Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Study: Managed forests store more carbon, in trees and in soil
From Dartmouth News Service: A Dartmouth-led study examining carbon stocks in an actively managed mixed wood forest in New Hampshire finds that places with more trees have more carbon stored in both the trees and the soil. The findings, published in Forest Ecology and...
Winter is coming, but not as much as it used to
From UNH News Service: Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found clear signs of a decline in frost days, snow-covered days and other indicators of winter that could have lasting impacts on ecosystems, water supplies, the economy, tourism and human...
It takes longer for things to rot than you probably realize
I have two "lazy" compost piles, one for food waste and one for leaves. I throw stuff in a pile and leave it to rot in the open - no mixing, no watering, no balancing carbon/nitrogen. I've been doing this for decades, and it surprises me how long it takes some things...
Why are fungal diseases causing so much havoc?
White-nose syndrome obliterating entire species of bats. Chytridiomycosis devastating frogs and salamanders worldwide. Snake fungal disease, a devastating ailment that has just shown up in New England. The fungus carried by emerald ash borers that are wiping out all...
The art of underwater sound
A lot of art/science mashups aren't terribly impressive. They're often something along the lines of a statue that contains Erlenmeyer flasks, or a fractal picture, or a melody-free song called Quantum Uncertainty. The UNH Center for Acoustics Research and Education is...
Why is a group of loons called an ‘asylum’? It might be the Monitor’s doing
There are lots of colorful names for groups of birds - murder of crows, etc. - most of them unofficial and most of them with obscure etymologies. How about "asylum of loons", one of the terms for a grouping of this usually solitary water bird? Where did that come...
NH court settles Airbnb rules, but only a little bit
Last week the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in favor of Portsmouth's denial of an Airbnb permit. A couple wanted to rent out the house next to them, but the city said zoning wouldn't allow it. Here's my story in the Monitor. The ruling is the latest in the long...
Coal-fired power plant almost never runs (not because of climate)
I visited Merrimack Station this week, in advance of Saturday protests against the biggest coal-fired power plant in the region (and soon in New England). The big takeaway is that that the plant hardly ever runs - roughly the equivalent of 23 days in all of 2018 - but...
Computer math proofs – once scorned, now necessary?
Probably the most famous mathematical work with a New Hampshire connection is the proof of the four-color theorem, done by Wolfgang Haken and Ken Appel in 1976. (Appel later moved to New Hampshire and became head of the mathematics department at UNH, so the Granite...
Making a ‘climate-ready’ culvert
Regular readers (hi, mom!) know that I love culverts, those thousands of pipes/mini-bridges under that carry streams under New Hampshire roadways. They are the perfect symbol and example of the reality of dealing with climate change, which is why this blog has seen...
Return to the Concord Monitor