USGS Office of Communications Science Picks — Leads, Feeds and Story Seeds January 2007 Edition For Release: UPON RECEIPT Cutting carbs? Saving money? Becoming a vegan? Make a lasting resolution to keep up with timely USGS news; the January edition of Science Picks provides a compilation of the top LEADS, FEEDS and STORY SEEDS to help readers start the new-year out right. Photos and Web links are available to enhance your story. If you would like to receive Science Picks via e-mail, would like to change the recipient or no longer want to receive it, please e-mail dmakle@xxxxxxxxx January Highlights · Is Wacky Warm Winter Caused by Climate Change? · Quake Fatalities Decline in 2006 · What's to Know about Streamflow? · Looking for Flu Clues? · New Study Suggests Hidden Virtue in Old Forests · Ocean Motion Brings Dungeness Crab Larvae North to Alaska · Water Wisdom for the Great Lakes State · Modify Mineral Data for Any Region · The USGS Talks and Tracks Tremors 24/7 · The World in Abstract Patterns, Vivid Colors and Fantastic Shapes · Lessons Learned About Hurricane Katrina Whip Up Earthquake Talk in California · Learning about the Hazards in Your Back Yard · Deducing the Danger of De-Icers LEADS (top news, updates and happenings in natural science) Is Wacky Warm Winter Caused by Climate Change? Let’s set the record straight! Record warm temperatures are being set in the eastern United States. The mild weather conditions for much of the country this winter have some pointing a finger at climate change. However, weather and climate are not the same. Weather is the state of the atmosphere (i.e. temperature, precipitation, wind) for a particular time and place. Climate is the average weather conditions for a place over a longer period of time. Find out what USGS scientists know — the USGS studies how the climate has changed over thousands and even millions of years. For a more thorough explanation of the distinctions between long-term climate change and short-term fluctuations in weather conditions, contact Jack McGeehin at (703) 648-5349 or mcgeehin@xxxxxxxxx Quake Fatalities Decline in 2006: Nearly 7,000 deaths were attributed to earthquake activity in 2006, according to the USGS and confirmed by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. But the total number, 6,604, falls far short of the death tolls for 2004 and 2005, which were 284,010 and 89,354, respectively. Most of the fatalities for last year, approximately 5,749, occurred when a magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit Java, Indonesia, on May 26. Although significant progress has been made in earthquake research and mitigation, population growth and lack of earthquake-resistant structural design standards have put more and more people at risk. Take a look at a complete list of the number of seismic events from 2000 to 2006 ( http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.html#table_2). For more information, contact Heidi Koontz at (303) 202-4763 or hkoontz@xxxxxxxxx What's to Know about Streamflow? This past year saw record-breaking high streamflow conditions in the northeast, as well as some near-record lows in other areas of the country. For example, parts of New England recorded their highest annual flow since 1930, and below-normal conditions were prevalent throughout the Great Plains, Alaska, and parts of the southeast. A new USGS publication, “Streamflow of 2006 — Water Year Summary (http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/2006summary/),” highlights selected seasonal, regional, and national conditions in water year 2006 as compared to streamflow data collected over the past 75 years. The USGS has monitored flow in selected streams and rivers across the United States for more than 125 years, and currently at more than 7,400 streamgages. Real-time and historic looks at USGS data are possible through the USGS WaterWatch Web site ( http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/), — an important tool that can be used to understand current conditions as well as long-term trends in streamflow. Contact Harry Lins at (703) 648-5712 or hlins@xxxxxxxx for more information. Looking for Flu Clues? The USGS has posted brand-new updates ( http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/avian_influenza/index.jsp) on avian influenza. To learn more about avian influenza research or the comprehensive surveillance and detection program for 2006, contact Catherine Puckett at (352) 264-3532 or cpuckett@xxxxxxxxx Information is also available from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center Web site ( http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/). New Study Suggests Hidden Virtue in Old Forests: Old-growth forests are traditionally considered insignificant as carbon sinks because carbon uptake has been thought to be balanced by respiration. A recent study by scientists from USGS and the South China Botanic Garden show instead that soils accumulated atmospheric carbon at an unexpectedly high rate from 1979 to 2003 in the top 20-cm soil layer in preserved old-growth forests in southern China. This phenomenon shows the need for future research on the complex responses and adaptation of below-ground processes to global environmental change. For more information contact Patricia Jellison, Ph.D. at (703) 648-4773 or pjellison@xxxxxxxxx Ocean Motion Brings Dungeness Crab Larvae North to Alaska: During May and June 2006, biologists were surprised to find Dungeness crab larvae in southeast Alaska that were 10-14 weeks old, because the eggs of local Dungeness populations were only beginning to hatch. Where did these mature larvae come from? Using data from drifting buoys and satellite imagery, the USGS helped confirm that the larvae were born hundreds of miles to the south and transported to Alaska by ocean currents. These findings contribute to a better understanding of marine connectivity and to the design and placement of marine protected areas in the future. For more information, see this issue of Limnology and Oceanography, or contact David Douglas at (907) 364-1576 or ddouglas@xxxxxxxxx FEEDS (USGS tools and resources) Water Wisdom for the Great Lakes State: Groundwater is drinking water for 4.4 million people in Michigan, and every USGS groundwater fact and map for Michigan’s 83 counties are ready for you to include in your story. The USGS, Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality and Michigan State University partnered to develop these products, available at the joint Groundwater Mapping Project Web site ( http://gwmap.rsgis.msu.edu/). Modify Mineral Data for Any Region: The USGS Mineral Resources Spatial Data Web site (http://mrdata.usgs.gov/), a distribution point for many earth science and mineral data sets, now provides data in the KML format, the same used by the popular Google Earth visualization tool. The USGS site allows users to combine mineral data with their own chosen overlays to map any region of interest. For more information, contact Peter Schweitzer at (703) 648-6533 or pschweitzer@xxxxxxxxx The USGS Talks and Tracks Tremors 24/7: Living in earthquake country? Most people are. There is a known earthquake hazard in at least 40 U.S. states. Since preparation is key to mitigating the effects of earthquakes, the USGS is taking steps to improve seismic monitoring and information delivery, which includes a staff on hand to answer earthquake questions 24/7 and HYDRA, a new seismic event processing system that identifies, locates and measures earthquakes. These advances speed up and improve the delivery of earthquake notifications. Be on the look out for other technologies to be announced soon. For more information, see http://earthquake.usgs.gov, or contact Heidi Koontz at (303) 202-4763 or at hkoontz@xxxxxxxxx The World in Abstract Patterns, Vivid Colors and Fantastic Shapes: Need a new screensaver? Check out the joint USGS-NASA collection of satellite imagery, “Earth as Art. (http://eros.usgs.gov/imagegallery/)” The images were taken by the Landsat 7 satellite from more than 400 miles above Earth became a part of the collection because of their aesthetic beauty—however, there is some good science associated with each of the locations too, but that’s another story. For more information, contact Jon Campbell at (703) 648-4460 or jcampbell@xxxxxxxxx STORY SEEDS (points to ponder or investigate) Lessons Learned About Hurricane Katrina Whip Up Earthquake Talk in California: On Jan. 17, 2007, USGS Southern California Multi-Hazards Program Coordinator Lucy Jones delivered a public lecture at Pasadena Community College in Pasadena, Calif. on the lessons from Hurricane Katrina that can be applied to the next big earthquake in California, the lessons learned from study of the Fort Tejon earthquake, the largest earthquake to ever shake California (magnitude 7.9), and the importance of earthquake science to hazard preparedness. This follows the kickoff of the “Dare To Prepare” campaign on Jan. 9, urging residents, businesses, governments and first responders to use 2007 for earthquake preparedness activities in Southern California. For more information, contact Stephanie Hanna at (206) 220-4573 or shanna@xxxxxxxxx Learning about the Hazards in Your Back Yard: Every year, natural hazards in the United States result in hundreds of lives lost and cost billions of dollars in disaster aid, disrupted commerce and destroyed public and private properties. To educate the public, the USGS has launched a new Web site and seven easy-to-understand fact sheets on earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanoes and wildfires. The hazards Web site highlights resources and information available from the USGS and provides links to individual hazards Web pages for more detailed information. The Web site and fact sheets can be accessed at http://www.usgs.gov/hazards. For more information, call Clarice Nassif Ransom at (703) 648-4299 or cransom@xxxxxxxxx Deducing the Danger of De-Icers: The USGS has been examining a variety of substances used to remove or prevent dangerous ice buildup on aircraft to find out how toxic they are to aquatic life. A recent study has confirmed that proprietary additives (ingredients known only by the manufacturer) are responsible for the observed toxicity. This research suggests that some formulations currently in use are safer for the environment than the de-icers used in the 1990s, but toxicity of other formulations have not changed significantly. For more information, contact Steven Corsi at (608) 821-3835 or srcorsi@xxxxxxxxx
