Earthweek: a diary of the planet
Canine curiosity
German researchers say they have found that dogs possess some kind of “metacognitive” ability that allows them to solve a problem when they don’t at first have enough information, much as primates do.
The study at the Max Planck Institute created a test in which dogs had to find a reward behind one of two fences. It found that the dogs hunted for clues more often if they had not seen where the reward was hidden. The animal experts say this proves dogs have the extremely rare ability in the animal kingdom to “know what they don’t know.”
Climate denial
The report, issued every four years, states that climate change already is affecting the natural environment, agriculture, energy production and use, transportation and human health across the country. But with an administration that supports the fossil-fuel industry and is openly hostile toward efforts to curb greenhouse emissions, many scientists say they now feel any official U.S. action to address climate change is likely to come far too late to avoid a climate catastrophe.
Eruption
An explosion caused by super-heated steam at the most active volcano in the Philippines sent ash soaring above Mayon’s summit, about 200 miles southeast of Manila. Mayon last erupted in January, prompting the authorities to evacuate thousands of nearby villagers. Weaker currents
A new study has found evidence that ocean circulation in the North Atlantic has become the weakest of the past 1,500 years, mainly as a result of a warming climate. Many climate models predict a weakening, or even a collapse, of this branch of the ocean circulation under global warming — partly due to a surge of fresh water from the melting of the Greenland ice sheet.
Researchers from the University of Hong Kong write in the journal Geophysical Research Letters that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has far-reaching impacts on the climate from North America to Europe, and can influence the monsoon rainfall in South Asia and Africa. Emissions surge
Global emissions of the most prevalent greenhouse gas — carbon dioxide — rose to a new historic high last year, according to a United Nations report that warns the time for action to avoid disastrous climate change is running out. It also says that emissions began rising again during 2017 for the first time in four years.
Levels of accumulated atmospheric CO2 reached a global average of 405.5 parts per million during 2017, almost 50 percent higher than before the Industrial Revolution. “The last time Earth experienced a comparable concentration of CO2 was 3 to 5 million years ago, when the temperature was 2 to 3 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 5.4 F) warmer and sea level was 10 to 20 meters (33 to 66 feet) higher,” said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
Earthquakes
A Friday morning earthquake north of Anchorage, Alaska, sent people fleeing into the streets. There were no immediate reports of deaths or serious injury, but some infrastructure was said to be destroyed. Among that destruction was a large section of road near Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
Also this week, more than 700 people were injured in western Iran when a powerful earthquake rocked the country’s border with Iraq. No fatalities were reported. Also this past week, earth movements were felt in eastern parts of Japan’s Honshu Island, from Taiwan to Hong Kong and in northwestern Georgia.
Tropical cyclones
Torrential rains and high winds from former Category 1 Typhoon Usagi killed one person and damaged numerous homes, boats and stretches of roadway in southern Vietnam. Also this week, Typhoon Man-Yi formed between Guam and Yap before losing force to the southeast of Japan.