European Geosciences Union: General Assembly 2013
Venue: Vienna, Austria
07 -12, April 2013
European Geosciences Union: General Assembly 2013
was a great success with 11,167 scientists from 95 countries participated, of which 28% were students. There were 4,684 oral presentations, 8,207 posters and 448 unique scientific sessions.
An interesting paper was that ants could predict earthquakes, even a day or two in advance. Researcher Gabriele Berberich of the University Duisburg-Essen in Germany has proved this to be true with the Red Wood Ants in Germany.
For three years, Berberich and her colleagues tracked the ants 24-7 with video cameras, using special software to catalog behavioral changes. There were 10 earthquakes between magnitude 2.0 and 3.2 during the study period, 2009 to 2012, and many smaller temblors.
But before an earthquake, the ants were awake throughout the night, outside their mound, vulnerable to predators, the researchers found. Normal ant behavior didn't resume until a day after the earthquake.
The ants only changed behavior for quakes larger than magnitude 2.0. Red Wood Ants have magneto-receptors for electromagnetic fields and these organs help the ants to know about the tremours in advance.
Link: http://www.egu2013.eu
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