Global warming – an impeding catastrophe or a new stage of evolution?

.. Scientists have discovered that in the last 30 years, there has been an increase in the number and size of different plant species in the Arctic tundra. Besides, a bigger area is now covered with plants. The conclusion made by the scientists is that the summers in the Arctic are becoming warmer. Moreover, the process is interdependent – the warming of the climate encourages the growth of plants, which, in turn, encourages changes in a number of natural processes, which cause the Earth’s climate to become warmer. This research was conducted by an international group of scientists, headed by Sarah Elmendorf from the University of British Columbia, based in Vancouver, Canada. The scientists studied the data supplied by 50 research stations, situated in various areas of the Arctic. In all these areas, the picture was virtually the same – dwarf shrub and the grass become taller and spread over increasingly greater areas in Alaska, on Spitsbergen, in Iceland, Greenland, in Canada’s arctic zone and in Scandinavia. The increased plants growth is caused, of course, by global warming. The ice which stayed frozen for many years, if not centuries, is now melting, and, after a while, plants will appear in its place. Scientists even believe that leaf-losing plants, which are more heat-loving that the ‘traditional’ dwarf trees growing...

Read More........→March 13, 2013

West Antarctic ice melts twice as fast as believed – scientist

. A research has been published this week saying that temperatures in the western part of Antarctica are rising almost twice as fast as previously believed. The discovery adds to growing concerns about the effects of climate changes. The average annual temperature in the region has risen by 2.4C since the 1950s, which is three times higher than the average around the globe, David Bromwich, Professor of Geography at Ohio State University, who led the research, claims. The scientists claim that previously estimates, which are half of those they revealed, were based on faulty data, as one third of temperature observations had been missing for the past 60 years due to regular power outages and limited resources. There is a link between rising temperature and rising sea levels, the scientists remind. Even a minor temperature rise results in that huge blocks of ice slide into the ocean raising sea levels. The region contains enough ice to raise sea levels by at least 3.3m (10.8ft) if it all melted, a process that would likely take centuries. But, according to these findings, it is now the second largest contributor to global rises with 0.3mm per year to Greenland’s 0.7mm. Source: Voice of Russi...

Read More........→January 18, 2013

UFO mysteries

.  Files released from the National Archives at Kew today reveal that the Ministry of Defence in the UK took the threat of Unidentified Flying Objects very seriously. Under prime minister Tony Blair money and resources were devoted to checking whether any UFO was a reliable sighting. Dr David Clarke is a senior lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University and one of those involved in analysing the records. The Voice of Russia’s Tim Ecott asked Dr Clarke what lay behind the government's interest. Quite few were reports by credible witnesses, you know, pilots, aircrew, police officers that simply defy explanation on what they concluded might relate to very rare atmospheric phenomena – plasmas. And they were interested in this from the military point of view. Because they thought that they could harness these plasmas and use them. They could be useful on the battlefield.What is plasma? You know, like a lightning ball that aluminates sort of phenomena that appear and disappear. Now obviously there’s another serious aspect to this, because the Ministry of Defense were interested – I believe – in investigating some of these sightings because of the awareness that they could have been foreign aircraft, particularly from nations considered not so very friendly to Britain. That’s right, yes, and it’s a very detailed...

Read More........→January 13, 2013