April 2008

This image came from the NASA image of the day sequence, although, it should be called image of the every three or four days.

Uvs Nuur Basin, Mongolia. Source: NASA

Far from a moderating ocean, the Uvs Nuur Basin has an extreme climate with temperatures that swing from a low of -72 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter up to 104 degrees in the summer. Containing a number of ecosystems in its fresh and salt water lakes, deserts, mountains, grasslands, and forests, the basin provides an important habitat for a variety of animals ranging from the endangered snow leopard to the white-tailed sea eagle. Because of its diversity and the relatively low amount of human impact on the area, the basin is a United Nations World Heritage Site.

Location in Google Maps:

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Although the IPCC is not responsible for producing new science, it certainly has a major role in pushing the direction of research. Therefore, any changes to the reporting process of the IPCC are of significance to the geoscience community, especially those who seek funding for research on global change. A recent report in Science highlights an intended reorganization of the IPCC annual report preparation process.

• The first change would ditch the practice of prescribing the scenarios of economic and technological progress driving future greenhouse gas emissions that researchers should incorporate into their modeling, the first step in the process. Delegates also backed the idea of having the communities that correspond to the panel’s three working groups on the science of climate change, its impacts, and mitigation strategies develop their studies in parallel rather than sequentially. Scientists say these changes will reduce the level of uncertainty in their findings, deliver more regional details, and provide policymakers with better clues on how to curb climate change–without lengthening the time from start to finish. The new regime “will expedite and improve the process,” says Richard Moss of the World Wildlife Fund, who helped coordinate the effort for IPCC.

[Via Science]

An editorial by two high-ranking IPCC officials published in a previous issue of Science presents a dissenting view of the intended changes. They contend, “Any move toward more rapid products risks incomplete identification of the range of justifiable views and a consequent reduction of the rigor, clarity, and robustness of the consensus [of climate scientists].”

These intended changes come at a time when the issue of climate change and water resources is (or should be) receiving additional media attention. On April 9, 2008, the IPCC released the Technical Paper on Climate Change and Water that describes the scientific evidence for and potential consequences of global warming. The report also explains methods of adaptation and mitigation that portend a sketchy future for freshwater supply, especially in arid regions of Africa and Asia. The Executive Summary emphasizes,

• “Globally, the negative impacts of future climate change on freshwater systems are expected to outweigh the benefits (high confidence). By the 2050s, the area of land subject to increasing water stress due to climate change is projected to be more than double that with decreasing water stress.”
• “Several gaps in knowledge exist in terms of observations and research needs related to climate change and water.”

[Via IPCC]

The findings of this report suggest that an increase in the knowledgebase for water resources in the United States is of utmost importance. However, the US Geological Survey’s FY 2009 budget for water resources was cut by nearly 17% compared to FY 2008. Some have argued that the Water 2025 initiative and congressional restoration of some budget cuts will offset this major blow to water resource assessment. The US Deparment of Interior’s Water 2025 initiative focuses on improving water resources in the western US, but recent water challenges faced by the southeastern US imply a significant deficiency in the scope of such an initiative.

This article was written by Bob Sas, a Master’s student at San Francisco State University, and kindly submitted to Geology News.

The Frasassi Caves, located in central Italy near the town of Genga, are large cave complex spanning some 13 kilometers of known caves. It is estimated that they entire cave system may be upwards of 35 kilometers long.

Image credit: *Checco* on flickr.

Admittedly, the information located online about this cave complex is rather lacking. Does anyone else know more about this?

Admittedly, this story has very little to due with actual, real geology. Regardless, it is pretty crazy! A couple hiking in Arizona were attacked by a rabid bobcat. After initially fighting the cat off, it returned and tried to attack again. Rich Thompson, who was hiking with his wife at the time, pulled out his rock hammer and ended up killing the animal with it.

“It’s very sad,” Thompson said. “This poor kitty cat was deranged by its disease-riddled brain. I love the native cats. It was terrible to have to kill it.”

After receiving initial treatments at a hospital, the couple went with a state wildlife manager to retrieve the dead bobcat.

What on earth would you name your rock hammer after something like that?

I want to welcome a good friend of mine to the Geology News and geoblogging bandwagon. Peter Polito comes to us from San Francisco, California where he is currently working on his Master’s thesis at San Francisco State University. Peter is studying dendritic river patterns observed on Saturn’s moon Titan and how ice strength affects erosion rates on the moon. Peter received an undergraduate degree in geology from San Francisco State and graduated in 2006.

Welcome aboard Peter! I look forward to the interesting items you’ll be posting about and your perspectives on various geologic topics.