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New York Times
2 hours ago
- Science
- New York Times
Map of New Orleans Highlights Sinking and Stable City Spots
Parts of New Orleans, including its international airport, are sinking nearly two inches per year, according to a new study. Wetlands and parts of the city's levee system are sinking, too. The geography of New Orleans resembles a bowl, and it's protected from flooding by a system of earthen levees, concrete flood walls, pumps and canals that took the Army Corps of Engineers nearly 15 years and $15 billion to build. That makes it particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and other environmental stresses. 'Subsidence can compromise protective infrastructure over time,' said Leonard Ohenhen, an expert on remote sensing at the University of California, Irvine, who was not involved in the study. 'I hope we get more work like this, quantifying subsidence over time in cities.' As levees and flood walls sink, they can crack and accumulate structural damage. They also become shorter, making them less effective against storm surges and rising sea levels. That's a particularly big concern in New Orleans because the Gulf of Mexico has the fastest sea level rise in the country. To assess where and how quickly land elevation in New Orleans has changed in recent decades, the authors of the new study, published in the journal Science Advances, used radar collected by satellites over two time periods, from 2002 to 2007 and from 2016 to 2020. In each period, a satellite passed over the city multiple times, letting researchers compare elevations over time. The later time series included the levee system and wetlands. The researchers then compiled a map showing the land's rising and sinking over time. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Health
- Indian Express
Inside a 1,25,000-year-old Neanderthal ‘fat factory' in Germany, scientists find clues to survival
Neanderthals living near a lake in what is now Germany may have run an early version of a 'fat factory' around 125,000 years ago, scientists say. According to a new study reported by CNN, researchers found that these early humans broke animal bones and boiled them to collect fat, a key source of nutrition in their diet. The evidence comes from Neumark-Nord, a site south of Halle in central Germany, where archaeologists analysed more than 120,000 bone fragments and 16,000 flint tools. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, also found signs of fire use near the bones and tools. Researchers believe the Neanderthals crushed bones rich in marrow using stone tools and then boiled them to release fat. The fat, once separated, could be collected and stored. This process likely required planning and cooperation, showing how organised and skilled Neanderthals were in surviving their environment. 'This attitude that Neanderthals were dumb this is another data point that proves otherwise,' said Wil Roebroeks, a coauthor of the study and professor of Paleolithic archaeology at Leiden University, speaking to CNN. The researchers say that Neanderthals might have boiled the bones using containers made from tree bark, animal skins or stomach linings. They may have consumed the fat as a kind of broth, possibly mixing it with plants for flavour and extra nutrition. Geoff Smith, another coauthor and zooarchaeologist at the University of Reading, said the charred remains of hazelnuts, acorns and sloe plums found at the site suggest Neanderthals added plants to their food. 'They were master planners who could look ahead, organise complex tasks, and squeeze every last calorie from their environment,' Smith told CNN. The researchers say the Neanderthals understood the dangers of eating only lean meat. Without enough fat in their diet, early humans risked malnutrition or 'protein poisoning' — a condition caused by eating too much protein and not enough fat or carbohydrates. To avoid this, they likely relied on bone grease as a vital energy source. Most of the bones found at Neumark-Nord came from around 172 large animals, including horses, deer and the now-extinct aurochs, a wild ancestor of modern cattle. The bones selected were mostly long bones, which contain more fat. Commenting on the study, Ludovic Slimak, an archaeologist at France's National Centre for Scientific Research, said the findings provide solid evidence that Neanderthals had developed 'specific strategies to extract and process' fat from bones. He told CNN the results match other research that shows Neanderthals were 'highly skilled big-game hunters.' Bruce Hardy, a professor of anthropology at Kenyon College in Ohio who was not involved in the research, called Neumark-Nord 'the best example yet of bone-grease rendering' from that period of the Stone Age. 'It may well represent the smouldering gun, or simmering bone broth, of Neanderthal bone-grease rendering,' he said.
India Today
9 hours ago
- Science
- India Today
A blob in Atlantic Ocean is mysteriously cooling while the world warms
While much of the planet experiences record-breaking warmth, a patch of the Atlantic Ocean south of Greenland remains stubbornly cold, a phenomenon scientists have dubbed the 'cold blob.'This anomaly, which has cooled even as surrounding waters have warmed, is now better understood thanks to new research led by Penn State cold blob's origin is closely tied to a slowdown in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a vast system of ocean currents that acts like a conveyor belt, transporting warm, salty water from the tropics northward, where it cools, sinks, and returns south at This circulation is crucial for regulating global climate, particularly in Europe and North the past century, while most of the globe has warmed, this subpolar region of the North Atlantic has cooled by up to 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit (0.3 degrees Celsius). Understanding the cold blob is critical, as it can disrupt the jet stream and storm patterns. Scientists have long debated whether this was due solely to changes in ocean currents or if the atmosphere played a role. The latest study, published in Science Advances, finds that both ocean and atmospheric processes are equally responsible for the persistent cold spot.'We found that the contribution from the atmosphere is comparable to that from ocean transport itself, which has never been found before,' said Yifei Fan, lead author of the the AMOC weakens, largely due to an influx of freshwater from melting Greenland ice, which dilutes salty ocean water and makes it less dense, the conveyor belt slows. This reduces the northward transport of heat, cooling the the ocean isn't acting alone. Cooler surface waters mean less evaporation, reducing atmospheric moisture and water vapour, a greenhouse gas that helps trap heat. This drier, cooler atmosphere feeds back to the ocean, amplifying and prolonging the cold anomaly.'Reducing the greenhouse effect, to put it simply, will feed back to the surface and amplify the pre-existing cold anomaly,' Fan the cold blob is critical, as it can disrupt the jet stream and storm patterns, affecting extreme weather in North America and finding highlights the delicate balance between the ocean and atmosphere in shaping the climate, and the far-reaching consequences that occur when this balance is disturbed.- EndsTrending Reel
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Neanderthals extracted animal fat in advanced food prep 'fat factories' 125,000 years ago: report
Neanderthals living 125,000 years ago in what is now modern-day Germany may have extracted and eaten fat from animal bones through an organized food preparation process that scientists describe as a "fat factory." While excavating the site of a former lake landscape called Neumark-Nord, archaeologists discovered thousands of bones from at least 172 large mammals, along with flint artifacts. The bones, which date back to an interglacial period in which Neanderthals lived, were from animals like red deer and horses, according to a study published on July 2 in Science Advances. While many of the bones that contained less bone marrow were spread out across the archaeological site, researchers observed that many of the marrow-rich bones were located in clusters — sites they call "fat factories." Rare Christian Cross Among Spectacular 1,000-Year-old Viking Treasures Found By Metal Detectorists Researchers believe our extinct ancestors used tools to smash the bones into small fragments and then boiled them for hours. The grease, which then floated to the surface of the water, could be skimmed off the top and eaten — providing a calorie-dense food source for the archaic people. Viking-era Burial Site With Elite Family Treasures And Gifts Discovered, Plus An 'Unusual Casket' Read On The Fox News App Prior to this, evidence of the practice had only dated back to 28,000 years ago, according to the research. "Neanderthals were clearly managing resources with precision — planning hunts, transporting carcasses, and rendering fat in a task-specific area," Dr. Lutz Kindler, the study's first author, said. "They understood both the nutritional value of fat and how to access it efficiently — most likely involving caching carcass parts at places in the landscape for later transport to and use at the grease rendering site. Mysterious 'Dumped' Bodies Of Woman And Child Found By Archaeologists In Picturesque Town Fat was a "life-sustaining" resource for Neanderthals, especially during the winter and spring seasons when carbohydrates were scarce. Their diets consisted largely of animal protein, and consuming lots of protein without other nutrients could lead to a sometimes deadly condition called protein poisoning, the research noted. "The sheer size and extraordinary preservation of the Neumark-Nord site complex gives us a unique chance to study how Neanderthals impacted their environment, both animal and plant life," Dr. Fulco Scherjon, data manager and computer scientist on the project, said. "That's incredibly rare for a site this old—and it opens exciting new possibilities for future research." In recent years, scientists have also discovered that Neanderthals went diving for seashells that they could chip with stone hammers into thin and sharp cutting edges. Similarly, another study suggested Neanderthals may have buried their dead with flowers. Researchers Lutz Kindler and Wil Roebroeks did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for article source: Neanderthals extracted animal fat in advanced food prep 'fat factories' 125,000 years ago: report
Fox News
3 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
Neanderthals extracted animal fat in advanced food prep process 125,000 years ago: report
Neanderthals living 125,000 years ago in what is now modern-day Germany may have extracted and eaten fat from animal bones through an organized food preparation process that scientists describe as a 'fat factory.' While excavating the site of a former lake landscape called Neumark-Nord, archaeologists discovered thousands of bones from at least 172 large mammals, along with flint artifacts. The bones, which date back to an interglacial period in which Neanderthals lived, were from animals like red deer and horses, according to a study published on July 2 in Science Advances. While many of the bones that contained less bone marrow were spread out across the archaeological site, researchers observed that many of the marrow-rich bones were located in clusters — sites they call 'fat factories.' Researchers believe our extinct ancestors used tools to smash the bones into small fragments and then boiled them for hours. The grease, which then floated to the surface of the water, could be skimmed off the top and eaten — providing a calorie-dense food source for the archaic people. Prior to this, evidence of the practice had only dated back to 28,000 years ago, according to the research. "Neanderthals were clearly managing resources with precision — planning hunts, transporting carcasses, and rendering fat in a task-specific area," Dr. Lutz Kindler, the study's first author, said. "They understood both the nutritional value of fat and how to access it efficiently — most likely involving caching carcass parts at places in the landscape for later transport to and use at the grease rendering site. Fat was a "life-sustaining" resource for Neanderthals, especially during the winter and spring seasons when carbohydrates were scarce. Their diets consisted largely of animal protein, and consuming lots of protein without other nutrients could lead to a sometimes deadly condition called protein poisoning, the research noted. "The sheer size and extraordinary preservation of the Neumark-Nord site complex gives us a unique chance to study how Neanderthals impacted their environment, both animal and plant life," Dr. Fulco Scherjon, data manager and computer scientist on the project, said. "That's incredibly rare for a site this old—and it opens exciting new possibilities for future research." In recent years, scientists have also discovered that Neanderthals went diving for seashells that they could chip with stone hammers into thin and sharp cutting edges. Similarly, another study suggested Neanderthals may have buried their dead with flowers. Researchers Lutz Kindler and Wil Roebroeks did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
