Month: October 2015
Pulse of the Planet Daily Audio
Rain – Pathogens
The down side of using certain types ofbacteria to seed rain clouds, is that they may be pathogenic to plants.
October 29, 2015Rain – Bacteria
A certain type of bacteria is a catalyst for producing rain in clouds.
October 28, 2015Rain – Impurities
What enables water in clouds to freeze at higher temperatures than pure water?
October 27, 2015Rain – To Freeze or Not to Freeze
In order for it rain, water must first freeze inside a cloud.
October 26, 2015Redwoods – Cleanup
Outfitting a redwood with 300 pounds of research equipment is a great way to make discoveries. Taking it all down again is another story.
October 23, 2015Redwoods – Battery
When research equipment is wired into a giant redwood, an 80-pound battery must be hoisted 300 feet into the canopy.
October 22, 2015Redwoods – Sap Flow
How and when do giant redwoods drink their water? Tiny sap flow sensors tell the story.
October 21, 2015Redwoods – Clearcut
Observe an ancient redwood, and you can read the signs of adversity in its wood.
October 20, 2015Redwoods – Too Tall
Is there a limit to how tall trees can grow?
October 19, 2015Redwoods – Tallest Tree
Amidst a clearcut forest and host to a pesky woodpecker, the world’s tallest tree is a remarkable specimen.
October 16, 2015Volcano – Eruption
Geophysicist Milton Garces studies an active volcano’s low frequency sound patterns in an effort to predict large-scale eruptions.
October 15, 2015Voluntourism – Model Program
Volunteer tourism encourages an exchange of ideas and experience between people of different cultural backgrounds.
October 14, 2015Voluntourism – Beekeeping
In Mexico, a successful project is bringing together tourist-volunteers and local beekeepers.
October 12, 2015Alarm Calls – Around the World
Is there a universal language of alarm calls?
October 9, 2015Alarm Calls – Early Warning System
Birds “mobbing calls” make it easy for all the animals in a locale to know exactly when a predator is nearby.
October 8, 2015Alarm Calls
What’s a bird to do when it sees a predator lurking nearby?
October 7, 2015Oysters – Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay – home to a multimillion dollar oyster industry, is threatened by industrial and agricultural pollution.
October 6, 2015Oysters – Acidification
Increasing levels of acidity in our oceans could have a serious impact on the oyster industry.
October 5, 2015Oysters – Important Species
They’re an important shellfish, both for their environmental and economic value.
October 2, 2015Volcano – Climb
Volcanoes may emit low frequency sounds prior to erupting. Scientists are using microphones to monitor these infrasounds.
October 1, 2015Plovers – Inlets
In wildlife preserves, when should we allow nature to “take its course” and when should we intervene?