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☆ Elephant seals amaze scientists with their ability to sleep 1,200 feet deep under the ocean to avoid predators
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elephant seals drift downwards in a "sleep spiral" when deep diving in the ocean, a new study found. Sleeping while deep diving allows the seals to avoid predators, scientists believe. The seals fall into sleep during deep dives of up to 377 meters, which is around 1,235 feet, to avoid predators. "This is not light sleep but real paralytic, deep sleep that would have humans snoring. The recordings showed the diving seals going into a sleep stage known as "slow-wave sleep" before transitioning into REM sleep, which leads to a kind of "sleep spiral" or sleep paralysis, experts found.

☆ You think you need more sleep? Tell that to an elephant seal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But some animals get a lot less slumber - with certain species like the northern elephant seal taking sleeplessness to an extreme. During dives lasting about 30 minutes, the seals went into a deep sleep stage called slow-wave sleep while maintaining a controlled downward trajectory. The species is the world's second-largest seal, topped only by the southern elephant seal. Male northern elephant seals may reach 13 feet long (4 meters) and weigh up to 4,500 pounds (2,000 kg). "It is very peaceful to spend time on the beach watching elephant seals sleep.

☆ Elephant seals enter 'sleep spiral' during ocean dives
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The researchers refer to this as a “sleep spiral.”The research marked the first time scientists recorded brain activity in free-ranging wild marine mammals, capturing data from 104 sleep dives. Then she attached them to 13 juvenile female elephant seals that are part of a colony at Año Nuevo State Park in Pescadero, California. In shallow waters, the elephant seals even reached the seafloor, where they would rest. During REM sleep, elephant seals enter a "sleep spiral." Elephant seals sleep the most along the coast and near their foraging grounds, and that data could be used to see how shipping traffic could affect the seals.

☆ California has been hammered with rain. It may not be enough to reverse its drought.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

California counts on a system of about 1,400 human-made surface reservoirs and thousands upon thousands of miles of levees to manage surface water. During the recent storms, extreme drought has buffered some impacts of intense rainfall with plenty of space in the state’s largest reservoirs, which have withered under drought. Before the series of atmospheric rivers, it was storing less than 1 million acre-feet of water. In the Central Valley, Californians extract about 2 million acre-feet more than what returns to the ground, on average, every year, Lund said. California legislators in 2014 passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which requires local agencies to reach groundwater sustainability by 2042.

☆ Mauna Loa Eruption Threatens a Famous Climate Record
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

420 410 400 The Keeling Curve 390 Measurements of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere from the Mauna Loa Observatory, in parts per million CO2. In the meantime, officials are contemplating flying in a generator via helicopter to the Mauna Loa observatory, which is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ISLAND OF HAWAI‘I Mauna Loa Observatory Lava flow Eruption began at Moku‘āweoweo caldera Mauna Loa Honolulu Hawai‘i Hawaiian Islands Area of detail Honolulu Hawai‘i Hawaiian Islands Area of detail ISLAND OF HAWAI‘I Mauna Loa Observatory Lava flow Eruption began at Moku‘āweoweo caldera Mauna Loa Source: Copernicus Notes: Image captured by satellite on Nov. 28, 2022. But none hold quite the same symbolism as Mauna Loa, which is home to the first and most frequently cited data. Even now, when scientists want to test new carbon dioxide monitoring equipment, “they go to Mauna Loa,” Dr. Sweeney said.

☆ Mauna Loa eruption disrupts critical climate equipment used to measure carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The longest-running climate equipment used to measure carbon dioxide levels in the Earth’s atmosphere lost power Monday evening and is currently not recording data because of Mauna Loa’s volcanic eruption in Hawaii. Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, erupted early Monday morning for the first time in 38 years, sending lava flows cascading down slope, impacting the road used to access the Mauna Loa Observatory. The Keeling Curve graph comprises daily carbon dioxide concentration measurements taken at Mauna Loa since 1958. The fact that the tool has measured the changes of carbon dioxide levels for more than 60 years virtually uninterrupted has made it the authority source on the key greenhouse gas. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also measures carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa using a different instrument.

☆ Overboard cruise passenger spent hours in Gulf of Mexico before he was rescued
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dennis-Romero-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Dennis Romero | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A man who went overboard during a holiday cruise in the Gulf of Mexico was rescued after several hours in the water off New Orleans, authorities said Friday. He was rescued about 20 miles south of Louisiana's Southwest Pass, where the Mississippi River meets the coast, U.S. Coast Guard officials said. "It makes it more miraculous that we were able to find him conscious and treading water," Graves said. Coast Guard rescue crews pulled the man to safety six hours after receiving a 2:30 p.m. Thursday report of a passenger overboard, Graves said. The water was warm, he said, but the the trio was beset by signs of hypothermia when they were rescued by Coast Guard crews Oct. 9.

☆ The Coming California Megastorm
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-12 | by ( Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

For their new study, which was published in the journal Science Advances, Dr. Huang and Dr. Swain replayed portions of the 20th and 21st centuries using 40 simulations of the global climate. There are “so many different factors” that make an atmospheric river deadly or benign, Dr. Huang said. Wes Monier, a hydrologist, with a 1997 photo of water rushing through the New Don Pedro Reservoir spillway. Mr. Monier is chief hydrologist for the Turlock Irrigation District, which operates the New Don Pedro Reservoir near Modesto. The Tuolumne River, where the Don Pedro sits, was coming out of its driest four years in a millennium.

☆ Concentraţia de CO2 din atmosferă, la cel mai ridicat nivel de la debutul măsurătorilor
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-08 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +3 min

Anul trecut, în mai 2020, nivelul înregistrat a fost de 417 ppm. ''În fiecare an adăugăm în atmosferă aproximativ 40 de miliarde de tone de poluare prin CO2'', a declarat Pieter Tans, om de ştiinţă în cadrul NOAA. ''Adică un munte de carbon pe care îl dezgropăm din Pământ, îl ardem şi îl eliberăm în atmosferă sub formă de CO2... an după an'', a adăugat el. CO2 persistă în atmosferă şi oceane mii de ani, a subliniat NOAA. ''În pofida deceniilor de negocieri, comunitatea mondială a fost incapabilă să încetinească într-o manieră semnificativă, ca să nu mai vorbim de inversare, creşterile anuale ale nivelului de CO2 din atmosferă'', a notat NOAA.

Persons: Charles David Keeling, Pieter Organizations: Universitatea din Locations: Statele Unite, Universitatea din California, Hawaii, Arctica

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