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from EarthSky https://ift.tt/2FLuUYW
Let’s take 30 seconds to think about innovators. What do they look like? Where do they work? What do they do? You might imagine labs, research centres, NASA, spacesuits and white coats.
Some years ago, I would probably have agreed with you. Then - ironically enough, in a moment of “lights out” - I saw the light. The truth is each of us is an innovator. It has nothing to do with what you wear or where you work. Technology isn't innovation - the ability to transform lives is.
On March 30, the world will witness 24 of the most inspiring hours for the environment, as people around the world come together for WWF’s Earth Hour. From Singapore to Santiago and Nairobi to New York, millions will unite, switch off their lights and speak up on why nature matters. For me, each of them is an innovator.
Not because switching off a light takes much innovation, but because they share the vision that together, we can show the world we care about climate change and nature loss. These two threats are our planet’s biggest environmental challenge yet. It is easy to put your hands up and say the stakes are stacked against us, or they are too high to try. But each of the individuals who participate in Earth Hour has decided their ambition is higher, and I believe this changes the game entirely. Together, they are participating in creating a new future that will change the world we live in, not just for our generation but for our children, their children and so on.
Earth Hour 2019: switch off your lights, and become an innovator by Sid Das, Agenda, World Economic Forum (WEF), Mar 29, 2019
Sun Mar 24, 2019
Mon Mar 25, 2019
Tue Mar 26, 2019
Wed Mar 27, 2019
Thu Mar 28, 2019
Fri Mar 29, 2019
Sat Mar 30, 2019
Let’s take 30 seconds to think about innovators. What do they look like? Where do they work? What do they do? You might imagine labs, research centres, NASA, spacesuits and white coats.
Some years ago, I would probably have agreed with you. Then - ironically enough, in a moment of “lights out” - I saw the light. The truth is each of us is an innovator. It has nothing to do with what you wear or where you work. Technology isn't innovation - the ability to transform lives is.
On March 30, the world will witness 24 of the most inspiring hours for the environment, as people around the world come together for WWF’s Earth Hour. From Singapore to Santiago and Nairobi to New York, millions will unite, switch off their lights and speak up on why nature matters. For me, each of them is an innovator.
Not because switching off a light takes much innovation, but because they share the vision that together, we can show the world we care about climate change and nature loss. These two threats are our planet’s biggest environmental challenge yet. It is easy to put your hands up and say the stakes are stacked against us, or they are too high to try. But each of the individuals who participate in Earth Hour has decided their ambition is higher, and I believe this changes the game entirely. Together, they are participating in creating a new future that will change the world we live in, not just for our generation but for our children, their children and so on.
Earth Hour 2019: switch off your lights, and become an innovator by Sid Das, Agenda, World Economic Forum (WEF), Mar 29, 2019
Sun Mar 24, 2019
Mon Mar 25, 2019
Tue Mar 26, 2019
Wed Mar 27, 2019
Thu Mar 28, 2019
Fri Mar 29, 2019
Sat Mar 30, 2019
Asteroids are typically solid rocky or metallic bodies; comets are fragile, icy bodies that sometimes sprout tails when they come near the sun. But some asteroids have been found to appear comet-like, in that they also have tails. Scientists said on March 28, 2019 that they used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe such an asteroid, called 6478 Gault. Clear images from the telescope have provided researchers with new insight into this asteroid’s unusual past, they said. They now believe that Gault is self-destructing, slowly, which is the reason for its two narrow, comet-like tails of debris. Each tail is evidence of an active event that released material into space. Why is it self-destructing? The reason is thought to be its unusually fast spin on its axis.
The team’s results have been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed Astrophysical Journal Letters (preprint here).
Astronomers have known about asteroid Gault for some time. It was discovered in 1988. The object is 2.5 to 5.5 miles (4 to 9 km) wide, and it’s located in the main asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers said in a statement:
… the recent observation of two debris tails is the first indication of the asteroid’s instability. This asteroid one of only a handful to be caught disintegrating by a process known as a YORP torque. When sunlight heats an asteroid, the infrared radiation that escapes from its warmed surface carries off both heat and momentum. This creates a small force that can cause the asteroid to spin faster.
If this centrifugal force eventually overcomes gravity, the asteroid becomes unstable. Landslides on the object can release rubble and dust into space, leaving behind a tail of debris, as seen here with asteroid Gault.
Astronomers estimate that among the 800,000 known asteroids that occupy the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, YORP disruptions occur roughly once per year. From the Hubble observations, researchers inferred that the release of material from the asteroid took place in short episodes lasting from a few hours to a couple of days. They commented:
The direct observation of this activity by the Hubble Space Telescope has provided [us] with a special opportunity to study the composition of asteroids. By researching the material that this unstable asteroid releases into space, [we] can get a glimpse into the history of planet formation in the early ages of the solar system.
Follow-up observations have been made by various ground-based telescopes, and, these astronomers said:
These data were used to deduce a two-hour rotation period for Gault, which is very close to the critical speed at which material will begin to tumble and slide across the asteroid’s surface before drifting off into space.
Astronomer Jan Kleyna of the University of Hawai’i – lead author of the new paper – commented:
Gault is the best ‘smoking-gun’ example of a fast rotator right at the two-hour limit. It could have been on the brink of instability for 10 million years. Even a tiny disturbance, like a small impact from a pebble, might have triggered the recent outbursts.
Astronomer Olivier Hainaut of the European Southern Observatory in Germany explained:
This self-destruction event is rare. Active and unstable asteroids such as Gault are only now being detected by means of new survey telescopes that scan the entire sky, which means asteroids such as Gault that are misbehaving cannot escape detection any more.
Read more about asteroid Gault via SpaceTelescope.org
Bottom line: The Hubble Space Telescope sharp imaging has provided valuable detail on activity from active asteroid Gault, which is now known to be spinning on its axis so fast – about every two hours – that material on its surface at times flies off into space.
Source: The Sporadic Activity of (6478) Gault: A YORP-driven event?
Asteroids are typically solid rocky or metallic bodies; comets are fragile, icy bodies that sometimes sprout tails when they come near the sun. But some asteroids have been found to appear comet-like, in that they also have tails. Scientists said on March 28, 2019 that they used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe such an asteroid, called 6478 Gault. Clear images from the telescope have provided researchers with new insight into this asteroid’s unusual past, they said. They now believe that Gault is self-destructing, slowly, which is the reason for its two narrow, comet-like tails of debris. Each tail is evidence of an active event that released material into space. Why is it self-destructing? The reason is thought to be its unusually fast spin on its axis.
The team’s results have been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed Astrophysical Journal Letters (preprint here).
Astronomers have known about asteroid Gault for some time. It was discovered in 1988. The object is 2.5 to 5.5 miles (4 to 9 km) wide, and it’s located in the main asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers said in a statement:
… the recent observation of two debris tails is the first indication of the asteroid’s instability. This asteroid one of only a handful to be caught disintegrating by a process known as a YORP torque. When sunlight heats an asteroid, the infrared radiation that escapes from its warmed surface carries off both heat and momentum. This creates a small force that can cause the asteroid to spin faster.
If this centrifugal force eventually overcomes gravity, the asteroid becomes unstable. Landslides on the object can release rubble and dust into space, leaving behind a tail of debris, as seen here with asteroid Gault.
Astronomers estimate that among the 800,000 known asteroids that occupy the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, YORP disruptions occur roughly once per year. From the Hubble observations, researchers inferred that the release of material from the asteroid took place in short episodes lasting from a few hours to a couple of days. They commented:
The direct observation of this activity by the Hubble Space Telescope has provided [us] with a special opportunity to study the composition of asteroids. By researching the material that this unstable asteroid releases into space, [we] can get a glimpse into the history of planet formation in the early ages of the solar system.
Follow-up observations have been made by various ground-based telescopes, and, these astronomers said:
These data were used to deduce a two-hour rotation period for Gault, which is very close to the critical speed at which material will begin to tumble and slide across the asteroid’s surface before drifting off into space.
Astronomer Jan Kleyna of the University of Hawai’i – lead author of the new paper – commented:
Gault is the best ‘smoking-gun’ example of a fast rotator right at the two-hour limit. It could have been on the brink of instability for 10 million years. Even a tiny disturbance, like a small impact from a pebble, might have triggered the recent outbursts.
Astronomer Olivier Hainaut of the European Southern Observatory in Germany explained:
This self-destruction event is rare. Active and unstable asteroids such as Gault are only now being detected by means of new survey telescopes that scan the entire sky, which means asteroids such as Gault that are misbehaving cannot escape detection any more.
Read more about asteroid Gault via SpaceTelescope.org
Bottom line: The Hubble Space Telescope sharp imaging has provided valuable detail on activity from active asteroid Gault, which is now known to be spinning on its axis so fast – about every two hours – that material on its surface at times flies off into space.
Source: The Sporadic Activity of (6478) Gault: A YORP-driven event?
View larger at EarthSky Community Photos
Before sunrise on March 25, 2019, Conrad Serodio in Sao Paulo, Brazil captured this image of planet Jupiter and three of its moons: Ganymede, Europa and Io.
Thank you Conrad!
View larger at EarthSky Community Photos
Before sunrise on March 25, 2019, Conrad Serodio in Sao Paulo, Brazil captured this image of planet Jupiter and three of its moons: Ganymede, Europa and Io.
Thank you Conrad!
Shoppers who fill their supermarket trolleys with food and drink offered on special promotions have more than a 50% increased chance of being obese, says the Independent. Our research also found that almost half of all chocolate and savoury snacks were bought on promotion. Read our press release for more.
The BBC asks, ‘how many cigarettes are in a bottle of wine?’ after new research aimed to estimate this, to help people consider the effects of moderate drinking on cancer risk. We blogged about whether it’s helpful to communicate cancer risk in terms of cigarettes smoked.
An immunotherapy drug will be made available on the NHS in England for certain people with lung cancer, reports the Mail Online. NICE approved the new treatment after doctors and patients said new options were needed. We also covered this latest decision.
The Guardian covers a leaked report for the British meat industry examining the growth of the toxin Clostridium botulinum that causes botulism. It is understood from the leaked report that nitrites, which are often added to meat and are one of the chemicals linked to increased cancer risk, do not affect the levels of dangerous bacteria in food. This means they may not be necessary to preserve its shelf life.
The Telegraph reports that offering more women with breast cancer a genetic test could spare them chemotherapy. Currently the NHS offers the test, called Oncotype DX, to certain patients whose disease has not spread to the lymph nodes, but new research suggests this could be extended those whose disease is more advanced.
The chance of a child surviving their cancer for five years depends on the wealth of the country they live in, according to the Guardian. More than 80 of out 100 of children diagnosed with cancer in rich states will live for more than five years, compared to fewer than 30 out of 100 of young people living in developing nations.
The Mail Online reports the suggestion of a British doctor to increase the legal age that you can buy cigarettes from 18 to 21. He says it could protect younger school children from exposure to older pupils who smoke.
The Sun reports on a research which suggests eating vegetables like onions and garlic could reduce the risk of bowel cancer. But the study asked people taking part to recall what they ate and fill in a questionnaire. This type of research isn’t always very accurate as it’s hard for people to remember exactly what they’ve consumed. The study also took place in China, so it’s unclear how the findings might apply to people in the UK, where eating and cooking habits can be very different. When it comes to diet and cancer, it’s unlikely that one specific type of food on its own could have a big impact on cancer risk, it’s best to stick to an overall healthy, varied diet.
Gabi
Shoppers who fill their supermarket trolleys with food and drink offered on special promotions have more than a 50% increased chance of being obese, says the Independent. Our research also found that almost half of all chocolate and savoury snacks were bought on promotion. Read our press release for more.
The BBC asks, ‘how many cigarettes are in a bottle of wine?’ after new research aimed to estimate this, to help people consider the effects of moderate drinking on cancer risk. We blogged about whether it’s helpful to communicate cancer risk in terms of cigarettes smoked.
An immunotherapy drug will be made available on the NHS in England for certain people with lung cancer, reports the Mail Online. NICE approved the new treatment after doctors and patients said new options were needed. We also covered this latest decision.
The Guardian covers a leaked report for the British meat industry examining the growth of the toxin Clostridium botulinum that causes botulism. It is understood from the leaked report that nitrites, which are often added to meat and are one of the chemicals linked to increased cancer risk, do not affect the levels of dangerous bacteria in food. This means they may not be necessary to preserve its shelf life.
The Telegraph reports that offering more women with breast cancer a genetic test could spare them chemotherapy. Currently the NHS offers the test, called Oncotype DX, to certain patients whose disease has not spread to the lymph nodes, but new research suggests this could be extended those whose disease is more advanced.
The chance of a child surviving their cancer for five years depends on the wealth of the country they live in, according to the Guardian. More than 80 of out 100 of children diagnosed with cancer in rich states will live for more than five years, compared to fewer than 30 out of 100 of young people living in developing nations.
The Mail Online reports the suggestion of a British doctor to increase the legal age that you can buy cigarettes from 18 to 21. He says it could protect younger school children from exposure to older pupils who smoke.
The Sun reports on a research which suggests eating vegetables like onions and garlic could reduce the risk of bowel cancer. But the study asked people taking part to recall what they ate and fill in a questionnaire. This type of research isn’t always very accurate as it’s hard for people to remember exactly what they’ve consumed. The study also took place in China, so it’s unclear how the findings might apply to people in the UK, where eating and cooking habits can be very different. When it comes to diet and cancer, it’s unlikely that one specific type of food on its own could have a big impact on cancer risk, it’s best to stick to an overall healthy, varied diet.
Gabi
In late March and early April 2019, the waning crescent moon will be sweeping past the brightest planet, Venus. From mid-northern latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the pair will be gracing your eastern sky an hour or so before sunrise. From the Southern Hemisphere, the view is much better, with Venus rising a few hours before the sun.
Even after all the stars have disappeared in the glow of twilight, the moon and Venus will remain visible, because these two worlds rank as the second-brightest and third-brightest celestial luminaries, respectively, after the sun. From far northerly latitudes – like Alaska – you may miss the moon and Venus altogether, as these two worlds rise close to the time of sunrise at northerly climes.
Day by day, as March wanes and April arrives, the moon will sink a little closer to Venus. Want to know when Venus rises into your sky? Click here for recommended sky almanacs, and remember that the rising/setting times presume a level horizon.
Not an early riser? Then look for the red planet Mars and the famous Pleiades cluster – also called the Seven Sisters – in your western sky at nightfall, as shown on the chart below. If you see the tiny dipper-shaped Pleiades, you’ll know that’s Mars near it.
All in all, at present, you can catch four of the five bright planets.
Mars is the lone evening planet, but Venus isn’t the only morning planet. The king planet Jupiter – the fourth-brightest celestial body, after the sun, moon and Venus – shines mightily at dawn, as well. From the Northern Hemisphere, Jupiter at morning dawn shines in the southern sky, at about the same spot as the noonday winter sun. At dawn from the Southern Hemisphere, Jupiter shines way up high, like the noonday summer sun.
Saturn is up before the sun also, but it’s much fainter than either Jupiter or Venus. From either hemisphere, you’ll want to catch Saturn before the dawn light becomes too overpowering. At northerly latitudes, because Venus rises relatively late, ringed Saturn might or might not be visible by the time Venus climbs above your horizon.
The chart below – which covers more sky than our usual charts – shows the morning planets:
In their order outward from the sun, the five bright planets are Mercury, Venus, (Earth), Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. All of these planets can be seen without an optical aid and have been observed by our ancestors since time immemorial.
Of the five bright planets, only Mercury can’t be seen – or at least not easily, and likely not from the Northern Hemisphere – in late March and early April. From the Northern Hemisphere, Mercury sits very close to the glare of sunrise in early April 2019. From the Southern Hemisphere, your view of Mercury is better.
If you want to see Mercury from either hemisphere, keep your eye on Venus. This brilliant beauty of a planet will help guide your eye to Mercury, the innermost planet, when the two come within four degrees of one another (the width of two fingers at arm’s length) in mid-April 2019.
Bottom line: In late March and early April, the moon will sweep past Venus before sunup. The red planet Mars is near the Pleiades star cluster at nightfall.
In late March and early April 2019, the waning crescent moon will be sweeping past the brightest planet, Venus. From mid-northern latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the pair will be gracing your eastern sky an hour or so before sunrise. From the Southern Hemisphere, the view is much better, with Venus rising a few hours before the sun.
Even after all the stars have disappeared in the glow of twilight, the moon and Venus will remain visible, because these two worlds rank as the second-brightest and third-brightest celestial luminaries, respectively, after the sun. From far northerly latitudes – like Alaska – you may miss the moon and Venus altogether, as these two worlds rise close to the time of sunrise at northerly climes.
Day by day, as March wanes and April arrives, the moon will sink a little closer to Venus. Want to know when Venus rises into your sky? Click here for recommended sky almanacs, and remember that the rising/setting times presume a level horizon.
Not an early riser? Then look for the red planet Mars and the famous Pleiades cluster – also called the Seven Sisters – in your western sky at nightfall, as shown on the chart below. If you see the tiny dipper-shaped Pleiades, you’ll know that’s Mars near it.
All in all, at present, you can catch four of the five bright planets.
Mars is the lone evening planet, but Venus isn’t the only morning planet. The king planet Jupiter – the fourth-brightest celestial body, after the sun, moon and Venus – shines mightily at dawn, as well. From the Northern Hemisphere, Jupiter at morning dawn shines in the southern sky, at about the same spot as the noonday winter sun. At dawn from the Southern Hemisphere, Jupiter shines way up high, like the noonday summer sun.
Saturn is up before the sun also, but it’s much fainter than either Jupiter or Venus. From either hemisphere, you’ll want to catch Saturn before the dawn light becomes too overpowering. At northerly latitudes, because Venus rises relatively late, ringed Saturn might or might not be visible by the time Venus climbs above your horizon.
The chart below – which covers more sky than our usual charts – shows the morning planets:
In their order outward from the sun, the five bright planets are Mercury, Venus, (Earth), Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. All of these planets can be seen without an optical aid and have been observed by our ancestors since time immemorial.
Of the five bright planets, only Mercury can’t be seen – or at least not easily, and likely not from the Northern Hemisphere – in late March and early April. From the Northern Hemisphere, Mercury sits very close to the glare of sunrise in early April 2019. From the Southern Hemisphere, your view of Mercury is better.
If you want to see Mercury from either hemisphere, keep your eye on Venus. This brilliant beauty of a planet will help guide your eye to Mercury, the innermost planet, when the two come within four degrees of one another (the width of two fingers at arm’s length) in mid-April 2019.
Bottom line: In late March and early April, the moon will sweep past Venus before sunup. The red planet Mars is near the Pleiades star cluster at nightfall.
New research used barnacles that hitch rides on the backs of humpback and gray whales to help scientists reconstruct the migrations of whale populations millions of years ago.
The barnacles not only record details about the whales’ yearly travels, they also retain this information after they become fossilized, which enabled the researchers to reconstruct the migration routes of whales from millions of years in the past.
What happens is that oxygen isotope ratios in barnacle shells change with ocean conditions, allowing scientists to chart the migration of the host whale – for example to warmer breeding grounds or colder feeding grounds. In the new study, marine paleobiologists have discovered that barnacles retain this information even after they fall off the whale, sink to the ocean bottom, and become fossils.
As a result, the travels of fossilized barnacles can serve as a proxy for the journeys of whales in the distant past. University of California Berkeley doctoral student Larry Taylor is lead author of the study, published March 25, 2019, in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Taylor said in a statement:
One of the more exciting things about the paper, in my mind, is that we find evidence for migration in all of these ancient populations, from three different sites and time periods, but also from both humpback and gray whale lineages, indicating that these animals, which lived hundreds of thousands of years ago, were all undertaking migrations similar in extent to those of modern-day whales.
For example, one surprise finding of the study is that the coast of Panama has been a meeting ground for different subpopulations of humpback whales for at least 270,000 years and still is today. Whales visit Panama from as far away as Antarctica and the Gulf of Alaska.
Barnacles are crustaceans, like crabs, lobsters and shrimp, that remain stuck in one place their whole lives, encased in a protective hard shell and sticking out their legs to snatch passing food. Most glue themselves to rocks, boats or pilings, but whale barnacles attach to a whale’s skin by boring down into it. Some whales have been estimated to carry up to 1,000 pounds of barnacles, which are visible when they breach. Clusters of barnacles are used to identify individual whales. Study co-author Aaron O’Dea, of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, said:
This gives the barnacle several advantages: a safe surface to live on, a free ride to some of the richest waters in the world and a chance to meet up with other (barnacles) when the whales get together to mate.
Here’s more from the scientists about the technique they used in the research:
The technique is based on measuring the oxygen isotopes in the calcium carbonate, or calcite, shell of the barnacle. The ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 goes up as the temperature drops. Since barnacles lengthen their shells by a few millimeters a month as they try to stay attached to whales in the face of the mammals’ shedding skin, the composition of the new shell reflects the ocean temperature and general isotopic composition where it formed.
The technique works because different species of whale barnacle hitch rides on different species of whale, so paleontologists can know, when they find a fossilized barnacle, which species it rode with. Normally, the barnacles stay with a whale between one and three years, until they fall or are brushed off, often at whale breeding grounds. At least 24 fossil assemblages of whale barnacles have been found around the world, Taylor said.
This information about ancient migration will help scientists understand how migration patterns may have affected the evolution of whales over the past three to five million years, how these patterns changed with changing climate and help predict how today’s whales will adapt to the rapid climate change happening today.
Bottom line: For a new study, scientists used barnacles that hitch rides on the backs of whales to help scientists reconstruct the migrations of whale populations millions of years ago.
Via University of California Berkeley
New research used barnacles that hitch rides on the backs of humpback and gray whales to help scientists reconstruct the migrations of whale populations millions of years ago.
The barnacles not only record details about the whales’ yearly travels, they also retain this information after they become fossilized, which enabled the researchers to reconstruct the migration routes of whales from millions of years in the past.
What happens is that oxygen isotope ratios in barnacle shells change with ocean conditions, allowing scientists to chart the migration of the host whale – for example to warmer breeding grounds or colder feeding grounds. In the new study, marine paleobiologists have discovered that barnacles retain this information even after they fall off the whale, sink to the ocean bottom, and become fossils.
As a result, the travels of fossilized barnacles can serve as a proxy for the journeys of whales in the distant past. University of California Berkeley doctoral student Larry Taylor is lead author of the study, published March 25, 2019, in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Taylor said in a statement:
One of the more exciting things about the paper, in my mind, is that we find evidence for migration in all of these ancient populations, from three different sites and time periods, but also from both humpback and gray whale lineages, indicating that these animals, which lived hundreds of thousands of years ago, were all undertaking migrations similar in extent to those of modern-day whales.
For example, one surprise finding of the study is that the coast of Panama has been a meeting ground for different subpopulations of humpback whales for at least 270,000 years and still is today. Whales visit Panama from as far away as Antarctica and the Gulf of Alaska.
Barnacles are crustaceans, like crabs, lobsters and shrimp, that remain stuck in one place their whole lives, encased in a protective hard shell and sticking out their legs to snatch passing food. Most glue themselves to rocks, boats or pilings, but whale barnacles attach to a whale’s skin by boring down into it. Some whales have been estimated to carry up to 1,000 pounds of barnacles, which are visible when they breach. Clusters of barnacles are used to identify individual whales. Study co-author Aaron O’Dea, of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, said:
This gives the barnacle several advantages: a safe surface to live on, a free ride to some of the richest waters in the world and a chance to meet up with other (barnacles) when the whales get together to mate.
Here’s more from the scientists about the technique they used in the research:
The technique is based on measuring the oxygen isotopes in the calcium carbonate, or calcite, shell of the barnacle. The ratio of oxygen-18 to oxygen-16 goes up as the temperature drops. Since barnacles lengthen their shells by a few millimeters a month as they try to stay attached to whales in the face of the mammals’ shedding skin, the composition of the new shell reflects the ocean temperature and general isotopic composition where it formed.
The technique works because different species of whale barnacle hitch rides on different species of whale, so paleontologists can know, when they find a fossilized barnacle, which species it rode with. Normally, the barnacles stay with a whale between one and three years, until they fall or are brushed off, often at whale breeding grounds. At least 24 fossil assemblages of whale barnacles have been found around the world, Taylor said.
This information about ancient migration will help scientists understand how migration patterns may have affected the evolution of whales over the past three to five million years, how these patterns changed with changing climate and help predict how today’s whales will adapt to the rapid climate change happening today.
Bottom line: For a new study, scientists used barnacles that hitch rides on the backs of whales to help scientists reconstruct the migrations of whale populations millions of years ago.
Via University of California Berkeley