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Categories: Environmental: Water, Space: General
Published Enormous ice loss from Greenland glacier
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ground-based measuring devices and aircraft radar operated in the far northeast of Greenland show how much ice the 79 N-Glacier is losing. According to recent measurements, the thickness of the glacier has decreased by more than 160 meters since 1998. Warm ocean water flowing under the glacier tongue is melting the ice from below. High air temperatures cause lakes to form on the surface, whose water flows through huge channels in the ice into the ocean. One channel reached a height of 500 meters, while the ice above was only 190 meters thick.
Published Signs of life would be detectable in single ice grain emitted from extraterrestrial moons
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Could life be found in frozen sea spray from moons orbiting Saturn or Jupiter? New research finds that life can be detected in a single ice grain containing one bacterial cell or portions of a cell. The results suggest that if life similar to that on Earth exists on these planetary bodies, that this life should be detectable by instruments launching in the fall.
Published Two of the Milky Way's earliest building blocks identified
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers have identified what could be two of the Milky Way's earliest building blocks: Named 'Shakti' and 'Shiva', these appear to be the remnants of two galaxies that merged between 12 and 13 billion years ago with an early version of the Milky Way, contributing to our home galaxy's initial growth. The new find is the astronomical equivalent of archeologists identifying traces of an initial settlement that grew into a large present-day city.
Published Say hello to biodegradable microplastics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Finding viable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics and microplastics has never been more important. New research shows that their plant-based polymers biodegrade -- even at the microplastic level -- in under seven months.
Published Secrets of the Van Allen belt revealed in new study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A challenge to space scientists to better understand our hazardous near-Earth space environment has been set in a new study.
Published New geological study: Scandinavia was born in Greenland
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The oldest Scandinavian bedrock was 'born' in Greenland, according to a new geological study. The study helps us understand the origin of continents and why Earth is the only planet in our solar system with life.
Published Maize genes control little helpers in the soil
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tiny organisms such as bacteria and fungi help to promote the health and function of plant roots. It is commonly assumed that the composition of these microbes is dependent on the properties of the soil. However, researchers have now discovered when studying different local varieties of maize that the genetic makeup of the plants also helps to influence which microorganisms cluster around the roots.
Published Cleaning up environmental contaminants with quantum dot technology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was focused on quantum dots -- objects so tiny, they're controlled by the strange rules of quantum physics. Quantum dots used in electronics are often toxic, but their nontoxic counterparts are being explored for uses in medicine and in the environment, including water decontamination. One team of researchers has specially designed carbon- and sulfur-based dots for these environmental applications.
Published High school students contribute to exoplanet discovery
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A group of high school students from Oakland, California, made contributions to the field of exoplanet research. Researchers worked with the students to use backpack-sized digital smart telescopes. These young citizen scientists played a role in observing and confirming the nature of a warm and dense sub-Saturn planet, known as TIC 139270665 b, orbiting a metal-rich G2 star.
Published Icy impacts: Planetary scientists use physics and images of impact craters to gauge the thickness of ice on Europa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New study reveals that Europa's ice shell is at least 20 kilometers thick.
Published Scientists find one of the most ancient stars that formed in another galaxy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The first generation of stars transformed the universe. Inside their cores, simple hydrogen and helium fused into a rainbow of elements. When these stars died, they exploded and sent these new elements across the universe. The iron running in your veins and the calcium in your teeth and the sodium powering your thoughts were all born in the heart of a long-dead star.
Published Quantum tornado provides gateway to understanding black holes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have created a giant quantum vortex to mimic a black hole in superfluid helium that has allowed them to see in greater detail how analogue black holes behave and interact with their surroundings.
Published Crawfish could transfer ionic lithium from their environment into food chain
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are showing up in ever more devices, and the increasing use of this technology means more lithium is expected to find its way into the environment as a contaminant. In new research, a team has explored how this ion accumulates in a common Southern crustacean, the crawfish, with implications for the environment and public health.
Published Astrophysicist's research could provide a hint in the search for dark matter
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Dark matter is one of science's greatest mysteries. Although it is believed to make up about 85 percent of the cosmos, scientists know very little about its fundamental nature. Research provides some of the most stringent constraints on the nature of dark matter yet. It also revealed a small hint of a signal that, if real, could be confirmed in the next decade or so.
Published Researchers investigate how freshwater diatoms stay in the light
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers sought to understand how diatoms -- microscopic, photosynthetic algae that make up an estimated 20 percent of global carbon sequestration and oxygen production -- are able to bloom in an ice-covered Lake Erie and how ice decline across the Great Lakes is impacting the algae.
Published Pioneering muscle monitoring in space to help astronauts stay strong in low-gravity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronauts have been able to track their muscle health in spaceflight for the first time using a handheld device, revealing which muscles are most at risk of weakening in low gravity conditions. Researchers monitored the muscle health of twelve astronauts before, during and after a stay on the International Space Station.
Published Simulated microgravity effects cause marked changes in gene expression rhythms in humans, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Simulated effects of microgravity, created by 60 days of constant bed rest, severely disrupts rhythmic gene expression in humans, according to a new study.
Published There are large accumulations of plastics in the ocean, even outside so-called garbage patch
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When plastic ends up in the ocean, it gradually weathers and disintegrates into small particles. If marine animals ingest these particles, their health can be severely affected. Large accumulations of plastic can therefore disrupt the biological balance of marine ecosystems. But which areas are particularly affected?
Published Fairy circles: Plant water stress causes Namibia's gaps in grass
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Namibia's legendary fairy circles are mysterious, circular, bald patches in the dry grasslands on the edge of the Namib Desert. Their formation has been researched for decades and has recently been the subject of much debate. With extensive fieldwork, researchers investigated how freshly germinated grass dies inside the fairy circle. Their results show that the grass withers due to a lack of water inside the fairy circle. The topsoil, comprised of the top 10 to 12 centimeters of the soil, acts as a kind of 'death zone' in which fresh grass cannot survive for long.
Published Artificial streams reveal how drought shapes California's alpine ecosystems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have used a series of artificial stream channels to mimic the behavior of headwater creeks under future climate change scenarios. They found that drier conditions shifted the life cycles of the algae and insects that form the base of the alpine food web. However, because species adjusted to the shifts in a variety of ways, the stream ecosystems were generally resilient to the changing conditions.