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ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News |
| ‘Smart’ greenhouses could slash electricity costs Posted: 02 Feb 2022 01:59 PM PST A new, internet-connected lighting system for greenhouses could sharply reduce a farmer's electrical bill, according to a study by University of Georgia researchers. |
| Microbes making tree methane in ghost forests are in the soils Posted: 02 Feb 2022 09:43 AM PST Researchers wanted to know if different communities of microbes are making methane gas inside the soils or in the dead trees, which are also known as snags. They found that although the methane gas is generated in the soils, the trees act like filtering straws as the gas rises through the wood. |
| Satellites and light reflections help researchers spot coastal plastic waste Posted: 02 Feb 2022 08:18 AM PST Geospatial scientists have found a way to detect plastic waste on remote beaches that are not visible in conventional satellite images, bringing us closer to global monitoring options. |
| Reassessing radon as a reliable groundwater tracer Posted: 02 Feb 2022 08:18 AM PST As radioactive atoms are transported through groundwater aquifers in the form of gaseous radon, they are eventually transferred to the atmosphere. Measurements of the rate of this transfer can, in theory, be used to trace the infiltration of water into the surrounding soil. Yet a new study shows that this technique could have a significant flaw. |
| Scientists uncover 'missing' plastics deep in the ocean Posted: 02 Feb 2022 08:17 AM PST A new study unveils the prevalence of plastics in the entire water column of an offshore plastic accumulation zone in the southern Atlantic Ocean and implicates the ocean interior as a crucial pool of 'missing' plastics. Results show that small microplastics are critical, underexplored and integral to the oceanic plastic inventory. In addition, findings show that weak ocean current systems contribute to the formation of small microplastics hotspots at depth, suggesting a higher encounter rate for subsurface particle feeders like zooplankton. |
| The path to renewable fuel just got easier Posted: 02 Feb 2022 06:19 AM PST The holy grail of bio-fuel researchers is to develop a self-sustaining process that converts waste from sewage, food crops, algae and other renewable carbon sources into fuels, while keeping waste carbon out of our atmosphere and water. Much progress has been made in converting such waste to useful fuel but completing the cycle using clean energy has proved a tough nut to crack. |
| Ocean eddies could explain Antarctic sea-ice paradox Posted: 02 Feb 2022 05:03 AM PST Despite global warming and the sea-ice loss in the Arctic, the Antarctic sea-ice extent has remained largely unchanged since 1979. However, existing climate model-based simulations indicate significant sea-ice loss, contrary to actual observations. As experts have now shown, the ocean may weaken warming around Antarctica and delay sea-ice retreat. |
| UK plants flowering a month earlier due to climate change Posted: 01 Feb 2022 05:11 PM PST Climate change is causing plants in the UK to flower a month earlier on average, which could have profound consequences for wildlife, agriculture and gardeners. |
| Mass customization can make fashion more sustainable if customers are willing to wait for it Posted: 01 Feb 2022 01:56 PM PST Mass customization, where customers order clothing made to their own style tastes and measurements, has been proposed as one solution to overproduction. But the logistical challenges of tailoring garments to individual customer requests and lengthy manufacturing lead times have discouraged most firms from adopting mass customization. They might want to reconsider that decision, according to a new study. |
| New research links continents to key transitions in Earth’s oceans, atmosphere and climate Posted: 01 Feb 2022 01:10 PM PST A new study advances the understanding of the role that continents have played in the chemical evolution of Earth's oceans, with implications for understanding atmospheric oxygenation and global climate oscillations. |
| Climate change has likely begun to suffocate the world’s fisheries Posted: 01 Feb 2022 01:10 PM PST By 2080, around 70 percent of the world's oceans could be suffocating from a lack of oxygen as a result of climate change, potentially impacting marine ecosystems worldwide, according to a new study. The new models find mid-ocean depths that support many fisheries worldwide are already losing oxygen at unnatural rates and passed a critical threshold of oxygen loss in 2021. |
| Moons may yield clues to what makes planets habitable Posted: 01 Feb 2022 11:40 AM PST Because the moon is so important to life on Earth, scientists conjecture that a moon may be a potentially beneficial feature in harboring life on other planets. Most planets have moons, but Earth's moon is distinct in that it is large compared to the size of Earth; the moon's radius is larger than a quarter of Earth's radius, a much larger ratio than most moons to their planets. New research finds that distinction significant. |
| People in urban areas had better access to care and lower copays than rural areas Posted: 01 Feb 2022 11:40 AM PST Substance abuse, access to mental health care and costs remain a burden for people living in rural areas, even if they have private insurance. |
| Mighty powerful microbes: New insights into microbes that breathe rocks Posted: 01 Feb 2022 11:39 AM PST Microbes may be miniscule, but they have a massive impact on Earth and its habitability. They are uniquely different from animals, plants, and other eukaryotic organisms in that they can gain energy from 'breathing' a surprisingly wide range of surfaces and materials. Microbes also drastically re-shape their environment as they feast on these energy sources, making microbes major players in the cycling and availability of nutrients on Earth. One especially well-known example was the rise of oxygen on Earth due to the metabolism of photosynthetic bacteria. |
| Sustainable diets acceptable to local preferences and cultures Posted: 01 Feb 2022 11:39 AM PST New research examines how staple grains can be used as an effective food group for dietary shifts that can be culturally appropriate as well as environmentally sustainable. |
| Did comet's fiery destruction lead to downfall of ancient Hopewell? Posted: 01 Feb 2022 11:39 AM PST The rapid decline of the Hopewell culture about 1,500 years ago might be explained by falling debris from a near-Earth comet that created a devastating explosion over North America, laying waste to forests and Native American villages alike. Researchers found evidence of a cosmic airburst at 11 Hopewell archaeological sites in three states stretching across the Ohio River Valley. |
| Microwave data assimilation improves forecasts of hurricane intensity, rainfall Posted: 01 Feb 2022 11:39 AM PST In 2017, Hurricane Harvey stalled after making landfall over coastal Texas, pouring down record rainfall, flooding communities and becoming one of the wettest and most destructive storms in United States history. A new technique using readily available data reduces forecast errors and could improve track, intensity and rainfall forecasts for future storms like Hurricane Harvey, according to scientists. |
| Posted: 01 Feb 2022 11:39 AM PST Phasing out animal agriculture represents 'our best and most immediate chance to reverse the trajectory of climate change,' according to a new model developed by scientists. |
| Paris Agreement limits still catastrophic for coral reefs, research suggests Posted: 01 Feb 2022 11:39 AM PST Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels will still be catastrophic for coral reefs, new research suggests. More than 90 percent of tropical coral reefs will suffer frequent heat stress -- their number one threat -- even under Paris Agreement climate warming limits. The scale is even worse than predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which reported in 2018 that such a level would cause 70 percent to 90 percent of coral reefs to decline. |
| Extreme heat is the 'new normal' for the ocean Posted: 01 Feb 2022 11:39 AM PST New research reveals excessively warm ocean temperatures driven by climate change are the new normal. The study establishes that more than half of the ocean surface has exceeded a historical heat extreme threshold on a regular basis since 2014. Researchers conducted the study by mapping 150 years of sea surface temperatures to determine a fixed historical benchmark for marine heat extremes. The scientists then looked at how often and how much of the ocean surpassed this point. The first year in which more than half of the ocean experienced heat extremes was 2014. The trend continued in subsequent years, reaching 57 percent of the ocean in 2019, the last year measured in the study. Using this benchmark, just two percent of the ocean surface was experiencing extremely warm temperatures at the end of the 19th century. |
| Researchers study waves created by recreational boats Posted: 01 Feb 2022 08:52 AM PST A new study found that popular wakesurf boats require a greater distance from the shoreline and other boats compared to more typical recreational boats. This distance is needed to reduce the potential impact of their larger waves. |
| A new way to store sustainable energy: 'Information batteries' Posted: 01 Feb 2022 08:52 AM PST Renewable energy has an intermittency problem -- the sun provides no power at night, while winds can stop suddenly. Better battery storage is considered key to solving the intermittency problem by storing energy when the wind and sun are strong. But current storage solutions, including lithium-ion batteries and pumped hydro, are expensive and challenging to scale. What if surplus renewable energy could be stored as computation instead? |
| Historic buildings could be protected from rising energy bills by solar panels Posted: 01 Feb 2022 08:52 AM PST Installing solar panels could help historic buildings beat the rising costs of energy, according to a new study. |
| Expanding renewable energy need not hinder conservation efforts Posted: 01 Feb 2022 08:52 AM PST A study has found that expanding green energy production sites in the future won't necessarily be a threat to protected areas of land. |
| Posted: 01 Feb 2022 08:52 AM PST A method of producing vital chemical building blocks for use in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries mimics how plants manufacture them. |
| Study finds little genetic basis for some sea stars staying healthy amid deadly wasting syndrome Posted: 01 Feb 2022 08:51 AM PST Healthy-looking ochre sea stars have minimal genetic difference from those displaying symptoms of sea star wasting syndrome, say researchers who examined whether genetic variation was the reason some animals went unaffected during an epidemic of the deadly disease. |
| Study links lead in childhood well water to teen delinquency Posted: 01 Feb 2022 08:36 AM PST Exposure to lead in drinking water from private wells during early childhood is associated with an increased risk of being reported for delinquency during teenage years, according to a new study. Researchers found that children who get their water from private wells before age 6 have higher blood lead levels and also have a 21% higher risk of being reported for any delinquency after age 14. |
| First records of killer whales hunting largest animals on Earth Posted: 31 Jan 2022 08:05 AM PST In late March 2019, researchers performing annual whale and dolphin research surveys discovered the first ever record of killer whales hunting and killing an adult blue whale. Just two weeks later a blue whale calf was taken by many of the same individuals. Since then, an additional event of another blue whale calf predation was recorded in 2021. |
| The future of US corn, soybean and wheat production depends on sustainable groundwater use Posted: 28 Jan 2022 11:13 AM PST In the U.S., 52% of irrigated land is used for corn, soybean and winter wheat production. Corn and soybean are two of the country's most important crops, with 17% of corn production and 12% of soybean production coming from irrigated areas. However, the water used for this irrigation is often unsustainably pumped groundwater. Using groundwater sustainably for agriculture in the U.S. could dramatically reduce the production of corn, soybean and winter wheat. |
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