articles

Las emisiones humanas del metal traza vanadio potencialmente dañino a la atmósfera terrestre se han disparado desde comienzos del siglo XXI debido en gran parte al creciente uso industrial de aceites pesados, arenas bituminosas, betún y coque de petróleo para la generación de energía, según un nuevo estudio de la Universidad de Duke .

Aerial drone footage of bowhead whales in Canada’s Arctic has revealed that the large mammals moult and use rocks to rub off dead skin.

The footage provides one answer to the mystery of why whales return to Cumberland Sound, Nunavut, every summer, and helps explain some unusual behaviour that has been noted historically by Inuit and commercial whalers living and working in the area.

Para aquellos de ustedes que sueñan con una Navidad blanca, pueden encontrar lugares con la mejor probabilidad de ser un país de las maravillas en invierno de acuerdo con la historia del clima. El mapa "Probabilidad histórica de una Navidad Blanca" muestra la probabilidad climatológica de que al menos una pulgada de nieve caiga para el 25 de diciembre en los Estados Unidos. En el mapa, el gris oscuro muestra los lugares donde la probabilidad es inferior al 10 por ciento, mientras que el blanco muestra probabilidades superiores al 90 por ciento.

Human emissions of the potentially harmful trace metal vanadium into Earth’s atmosphere have spiked sharply since the start of the 21st century due in large part to industry’s growing use of heavy oils, tar sands, bitumen and petroleum coke for energy, a new Duke University study finds.

“Human emissions of vanadium to the atmosphere now exceed those from all natural sources combined -- by a factor of 1.7,” said William H. Schlesinger, James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of Biogeochemistry at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, who led the study.

“Less than two decades ago, the ratio of human to natural emissions was 0.59 to 1, or less than half the current level,” Schlesinger said. “Our analysis suggests that much of this rapid rise can be traced to the increased use of unconventional heavy-petroleum fuels.”

For those of you dreaming of a white Christmas, you can find places that have the best chance of being a winter wonderland according to weather history. The “Historical Probability of a White Christmas” map shows the climatological probability of at least 1 inch of snow being on the ground on December 25 in the contiguous United States. On the map, dark gray shows places where the probability is less than 10 percent, while white shows probabilities greater than 90 percent.