Acidic oceans helped fuel extinction

Acidic oceans helped fuel the biggest mass extinction in the history of life on Earth, a study says.

The researchers studied rocks from the United Arab Emirates, which retain a record of acidic changes in the water

The exact causes behind the Permian-Triassic mass extinction have been much debated.

Two separate pulses of CO2 into the atmosphere - a "one-two punch" - may have helped fuel the die-off, new research suggests.

Changes to ocean acidity would have been one of the consequences, according to the study in Science journal.

Computer models suggested that this CO2 may have been released by massive bouts of volcanism from the Siberian Traps, now represented as a large region of volcanic rock in northern Eurasia.

The Permian-Triassic mass extinction, which took place 252 million years ago, wiped out more than 90% of marine species and more than two-thirds of the animals living on land.

The event is thought to have played out over a 60,000-year period and acidification of the oceans lasted for about 10,000 years.

The team led by Dr Matthew Clarkson from the University of Edinburgh analysed rocks unearthed in the United Arab Emirates - which were on the ocean floor at the time.

The rocks preserve a detailed record of changing oceanic conditions at the time. They then developed a climate model to work out what drove the extinction.

The researchers think the rapid rate of release of carbon was a crucial factor in driving the ocean acidification.

The carbon was released at a similar rate to modern emissions. Dr Clarkson commented: "Scientists have long suspected that an ocean acidification event occurred during the greatest mass extinction of all time, but direct evidence has been lacking until now.

"This is a worrying finding, considering that we can already see an increase in ocean acidity today that is the result of human carbon emissions."

From BBC News

Dolphins stranded on Japan beach

Nearly 150 melon-headed whales, a species of dolphin, have become stranded on a beach in Japan.

They were found along a 4km (2.5 mile) stretch of beach in the Ibaraki prefecture, north-east of Tokyo.

Efforts are under way to try to rescue the animals.

"We see one or two whales washing ashore a year, but this may be the first time we have found over 100 of them on a beach," a coastguard official told the AFP news agency.

About 50 animals of the same species beached themselves in a similar area in 2011.

The reason for the beaching is unclear, but researchers from the National Museum of Nature and Science travelled to the beach to investigate.

From BBC News

The dystopian lake filled by the world’s tech lust

Hidden in an unknown corner of Inner Mongolia is a toxic, nightmarish lake created by our thirst for smartphones, consumer gadgets and green tech, discovers Tim Maughan.

" I’d seen some photos before I left for Inner Mongolia, but nothing prepared me for the sight "

— The alien environment at Baotou lake

Black sludge pours into the lake - one of many pipes lining the shore (Credit: Liam Young/Unknown Fields)

From where I'm standing, the city-sized Baogang Steel and Rare Earth complex dominates the horizon, its endless cooling towers and chimneys reaching up into grey, washed-out sky. Between it and me, stretching into the distance, lies an artificial lake filled with a black, barely-liquid, toxic sludge.

Dozens of pipes line the shore, churning out a torrent of thick, black, chemical waste from the refineries that surround the lake. The smell of sulphur and the roar of the pipes invades my senses. It feels like hell on Earth.

Welcome to Baotou, the largest industrial city in Inner Mongolia. I'm here with a group of architects and designers called the Unknown Fields Division, and this is the final stop on a three-week-long journey up the global supply chain, tracing back the route consumer goods take from China to our shops and homes, via container ships and factories.

You may not have heard of Baotou, but the mines and factories here help to keep our modern lives ticking. It is one of the world’s biggest suppliers of “rare earth” minerals. These elements can be found in everything from magnets in wind turbines and electric car motors, to the electronic guts of smartphones and flatscreen TVs. In 2009 China produced 95% of the world's supply of these elements, and it's estimated that the Bayan Obo mines just north of Baotou contain 70% of the world's reserves. But, as we would discover, at what cost?

Element of success

Rare earth minerals have played a key role in the transformation and explosive growth of China's world-beating economy over the last few decades. It's clear from visiting Baotou that it's had a huge, transformative impact on the city too. As the centre of this 21st Century gold-rush, Baotou feels very much like a frontier town.

Workers in a factory in Shenzhen make MP3 players (Credit: Kate Davies/Unknown Fields)

In 1950, before rare earth mining started in earnest, the city had a population of 97,000. Today, the population is more than two-and-a-half million. There is only one reason for this huge influx of people - minerals. As a result Baotou often feels stuck somewhere between a brave new world of opportunity presented by the global capitalism that depends on it, and the fading memories of Communism that still line its Soviet era boulevards. Billboards for expensive American brands stand next to revolution-era propaganda murals, as the disinterested faces of Western supermodels gaze down on statues of Chairman Mao. At night, multicoloured lights, glass-dyed by rare earth elements, line the larger roads, turning the city into a scene from the movie Tron, while the smaller side streets are filled with drunk, vomiting refinery workers that spill from bars and barbecue joints.

Even before getting to the toxic lake, the environmental impact the rare earth industry has had on the city is painfully clear. At times it’s impossible to tell where the vast structure of the Baogang refineries complex ends and the city begins. Massive pipes erupt from the ground and run along roadways and sidewalks, arching into the air to cross roads like bridges. The streets here are wide, built to accommodate the constant stream of huge diesel-belching coal trucks that dwarf all other traffic.

A coal mine in Baotou (Credit: Liam Young/Unknown Fields)

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From BBC News

Rede squirrels' Lake District comeback

Being able to guarantee seeing a red squirrel in the Lake District would be "wonderful", Bob Cartwright from the Westmoreland Red Squirrel charity has said.

He added that he would "defy anyone not to love red squirrels" as they have been spotted in Windermere after a sixteen year absence.

Their rapid decline has been blamed on the success of the imported grey squirrel, which spreads a "pox virus" which kills the red squirrels.

This clip is originally from 5 live Breakfast on April 6 2015.

From BBC Science/ Environment

Battle to protect rhinos from poachers in South Africa

A record number of rhinos were slaughtered for their horns in South Africa last year, and fears are growing for the survival of the species in the wild.

Rhino horn is falsely believed to have medicinal benefits, and is more expensive per gram than gold or diamonds. In South Africa, most of the animals are killed by poachers from neighbouring Mozambique.

Leana Hosea reports on the drive to stamp out the trade.

From BBC Science/Environment