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ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News |
| Cause, scope determined for deadly winter debris flow in Uttarakhand, India Posted: 10 Jun 2021 12:01 PM PDT The Uttarakhand region of India experienced a humanitarian tragedy on Feb. 7, 2021, when a wall of debris and water barreled down the Ronti Gad, Rishiganga and Dhauliganga river valleys. This debris flow destroyed two hydropower facilities and left more than 200 people dead or missing. A self-organized coalition of 53 scientists came together in the days following the disaster to investigate the cause, scope and impacts. |
| Bacteria-sized robots take on microplastics and win by breaking them down Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:57 AM PDT Small pieces of plastic are everywhere, stretching from urban environments to pristine wilderness. Left to their own devices, it can take hundreds of years for them to degrade completely. Catalysts activated by sunlight could speed up the process, but getting these compounds to interact with microplastics is difficult. In a proof-of-concept study, researchers developed self-propelled microrobots that can swim, attach to plastics and break them down. |
| Dinosaurs lived in greenhouse climate with hot summers, study shows Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:56 AM PDT Researchers have developed an innovative way to use the clumped isotope method to reconstruct climate in the geological past on the seasonal scale. They show that dinosaurs had to deal with hotter summers than previously thought. The results suggest that in the mid latitudes, seasonal temperatures will likely rise along with climate warming, while seasonal difference is maintained. This results in very high summer temperatures. |
| Research establishes safe water thresholds for antimicrobials, to help mitigate resistance Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:56 AM PDT Scientists summarize and critically appraise the current approaches to determining the concentrations of antimicrobials that increase AMR. By collating and assessing available data, they have recommended what these safe thresholds could be, to enable governments to act to reduce them. |
| Botany: Scent of death attracts coffin flies to pipevine flowers Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:56 AM PDT Plant researchers have discovered an unusual and previously unknown reproductive strategy in plants: the Greek pipevine species 'Aristolochia microstoma' produces a unique mixture of volatiles that resembles the smell of dead and decaying insects to attract the pollinating fly genus 'Megaselia' (also known as 'coffin flies') to its trap-flowers. |
| The rocky road to accurate sea-level predictions Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:56 AM PDT The type of material present under glaciers has a big impact on how fast they slide towards the ocean. Scientists face a challenging task to acquire data of this under-ice landscape. Choosing the wrong equations for the under-ice landscape can have the same effect on the predicted contribution to sea-level rise as a warming of several degrees, according to researchers. |
| Soot from heaters and traffic is not just a local problem Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:55 AM PDT Soot particles from oil and wood heating systems as well as road traffic can pollute the air in Europe on a much larger scale than previously assumed. The evaluation of the sources during a measuring campaign in Germany showed that about half of the soot particles came from the surrounding area and the other half from long distances. This underlines the need to further reduce emissions of soot that is harmful to health and climate. |
| Institutional environments trap disabled geoscientists between a rock and a workplace Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:55 AM PDT Inaccessible workplaces, normative departmental cultures and 'ableist' academic systems have all contributed to the continued under-representation and exclusion of disabled researchers, according to an expert. |
| Solutions for fighting pollution in the oceans Posted: 10 Jun 2021 10:38 AM PDT Maritime litter is among the most urgent global pollution issues. Marine scientist have published an overview study of solutions for prevention, monitoring, and removal. They found that reducing ocean pollution requires more support, integration, and creative political decisiveness. |
| Endangered blue whales recorded off southwest coast of India Posted: 10 Jun 2021 06:11 AM PDT Underwater recordings show that endangered blue whales are present and singing off the southwest coast of India. This extends the range of a known song type by 1,000 kilometers, into Indian waters. The results suggest that conservation measures should include this region. |
| Lodgers on manganese nodules: Sponges promote a high diversity Posted: 10 Jun 2021 06:11 AM PDT Deep down in the ocean, valuable raw materials are stored, such as nodules of manganese. These resources could help meeting our increasing demand for rare metals. In addition to the nodules, there is another treasure down there: A complex ecosystem we barely understand. Researchers have discovered that sponges settling on the nodules provide a home for many other animals. Without nodules, diversity in these deep-sea regions would be significantly lower. |
| How to beat the heat: Memory mechanism allows plants to adapt to heat stress Posted: 10 Jun 2021 06:10 AM PDT Researchers have found that plants adapt to heat stress via a specific 'memory' mechanism. The JUMONJI family of proteins can control small heat shock genes, allowing plants to become heat tolerant for better adaptation to future heat stress. This research is applicable to a broad range of scientific fields and understanding this mechanism could contribute to maintaining the food supply under global warming conditions. |
| Posted: 09 Jun 2021 09:34 AM PDT A new study quantifies for the first time the impact that double-cropping had on helping Brazil achieve its national grain boom. |
| Origin of fairy circles: Euphorbia hypothesis disproved Posted: 09 Jun 2021 09:34 AM PDT The fairy circles of the Namib are one of nature's greatest mysteries. Millions of these circular barren patches extend over vast areas along the margins of the desert in Namibia. An early hypothesis by G.K. Theron was that poisonous substances from Euphorbia damarana leaves induced fairy circles. Now new research found the original experiment and, 40 years later, the researchers are able to conclusively disprove this hypothesis. |
| Warmer temperatures lessen COVID-19 spread, but control measures still needed, study finds Posted: 09 Jun 2021 08:55 AM PDT New research shows transmission of the virus behind COVID-19 varies seasonally, but warmer conditions are not enough to prevent transmission. |
| Hope for critically endangered gorillas in eastern DRC Posted: 09 Jun 2021 08:55 AM PDT A new study has updated the global population estimate for the Critically Endangered Grauer's gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) -- the world's largest gorilla subspecies -- to 6,800 individuals from a previous global estimate of 3,800 individuals. |
| A few common bacteria account for majority of carbon use in soil Posted: 07 Jun 2021 05:46 AM PDT Fewer than ten common bacterial taxa are responsible for the majority of soil carbon cycling, a team led by researchers announced. The study, which used a technique quantitative stable isotope probing, identified several soil microbial groups that play an outsized role in carbon processing and CO2 release, and suggests that communities found in wild soil may contain functional redundancies. |
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