Author Archives: Rolf Schuttenhelm

Ice age riddle: what burped CO2 and wasn’t ocean or Neanderthal?

During the Earth’s ice ages the Pacific Ocean stored large amounts of carbon, which for some reason it released again close to the last glacial period’s end, warming the world and melting most of the icecaps. That is how the … Continue reading →

Nobel Prize in Physics again goes to US (with touch of Australia) for accelerating expansion Universe

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to (1st half) Saul Perlmutter of Berkeley and (2nd half) to Adam Riess and Brian Schmidt for their discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae … Continue reading →

Today’s paradox: Indian monsoon may recover at price of climate change

Over the second half of the 20th century the monsoon rains in the Ganges Valley in north and northeast India decreased by 10 percent. Meanwhile monsoon rains in the south and the Indus Valley [remember 2010 Pakistan floods] increased. Burning … Continue reading →

Scientists redefine SI Units – using graphene

You may not be aware of the fact, but physicists express your waistline in volumes of platinum with iridium. Does that make you feel uncomfortable? They agree! Relating you to the Planck constant h is a much better idea. Unfortunately … Continue reading →

Quantifying the invasive species problem, Florida´s case: 137 non-native reptiles & amphibians

Last week we took a look at the slowness of species migration before the age of the 747. Today we speed up time by a thousand – to get to the ecological reality of globalisation.