Month: June 2011
Pulse of the Planet Daily Audio
Science Diary: Water – Moon
You may want to think twice before taking a dip in the ocean during a full moon.
June 29, 2011Science Diary: Water – Fingerprints
Bodies of water have unique identifying characteristics that enable scientists to trace pollutants to their source.
June 28, 2011Science Diaries: Okefenokee – Living Landscape
Cycles of growth and wildfires keep Okefenokee swamp in an eternal state of flux.
June 27, 2011Science Diaries: Okefenokee – Standing Up to Bears
What hisses at bears to defend its nest eggs? Hint: it’s bigger than a robin.
June 24, 2011Science Diary: Okefenokee – Sandhill Migration
Each year flocks of migrating Sandhill Cranes descend on Georgia’s Okefenokee refuge and join their southern cousins.
June 23, 2011Science Diary: Okefenokee – Sandhill Monogamy
Young Sandhill Cranes are all for group dates, but when it’s time to get serious, these giant birds commit to one partner.
June 22, 2011Science Diary: Okefenokee – Peat
Think of a swamp, and you might picture mud and muck. But Okefenokee rests on a spongy foundation of peat.
June 21, 2011Science Diary: Okefenokee – Rain Gators
Someone should tell Captain Hook. If you can see the length of an alligator’s nose, you can easily judge his overall size.
June 20, 2011Science Diary: Red-Cockaded – Cavities
Red-cockaded woodpeckers have specific home-site needs, and once their nest cavities are built, larger species have no qualms commandeering them.
June 17, 2011Science Diary: Red-cockaded – Snakes
Red-cockaded woodpeckers build a sticky sap fence to keep predators at bay.
June 16, 2011Science Diary: Red-cockaded – Overview
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a 1200-acre oasis for small groups of Red-cockaded woodpeckers.
June 15, 2011Science Diary: Long Leaf Pine – RCW
Restoration of the Long Leaf Pine ecosystem at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is central to the survival of an endangered woodpecker.
June 14, 2011Science Diary: Long Leaf Pine – Restoring
Forestry experts at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge are working to restore Long Leaf Pine, a species that once ranged from Virginia to Texas.
June 13, 2011Science Diary: Galway – Sediment
By analyzing samples of sediment from the sea floor, Irish scientists can map underwater ecosystems.
June 10, 2011Science Diary: Galway – Explore
Most of Ireland’s land mass is well below sea level, and that’s why mapping the ocean floor is a high priority.
June 9, 2011Science Diary: Beach Sand – Results
After heat sealing and incubating samples of ocean water, counting bacteria is a numbers game.
June 8, 2011Science Diary: Beach Sand – Testing
Two resourceful middle school students use a household iron and a homemade incubator to conduct bacterial research.
June 7, 2011Science Diary: Beach Sand – Sand
A school science fair project has caught the attention of an oceanographer, who is helping to guide some significant research.
June 6, 2011Science Diary: Beach Sand – Beach
Could bacteria in beach sand be contaminating ocean water? Two middle school students are attempting to find out.
June 3, 2011Science Diary: Exploring Tibet-Stone Tools
Thousands of years after they were made, the scraps from a tool-making session are found.
June 2, 2011Chamarita
In honor of Azorean Portuguese ancestors and a beloved queen, the festival of Chamarita is one of humble origin.
June 1, 2011Science Diary: Exploring Tibet – Bad Roads
Before Science Diarist Mark Aldenderfer can start his research in Western Tibet, he has to get there!