El Nino, Sphagnum moss and peatlands, Inside Cern, Measuring air pollution with iPhones

BBC Inside Science

BBC

Technology, Science

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2015

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Tracey Logan investigates the latest science news. Roland Pease reports on recent warnings that we're heading for one of the most severe El Ninos on record which could distort weather patterns around the world. Spongey sphagnum moss provides a protective layer to peat lands but in the bogs of the Peak District industrial and urban air pollution has killed nearly all the moss. This means the peat lands can erode releasing tonnes of ancient carbon. Tracey talks to horticultural ecologist, Neal Wright about his technique for creating tiny gel beads of sphagnum moss to spray on the moors to help restore their peat lands back to health. Marnie Chesterton talks to John Butterworth about his book, 'Smashing Physics' which is another short-listed entry for the Royal Society Winton book prize. He talks about the highs and lows of the discovery of the Higgs Boson and why CERN might soon be creating dark matter. Tracey talks to Toby Shannon, from the Institute of Physics about the International Year of Light citizen science project to measure air pollution using an iPhone. Details on how to take part here: http://ispex-eu.org/.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the podcast of Inside Science from BBC Radio 4, first broadcast on the 3rd of September 2015.
0:07.0	I'm Tracy Logan taking over from the inestimable Gareth Mitchell, standing in for the inevitable Adam Rutherford.
0:13.2	Stepine, he'll be back soon.
0:15.1	Meanwhile you can get more information on the program at
0:17.8	BBC.co. UK.
0:19.4	W.
0:21.6	Hello this week, why techniques to apply tiny beads of spagnum moss to the peak lands of the
0:27.0	Peak District could prevent not only their erosion, but millions of tons of carbon dioxide
0:32.0	being released from their inner depths.
0:34.6	We've another taste of science books shortlisted for the Royal Society's Winton Prize
0:38.8	and a new citizen science project that converts your iPhone into an air quality monitor.
0:45.0	First, this week the World Meteorological Organization issued a warning that the
0:50.1	planet is at the beginning of one of the most severe El Nino's on record.
0:54.4	El Nino being an event where the waters of the Pacific Ocean are abnormally warm,
0:58.8	distorting weather patterns across the planet.
1:01.6	So how worried should we be? How bad could it get? Back in 1997 and
1:07.3	1998, El Nino events caused storms and floods to batter countries of the Pacific Basin for six months.
1:15.0	More recently, newspaper headlines in 2014 predicted something similar.
1:19.0	World is unprepared for Major El Nino later this year. The tropical climate system is
1:25.2	primed for a big El Nino. It looks like a big one. El Nino could grow into a
1:30.8	monster new data show. It might be a big one.
1:34.1	Unusually intense El Nino may lie ahead, scientists say. The present event is
	...

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