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ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News |
| Researchers find direct links between deforestation and reduced dietary quality Posted: 16 Mar 2022 02:32 PM PDT Current policies for guaranteeing food security emphasize the importance of farmland, but forests play critical roles as well. Forested areas can help communities that rely on wild foods to diversify their diets and meet their nutritional needs, according to researchers who found direct links between deforestation and reduced fruit and vegetable consumption in rural Tanzania. |
| Effects of ancient carbon releases suggest possible scenarios for future climate Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:57 AM PDT A massive release of greenhouse gases, likely triggered by volcanic activity, caused a period of extreme global warming known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) about 56 million years ago. A new study now confirms that the PETM was preceded by a smaller episode of warming and ocean acidification caused by a shorter burst of carbon emissions. The short-lived precursor event represents what might happen if current emissions can be shut down quickly, while the much more extreme global warming of the PETM shows the consequences of continuing to release carbon into the atmosphere at the current rate. |
| U.S. fires four times larger, three times more frequent since 2000 Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:57 AM PDT Fires have gotten larger, more frequent and more widespread across the United States since 2000, according to a new article. The research shows that large fires have not only become more common, they are also spreading into new areas, impacting land that previously did not burn. |
| Discovery uncovers a new leaf for Redwoods Posted: 16 Mar 2022 10:27 AM PDT Redwood trees have two types of leaves, one to make food and the other to absorb water, found a new study. It's the first study to estimate whole-crown water absorption in a large, mature tree. The findings can help scientists monitor redwoods' adaptability amid a changing climate and deepens our understanding of the resilience of these massive trees. |
| Posted: 16 Mar 2022 10:27 AM PDT Researchers have found a way to improve the ability of catalysts made from metal-metal oxides to convert non-edible plants, such as wood, grass and corn stover into renewable fuels, chemicals and plastics. Metal oxide catalysts are central to reactions for upgrading petrochemicals, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals and biomass. |
| Cheaper, more efficient ways to capture carbon Posted: 16 Mar 2022 10:27 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new tool that could lead to more efficient and cheaper technologies for capturing heat-trapping gases from the atmosphere and converting them into beneficial substances, like fuel or building materials. |
| Pivotal technique harnesses cutting-edge AI capabilities to model and map the natural environment Posted: 16 Mar 2022 10:26 AM PDT Scientists have developed a pioneering new technique that harnesses the cutting-edge capabilities of AI to model and map the natural environment in intricate detail. |
| How inland and coastal waterways influence climate Posted: 16 Mar 2022 09:08 AM PDT Most global carbon-budgeting efforts assume a linear flow of water from the land to the sea, which ignores the complex interplay between streams, rivers, lakes, groundwater, estuaries, mangroves and more. Climate scientists now detail how carbon is stored and transported through the intricacy of inland and coastal waterways. The work has significant implications for enforcing the carbon calculations that are part of international climate accords. |
| Increased tree cover in savannas provides limited benefit in climate fight Posted: 16 Mar 2022 09:08 AM PDT One proposed strategy in the fight against climate change is to increase tree cover in the world's savannas, either through the planting of new trees or fire suppression, to increase the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, a new study of African savannas suggests this approach is far less effective than previously estimated. "Increasing tree cover in savannas, whether via afforestation or fire suppression, is unlikely to yield the substantial gains in ecosystem carbon storage that have been advertised," said Carla Staver, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, associate director of the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies, and senior author of the new study. |
| New flow battery stores power in simple organic compound Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:50 AM PDT The intermittent supply of green electricity requires large-scale storage to keep our power grids stable. Since normal batteries do not scale very well, the idea of using flow batteries, which store electricity in a fluid is attractive. Scientists have designed a flow battery electrolyte that is cheaper and is based on an organic compound, rather than a metal. |
| Longer, more intense allergy seasons could result from climate change Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:50 AM PDT Allergy seasons are likely to become longer and grow more intense as a result of increasing temperatures caused by humanmade climate change, according to new research. |
| Climate change considerably threatens Europe's beech forests Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:50 AM PDT Beech forests in Europe are severely threatened by climate change, particularly in southern European countries, but also in central Europe. Models project severe beech growth declines over the next 70 years -- ranging from 20 percent to perhaps more than 50 percent depending on the climate change scenario and the region in question. |
| Getting bacteria and yeast to talk to each other, thanks to a 'nanotranslator' Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:50 AM PDT Cells communicate with one another in the language of chemistry, but those from different kingdoms, such as bacteria and yeast, speak dialects virtually unintelligible to the other. By learning how microbes 'talk,' researchers hope to one day manipulate their behavior to protect against disease, for example. Efforts like this are in their infancy, but researchers now describe the first system that enables two unrelated organisms to communicate. |
| Wax-coated sand keeps soil wet longer, improves crop yields in arid regions Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:50 AM PDT Dry, hot regions are difficult places to grow plants because the soil dries out quickly. As a result, farmers in arid and semi-arid regions irrigate their fields with buried networks of irrigation tubing and cover the ground with plastic sheets. But plastic sheets are expensive and create waste. Now, researchers have developed a simple, biodegradable ground cover -- wax-coated sand -- which keeps soil wet and increases crop yields. |
| Nuclear reactor power levels can be monitored using seismic and acoustic data Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:50 AM PDT Seismic and acoustic data recorded 50 meters away from a research nuclear reactor could predict whether the reactor was in an on or off state with 98% accuracy, according to a new study. |
| Ancient ice reveals scores of gigantic volcanic eruptions Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:50 AM PDT Ice cores drilled in Antarctica and Greenland have revealed gigantic volcanic eruptions during the last ice age. Sixty-nine of these were larger than any eruption in modern history. According to the physicists behind the research, these eruptions can teach us about our planet's sensitivity to climate change. |
| World’s vulnerable are being polluted in their own homes as they cook Posted: 16 Mar 2022 07:04 AM PDT Three-quarters of kitchens in low-income homes across 12 major global cities are heavily polluted by cooking emissions, according to new research. |
| Bacterial enzyme makes new type of biodegradable polymer Posted: 16 Mar 2022 06:17 AM PDT Strings of sugars called polysaccharides are the most abundant biopolymers on Earth. Because of their versatile and environmentally friendly properties, these molecules could eventually replace some plastics. Now, researchers have identified a previously unknown bacterial enzyme that can make a new type of polysaccharide, which is similar to the biopolymer chitin. The new molecule is biodegradable and could be useful for drug delivery, tissue engineering and other biomedical applications. |
| How grasshopper mouths resemble those of mammals Posted: 16 Mar 2022 06:17 AM PDT Palaeobiologists have identified startling similarities between the mouths of grasshoppers and mammal teeth. |
| Antelope, a Gulf region cultural icon, gets another chance at survival Posted: 16 Mar 2022 06:17 AM PDT The DNA of a vulnerable species, the iconic Arabian Oryx, has been decoded. An international team undertook this project to help ensure the survival of the species, by using the genetic data to inform breeding programs. |
| Birds of prey populations across Europe suppressed by lead poisoning from gun ammunition Posted: 16 Mar 2022 06:17 AM PDT Poisoning caused by preying on or scavenging animals shot by hunters using lead ammunition has left the populations of many raptors – or birds of prey – far smaller than they should be, according to the first study to calculate these impacts across Europe. |
| New toolkit aids discovery of mineral deposits crucial to 'green economy' transition Posted: 15 Mar 2022 12:01 PM PDT Scientists have developed a new toolkit for the discovery of mineral deposits crucial to our transition to a 'green economy'. |
| Calculating terrestrial carbon’s role in river and stream emissions Posted: 15 Mar 2022 11:20 AM PDT The interplay between the terrestrial carbon cycle and emissions of carbon dioxide from streams and rivers into the atmosphere is at the center of a new study aimed at calculating the amount for the global carbon emissions budget. |
| Snowbound: Big trees boost water in forests by protecting snowpack Posted: 15 Mar 2022 11:18 AM PDT Trees have a complex relationship with snow and energy as the season warms up, but new research shows that big trees can protect melting snowpacks in water-stressed environments. |
| How Indigenous burning shaped the Klamath's forests for a millennia Posted: 15 Mar 2022 11:18 AM PDT A new study combines scientific data with Indigenous oral histories and ecological knowledge to show how the cultural burning practices of the Native people of the Klamath Mountains -- the Karuk and the Yurok tribes -- helped shape the region's forests for at least a millennia prior to European colonization. |
| Ancient El Niños reveal limits to future climate projections Posted: 15 Mar 2022 11:18 AM PDT The climate pattern El Niño varies to such a degree that scientists will have a hard time detecting signs that it is getting stronger with global warming. That's the conclusion of a study that analyzed 9,000 years of Earth's history. The scientists drew on climate data contained within ancient corals and used one of the world's most powerful supercomputers to conduct their research. |
| Materials scientists finding solutions to biggest hurdle for solar cell technology Posted: 15 Mar 2022 11:18 AM PDT Materials scientists have discovered the major reason why perovskite solar cells -- which show great promise for improved energy-conversion efficiency -- degrade in sunlight, causing their performance to suffer over time. The team successfully demonstrated a simple manufacturing adjustment to fix the cause of the degradation, clearing the biggest hurdle toward the widespread adoption of the thin-film solar cell technology. |
| Combing the cosmos: New color catalog aids hunt for life on frozen worlds Posted: 15 Mar 2022 11:17 AM PDT Aided by microbes found in the subarctic conditions of Canada's Hudson Bay, an international team of scientists has created the first color catalog of icy planet surface signatures to uncover the existence of life in the cosmos. |
| Do sharks get their ZZZs? New evidence shows it’s not all about the hunt Posted: 15 Mar 2022 11:17 AM PDT The first physiological evidence that sharks take a break from tracking prey to catch a few winks has been uncovered by a researcher who specializes in sleep among aquatic creatures, from sharks to crocodiles. The comparative sleep physiologist studied the metabolic signatures of sleep and behavioral sleep indicators among New Zealand's draughtsboard sharks. His research found that they produced a lower metabolic rate and recumbent body posture when inactive for longer than five minutes, supporting the idea that they were conserving energy by sleeping. |
| Dispersal strategies drive marine microbial diversity Posted: 15 Mar 2022 09:14 AM PDT Trade-offs between the benefit of colonizing new particles and the risk of being wiped out by predators allow diverse populations of marine microbes to exist together, shows a new study. |
| Scientists show large impact of controlling humidity on greenhouse gas emissions Posted: 15 Mar 2022 09:14 AM PDT Greenhouse gas emissions from air conditioners are expected to climb as economic growth drives efforts to control both temperature and humidity, according to a new analysis. |
| Living near green areas reduces the risk of suffering a stroke by 16 percent, study finds Posted: 15 Mar 2022 08:30 AM PDT The risk of suffering an ischaemic stroke, the most common type of cerebrovascular event, is 16 percent less in people who have green spaces less than 300 meters from their homes. The study took into account information on exposure to three atmospheric pollutants linked to vehicle traffic in more than three and a half million people selected from among the 7.5 million residents of Catalonia, over the age of eighteen who had not suffered a stroke prior to the start of the study. |
| Optimizer tool designs, evaluates, maximizes solar-powered cooling systems Posted: 15 Mar 2022 08:29 AM PDT Researchers have developed an optimizer tool to design, evaluate, and maximize the performance of different types of solar-powered adsorption under various operating scenarios. The tool was created using Visual Basic programming language that is easy to learn and enables rapid application development and predicted the proper material mass concentration ratios. The method calculated the cooling load, predicted maximal performance, and conducted the overall performance analysis of the cooling system. |
| Making green energy greener: Researchers propose method for wind turbine blades' recycling Posted: 15 Mar 2022 08:29 AM PDT Wind turbine blades made from glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminate composites can serve for up to 25 years. After that, they end up in landfills which has become a real challenge for the renewable energy industry. Researchers have proposed a method for wind turbine blades' recycling. Using pyrolysis, they broke the composite materials into their constituent parts. According to scientists, the extracted materials can be reused, and the process is virtually waste-free. |
| Posted: 15 Mar 2022 06:50 AM PDT A new study has found that oil palm can be farmed more sustainably on peatlands by re-wetting the land - conserving both biodiversity and livelihoods. |
| Cities can be part of the solution in sustaining species Posted: 14 Mar 2022 12:43 PM PDT Researchers found that a projected urban expansion of up to 1.53 million square kilometers over the next three decades threatens the survival of more than 800 species -- but also that a focus on urban planning that protects habitats can mitigate the impact. |
| Huge forest fires don't cause living trees to release much carbon, research shows Posted: 14 Mar 2022 09:06 AM PDT Research on the ground following two large wildfires in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range showed the vast majority of carbon stored in trees before the blazes was still there after the fires. |
| New scoring scale tracks the harmful effects of salt pollution in freshwater streams and rivers Posted: 14 Mar 2022 06:57 AM PDT A new study sheds light on how salinization from winter road salt combined with other pollutants creates 'chemical cocktails' that can jeopardize the ecological balance of waterways, including those in the Washington, D.C. area. The researchers developed a new five-stage scale (Stage 0-IV) to track the progression of this damage, a tool that could inform public policy in the future. Parts of the Potomac, the Anacostia and Rock Creek waterways are in Stage III on the scale for at least part of the year. |
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