Sightings of these spiders in the university’s library basement prompted staff to close the library for two days. Source: https://www.livescience.com/mediterranean-recluse-spider-venomous-university-of-michigan.html
Tag: Mediterranean
Mysterious oil spill covers Israel’s coastline in toxic tar balls
Israel’s Mediterranean coastline has been littered with tar as the result of an oil spill off the coast, putting marine life and those cleaning it up at risk. Source: https://www.livescience.com/tar-washes-up-on-israel-beaches.html
Hundreds of fish species, including many we eat, are consuming plastic
As more and more plastic trash permeates the oceans, microplastics are making their way into fish and shellfish, and potentially into humans. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/hundreds-fish-species-consume-microplastics-including-human-food…
Rare purple textiles from the time of biblical kings found for the first time in Israel
Archaeologists in Israel have uncovered 3,000-year-old textiles stained with a valuable purple dye made from Mediterranean mollusks. Source: https://www.livescience.com/rare-purple-textiles-discovered-israel.html
Dead whale in the Mediterranean probably ‘one of the largest’ ever found
Italian divers discovered the corpse of a large finback whale near Naples. Authorities say it could be one of the largest whales ever found in the Mediterranean. Source: https://www.livescience.com/finback-whale-largest-ever-mediterranean.html
Seagrass ‘Neptune Balls’ Sieve Millions of Plastic Particles From Water, Study Finds
Underwater seagrass in coastal areas appear to trap plastic pollution in natural bundles of fiber known as “Neptune balls,” researchers have found. The Guardian reports: With no help from humans, the swaying plants — anchored to shallow seabeds — may collect nearly 900 million plastic items in the Mediterranean alone every year, a study reported in the journal Scientific Reports said….
People in the Mediterranean ate foods from Asia 3700 years ago
People living in the Mediterranean may have been sampling South and East Asian cuisines as much as thousands of years earlier than previously thought Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2263624-people-in-the-mediterranean-ate-foods-from-asia-3700-years-ago/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Ancient Egyptian hoard of counterfeit ‘dirty money’ unearthed
A shortage of silver caused by the collapse of leading Bronze Age civilizations around the eastern Mediterranean about 1200 BC resulted in the original “dirty money” — several hundreds of years before coins had been invented. Source: https://www.livescience.com/ancient-egyptian-hoard-counterfeit-dirty-money.html
Cyprus rocky testing ground for Mars
International and Cypriot experts on Friday discussed a research project to test space equipment on the Mediterranean island before sending it to Mars to measure the age of its rocks, officials said. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-11-cyprus-rocky-ground-mars.html…
EU Plans To Increase Offshore Windfarm Capacity By 250%
The capacity of the EU’s offshore windfarms in the North Sea, the Baltic, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea will be increased by 250% under a draft plan drawn up by the European commission. The Guardian reports: The total energy generating capacity in Europe’s seas stands at 23 gigawatts (GW), from 5,047 grid-connected wind turbines across 12 countries, including…