Flooding’s impact on wetlands measurable via low-cost approach
Science Daily – Aug. 17
Scientists designed a new, on-site method for studying potential impacts rising sea levels can have on vital wetlands, said a University of Alabama researcher who led a study publishing Aug. 17 describing the modifiable apparatuses. Primarily using materials available at the local hardware store, the scientists, including UA’s Dr. Julia Cherry, designed, constructed and tested low-cost enclosures, called weirs, to realistically simulate three flooding levels on coastal wetlands. Simulating impacts of sea level rise on-site and at larger scales had previously proven difficult. “I hope this provides other researchers with a template to ask their questions and to improve upon the method we’ve documented to do bigger and better coastal wetland studies,” said Cherry, an associate professor in UA’s New College and its biological sciences department. The research, publishing in the scientific journal, Methods in Ecology and Evolution, was co-authored by George Ramseur Jr., of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources; and Drs. Eric Sparks, of Mississippi State University; and Just Cebrian, of Dauphin Island Sea Lab and the University of South Alabama.
Terra Daily – Aug. 17
US scientists find method to study catalysts and catalytic reactions – Aug. 17
Chemicals-Technology.com – Aug. 17
A team of researchers led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have identified the precise location of active sites on a vanadium-based catalyst, which will help them understand the structure of catalysts and their corresponding catalytic reactions. Researchers from Washington State University, the University of Alabama, and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences participated in the study.
Cuban and US chemists hopeful amid warming relations
Chemistry World – Aug. 18
Just a few days ago the US flag flew over the American embassy in Havana, Cuba, for the first time in 54 years. Now, Cuban and US chemists meeting at the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) 250th conference in Boston, US, are talking optimistically of a new era of scientific collaboration between the two nations. … Another change is that scientific equipment in the US can now be donated to Cuban universities or labs, provided that the technology has no military application. Patrick Frantom from the University of Alabama’s chemistry department said he would be interested in hosting Cuban scholars at his university for extended periods of time, and Tom Manning, a chemistry professor at Valdosta State University in Georgia, dreams about taking a dozen or so of his students to hike around Cuba for several weeks and study the coastline.
Is Donald Trump hurting the GOP?
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – Aug. 17
UA political science professor Dr. Richard Fording comments on GOP candidate Donald Trump.
UA students buy books (Photo gallery)
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 17
Students wait in line at the University of Alabama Supply Store in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. Students begin classes at UA and Shelton State Community College on Wednesday, Aug. 19, Stillman College began classes Monday.