1.
Satellites measure world glacier melting
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A 27-year study of polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea showed them spending more time on land and open water as ice disappeared, officials said.
Between 1979 and 1987, 12 percent of bear sightings were associated with no ice. Between 1997 and 2005, however, 90 percent of bear sightings were associated with no ice, said Karyn Rode, a polar bear biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage, Alaska.
As sea ice disappeared, more bears were seen near shore in the southern Beaufort Sea, Rode said in a recent issue of the journal Arctic. Many scientists blame the warmer temperatures associated with climate change for the disappearance of the sea ice.
The number of bears sighted steadily near shore increased from 138 bears between 1979 and 1987, to 271 bears between 1988 and 1996, and 468 bears between 1997 and 2005, Rode said.
The bear observations and ice conditions were recorded as part of a bowhead whale survey conducted annually in the southern Beaufort Sea.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Additional Science News Stories | |
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 (UPI) --
Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney told a conservative audience in Washington Friday he would make sweeping changes to Medicare and Social Security.
|
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 (UPI) --
Pop icon Madonna says she "wasn't happy" after rapper M.I.A. flipped her middle finger at a camera during the Super Bowl halftime show in Indianapolis.
|
ATHENS, Ga., Feb. 10 (UPI) --
Studies of the genome of Miscanthus, a large perennial grass, could speed the development of biofuels derived from the plant, U.S. researchers say.
|
BIRMINGHAM, England, Feb. 10 (UPI) --
A British company said it is opening salons across England dedicated to the tattooing the scalps of bald men to make it look like they have short hair.
|
| Stories | Photos | People | Comments |
View Caption
