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Science In Action: 18/02/2011

18/02/2011

BBC World Service - Science In Action, 18/02/2011

Tiny seismic signals before a major earthquake show promise for predicting earthquakes

Tiny seismic signals before a major earthquake could help predicting quakes; Anthropogenic global warming causes more intense rain and snow; Sexual selection exhibition; Hibernating bears.

Earthquake prediction
In 1999, a massive earthquake struck nearby and devastated the city of Izmet in Turkey. Now scientists have looked back at the seismic signals just before the magnitude 7.6 quake and they think they have detected signature creaks and pops caused by the final shift in the Earth's tectonic plates at the fault line. The hope is that these tiny seismic signals occur at other earthquake faults and that a method can be devised to pick up the signals to give a few seconds warning before the next big shock.

Anthropogenic climate change is causing intensification of precipitation
Increasing levels of greenhouse gasses are affecting global temperature, which in turn is affecting the weather. This is according to climate scientists who have been analysing precipitation in the Northern hemisphere. Precipitation – rain, snow, hail etc, has been shown, by models and actual observations, to be becoming more intense as the climate warms. This could mean that we are at a greater risk of flooding, mudslides and heavy snowfall in the future. 

Sexual Selection Exhibition
The Natural History Museum in London has launched its Sexual Nature Exhibition. In it are a great many exhibits drawn from the museum's collections and even some bespoke taxidermy to explore the myriad ways all animals have to compete for mates and win the game Charles Darwin unveiled. It's not survival of the fittest - it's procreation of the fittest. The exhibits take us through the familiar – peacocks feathers to the frankly bizarre, including the female emu who weighs her mates before deciding which one to mate with. All in all, it is an entertaining if slightly voyeuristic look into the same biological drives that push us humans to lipstick, cologne, tight T-shirts and dating.

Hibernating bears
Black bears in Alaska have been monitored through the whole of their five to seven months hibernation and beyond.  Scientists monitoring their temperature and metabolism, have found that, unlike smaller hibernating mammals, the bears do not lower their core body temperature by too many degrees, yet they somehow manage to reduce their metabolism – heart rate, breathing etc, by a massive 75%.  It is adding insights into how these large mammals manage to survive the winter with no food or water.

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