Weekly Science Digest: Coral, Climate & The Leap Second

Bottom trawling fishing boats have caused extensive damage to many cold water coral reefs along the margin of the North East Atlantic Ocean. But now, researchers have uncovered a glimmer of hope for these important biodiversity hotspots in the form of cliffhanging coral colonies. These colonies, 1350 metres below the surface of the Bay of Biscay, cover several hundred square metres of cliff face belonging to the vertical and overhanging sides of submarine canyons. The scientists believe that these newly-discovered habitats could help repair the areas damaged by the trawlers heavily-weighted nets.

Miller's grizzled langur, a breed of large monkey so rare that it was thought to be extinct, has been captured on film by researchers who set up camera traps in Borneo. Scientists were baffled by the discovery as the monkeys showed up well outside of their previously recorded home range. With virtually no existing photographs of the monkeys available, the scientists faced a considerable challenge while trying to identify the species to confirm their suspicions, eventually forcing them to compare their photographs with museum sketches.

Extraordinarily cold temperatures in the winter of 2010/ 2011 was the cause of unprecedented damage to the ozone layer above the Arctic, a new study reports. Researchers from the KIT Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) analysed measurements of the chemical composition of the atmosphere and found that a further decrease in temperatures by just 1C would be sufficient to cause a nearly complete destruction of the Arctic ozone layer in some areas. Observations over the past thirty years indicate that the stratosphere in cold Arctic winters cooled down by about 1C per decade and that, whilst a further increase in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses will warm up the bottom air layers near the ground due to reflection, they will also result in a cooling of the air layers in the stratosphere above, where the ozone is located.

Be it skydiving, performing a karaoke number or swimming with sharks, why do we often plan to take risks but back down when the moment of truth arrives? For scientists, this “illusion of courage” is just one example of an “empathy gap” - otherwise known as our inability to imagine how we will behave in future emotional situations. According to the empathy gap theory, when that moment of truth is in the future, we’re not feeling, and are thus not in touch with the fear we’ll experience when it’s time to jump. A recent study undertaken at Carnegie Mellon University has demonstrated how this illusion of courage can be reduced by putting people in touch with the fear they would experience.

A NASA study has found 2011 to be the ninth-warmest year on record. The finding marks the continuation of a trend in which nine of the ten warmest years in the modern meteorological record have occurred since the year 2000. The data compares temperatures across the planet in 2011 to the average global temperature from the mid-20th century. The average temperature around the globe in 2011 was 0.51 celcius warmer than this mid-20th century baseline. The team further underlined how temperatures have climbed alongside the rising levels of greenhouse gas emissions from energy production, industry and vehicles, most notably since the 1970s.

What is a leap second? And why are some people intent on getting rid of it? Take a look at this video to find out why a decision on abolishing the occasional, extra second added to the world’s time has been delayed until 2015.
 

 The 'Weekly Science Digest' is a compilation of science news from around the world. News suggestions are always welcome: mark.howardbanks (at) researchgate.net