Science & Technology

FSU researcher rooting out the errors in storm simulation models

Published: September 11, 2018 | 12:44 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

On the eve of every hurricane season, climatologists around the world offer their studied prognostications: Will we see high activity? Low activity? How will ocean temperature affect storm development? What are the chances of a powerful storm making landfall? Scientists have leveraged improved climate models to simulate tropical cyclone behavior with an ever-increasing degree of […]

Keeping the beat: Turtle shells served as symbolic musical instruments for indigenous cultures

Published: September 5, 2018 | 11:44 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

Associate Professor of Anthropology Tanya Peres

Turtles served as more than tasty treats for many Native American tribes throughout North America. In fact, turtle shells were used as rattles and other musical instruments, said FSU Associate Professor of Anthropology Tanya Peres. “Music is an important part of many cultures in ways we may not realize,” Peres said. “Musical instruments have a […]

FAMU-FSU College of Engineering welcomes first-year engineering students

Published: August 30, 2018 | 3:48 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

More than 420 new FAMU-FSU College of Engineering students started classes this week.

First-year engineering students filled the halls of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering this week, ready for their first introduction to engineering in the classroom. Students have the opportunity to take a first-year Engineering course during their first or second semester in college, where they learn about different engineering majors, get acclimated to the joint college, […]

In warming Arctic, major rivers show surprising changes in carbon chemistry

Published: August 28, 2018 | 2:31 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

In two major Arctic rivers, a changing climate and shifting human activities are provoking a surprising response. (Credit: Norman Kuring, NASA)

Over the past several decades, the Arctic has begun to show signs of significant ecological upheaval. The rate of warming in the Arctic is nearly twice the global average, and those changes are triggering a cascade of destabilizing environmental effects. Ice is melting, permafrost is thawing, and experts say fires in Arctic forests are as […]

MagLab geochemist named fellow of prestigious American Geophysical Union

Published: August 13, 2018 | 11:46 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

A Florida State University professor and director of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory’s geochemistry program has been elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, an organization representing some 60,000 professionals in the Earth and space sciences. FSU Professor Vincent Salters was among only 62 — about 0.1 percent — of AGU members to […]

‘Strange metals’ just got stranger

Published: August 2, 2018 | 4:38 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

A material already known for its unique behavior is found to carry current in a way never before observed Scientists at the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory have discovered a behavior in materials called cuprates that suggests they carry current in a way entirely different from conventional metals such as copper. The […]

Recreational fisheries pose threat to skittish sea turtles

Published: July 31, 2018 | 9:53 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

Study lead author Natalie Wildermann with a Kemps ridley sea turtle.

Every summer, thousands of amateur scallopers flock to the warm coastal waters of Florida’s Crystal River region, anchor their boats and reap the delicious bounty of the state’s largest recreational bay scallop fishery. For these seasonal anglers, the toothsome morsels are well worth the two- or three-meter dive. But new research from scientists at Florida […]

Tropical treetops are warming, putting sensitive species at risk

Published: July 26, 2018 | 11:08 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

Perched in towers high above the treetops, Pau and her team had a panoramic view of the forest canopies.

The vaulted canopies that tower above Earth’s rich tropical forests could be especially vulnerable to climate change-related temperature increases, according to a new report from Florida State University researchers. In a study published in the journal Ecosphere, scientists found temperatures in the forest canopies of Panama’s Barro Colorado Island exceeded maximum air temperatures by as […]

Slimy chemical clues: Changing algae could alter ecosystems

Published: July 23, 2018 | 9:54 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

Coralline algae have a hard skeleton and are often pink, red, purple, yellow or gray-green.

Colorful, hardened algae that dot the ocean floor from Alaska to Mexico often set the tone for which plant and invertebrate species inhabit a given ecological community. But as rising temperatures change the chemistry of ocean waters, a Florida State University researcher said these almost rock-like organisms called coralline algae are changing too. That could […]

FSU’s Center for Anchored Phylogenomics changes the way we study evolution

Published: July 20, 2018 | 10:55 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

Center co-directors and husband-and-wife Emily and Allan Lemmon combined their expertise in lab work and bioinformatics to develop their novel anchored phylogenomics method.

Florida State University’s Center for Anchored Phylogenomics is using a cutting-edge research technique to answer a question that scientists have labored over lucklessly for generations: How do we produce enough genetic data to construct an accurate evolutionary tree quickly and cost effectively? Thanks to the development of a specialized gene sampling technique by center co-directors […]

FSU nuclear physics lab to receive $1.7M for nuclear science workforce development

Published: July 19, 2018 | 9:10 am | Posted in: Science & Technology

Back row: Professors Samuel Tabor, Mark Riley, Paul Cottle, research faculty Anthony Frawley and Professor Emeritus Kirby Kemper. Front: Professor Ingo Wiedenhoever and Assistant Professor Sergio Almaraz-Calderon.

A team of Florida State University physicists will receive $1.7 million from the National Nuclear Security Administration over the next five years to help boost the nation’s nuclear science workforce. Physics Professors Ingo Wiedenhoever, Paul Cottle, Mark Riley, Samuel Tabor, Assistant Professor Sergio Almaraz-Calderon and research faculty Anthony Frawley operate the John D. Fox Superconducting […]

In the ocean’s twilight zone, tiny organisms may have giant effect on Earth’s carbo cycle

Published: July 18, 2018 | 1:54 pm | Posted in: Science & Technology

Stukel and his team found that hordes of microorganisms called phaeodarians, depicted above, could be playing an outsized role in the global carbon cycle.

Deep in the ocean’s twilight zone, swarms of ravenous single-celled organisms may be altering Earth’s carbon cycle in ways scientists never expected, according to a new study from Florida State University researchers. In the area 100 to 1,000 meters below the ocean’s surface — dubbed the twilight zone because of its largely impenetrable darkness — […]