which live for thousands of years, have been growing at a faster rate over the second half of the 20th century.
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Tiny Insect Brains Solve Big Problems
Insects have scientists re-thinking an age-old question: Are bigger brains better?
Insects may have tiny brains, but they can perform some seriously impressive feats of mental gymnastics. According to a growing number of studies, some insects can count, categorize objects, even recognize human faces -- all with brains the size of pinheads.
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