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New report says human tampering threatens planet's life-sustaining surface
August 02, 2006Scientists call for effort to understand Earth's 'critical zone'
In a report released today, scientists call for a new systematic study of the Earth's "critical zone"-the life-sustaining outermost surface of the planet, from the vegetation canopy to groundwater and everything in between.Understanding and predicting responses to global and regional change is necessary, they say, to mitigate the impacts of humans on complex ecosystems and ultimately sustain food production.
"Development is having a great effect on the critical zone," said soil scientist Donald Sparks of the University of Delaware and co-chair of the NSF workshop that led to the report, entitled Frontiers in Exploration of the Critical Zone. "Converting some of the best land around the world into buildings, roads and concrete has implications for air and water quality and biodiversity, and over time could put pressure on our ability to produce food.
Critical zone sites include an extraordinary diversity of soils and ecosystems ranging from the tropics to the poles, from deserts to wetlands, and from rock-bound uplands to delta sediments.
"Because the critical zone includes air, water and soil and is the focal point of food production, it has a major effect on human life," Sparks said. "It is imperative that we better understand the interactions that occur there."
The report calls for an international Critical Zone Exploration Network, as well as a systematic approach across a broad array of sciences-including geology, soil science, biology, ecology, chemistry, geochemistry, geomorphology and hydrology-to study critical-zone processes.
"We need to understand how living organisms interact with the solid earth at the scale of a billionth-of-a-meter as well as the scale of landscapes, how these effects have changed over geologic time, and how they will change into the future as humans continue to drastically alter the earth's surface," said Sue Brantley, a Penn State University geoscientist who co-chaired the workshop.
Scientists need to determine "how the physical, chemical and biological components of Earth's weathering transforms mineral and organic matter, sculpts terrestrial landscapes, and controls the exchange of greenhouse gases and dust with the global atmosphere,\\\
National Science Foundation
Critical zone sites include an extraordinary diversity of soils and ecosystems ranging from the tropics to the poles, from deserts to wetlands, and from rock-bound uplands to delta sediments.
"Because the critical zone includes air, water and soil and is the focal point of food production, it has a major effect on human life," Sparks said. "It is imperative that we better understand the interactions that occur there."
The report calls for an international Critical Zone Exploration Network, as well as a systematic approach across a broad array of sciences-including geology, soil science, biology, ecology, chemistry, geochemistry, geomorphology and hydrology-to study critical-zone processes.
"We need to understand how living organisms interact with the solid earth at the scale of a billionth-of-a-meter as well as the scale of landscapes, how these effects have changed over geologic time, and how they will change into the future as humans continue to drastically alter the earth's surface," said Sue Brantley, a Penn State University geoscientist who co-chaired the workshop.
Scientists need to determine "how the physical, chemical and biological components of Earth's weathering transforms mineral and organic matter, sculpts terrestrial landscapes, and controls the exchange of greenhouse gases and dust with the global atmosphere,\\\
National Science Foundation
Life-sustaining Current Events and Life-sustaining News RSSPitt researchers net $5 million from NIH to explore better ways to grow cells for regenerative medicine
Regenerative medicine researchers at the University of Pittsburgh received two grants totaling more than $5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore new methods for cultivating replacement cells from existing tissues and organs.
For old or young dialysis patients, AV fistulas remain pure gold
A new study shows that for those individuals with chronic kidney disease, it doesn't matter if you're young or old: arteriovenous (AV) fistulas remain the gold standard for maintaining access to one's circulatory system to provide life-sustaining dialysis.
Withdrawal of life support often an imperfect compromise
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) doctors seeking to balance the complex needs of their patients and the patients' families may make an imperfect compromise, withdrawing life support systems over a prolonged period of time.
People with type 2 diabetes can put fatty livers on a diet with moderate exercise
Weekly bouts of moderate aerobic exercise on a bike or treadmill, or a brisk walk, combined with some weightlifting, may cut down levels of fat in the liver by up to 40 percent in people with type 2 diabetes, a study by physical fitness experts at Johns Hopkins shows.
Hopkins Children's study: Parents of dying newborns need clearer explanation of options
Parent-doctor discussions about whether to maintain or withdraw life support from terminally ill or severely premature newborns are so plagued by miscommunication and misunderstanding that they might as well be in different languages.
Scientists find elephant memories may hold key to survival
A recent study by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) suggests that old female elephants-and perhaps their memories of distant, life-sustaining sources of food and water-may be the key to survival during the worst of times.
UC Santa Barbara chemist goes nano with CoQ10
If Bruce Lipshutz has his way, you may soon be buying bottles of water brimming with the life-sustaining coenzyme CoQ10 at your local Costco.
New cell-based sensors sniff out danger like bloodhounds
A small, unmanned vehicle makes its way down the road ahead of a military convoy. Suddenly it stops and relays a warning to the convoy commander. The presence of a deadly improvised explosive device, or IED, has been detected by sophisticated new sensor technology incorporating living olfactory cells on microchips mounted on the unmanned vehicle. The IED is safely dismantled and lives are saved.
New disaster preparedness strategy announced
In an unprecedented initiative, US and Canadian experts have developed a comprehensive framework to optimize and manage critical care resources during times of pandemic outbreaks or other mass critical care disasters.
Study shows false memories complicate end-of-life treatment decisions
Advance directives, or living wills, may not effectively honor end-of-life wishes because life-sustaining treatment preferences often change over time without people being aware of the changes, according to a new study co-authored by UC Irvine researchers Peter Ditto and Elizabeth Loftus.
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