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Categories: Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry, Environmental: Ecosystems

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The Arctic is changing rapidly due to climate change. It is not only affected by increasing surface temperatures, but also by warm water from the Atlantic, which is flowing in more and more -- changing the structures and functions of the ecosystem as it also leads to species from warmer regions, such as sea jellies (also known as jellyfish) arriving in the Arctic. Using DNA metabarcoding, researchers have now been able to demonstrate that these jellyfish serve as food for amphipods on Svalbard during the polar night and thus play a greater role in Arctic food webs than previously assumed.

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A recent genetic discovery has revealed that the pale grey plumage of the tawny owl is linked to crucial functions that aid the bird's survival in cold environments. As global temperatures rise, dark brown plumage is likely to become more common in tawny owls living in colder areas.

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Corals searching for food in the cold and dark waters of the deep sea are building higher and higher mountains to get closer to the source of their food. But in doing so, they may find themselves trapped when the climate changes.

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Global warming may be interacting with regional rainfall and deforestation to accelerate forest loss in the Amazon, pushing it towards partial or total collapse. New research has identified the potential thresholds of these stressors, showing where their combined effects could produce a 'tipping point' -- in which the forest is so fragile that just a small disturbance could cause an abrupt shift in the state of the ecosystem.

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Widespread 20th-century reforestation in the eastern United States helped counter rising temperatures due to climate change, according to new research. The authors highlight the potential of forests as regional climate adaptation tools, which are needed along with a decrease in carbon emissions.

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Desert ants find their way during an early learning phase with the help of the Earth's magnetic field. The associated learning process leaves clear traces in their nervous system.

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Since the turn of the century, six new chemical elements have been discovered and subsequently added to the periodic table of elements, the very icon of chemistry. These new elements have high atomic numbers up to 118 and are significantly heavier than uranium, the element with the highest atomic number (92) found in larger quantities on Earth. This raises questions such as how many more of these superheavy species are waiting to be discovered, where -- if at all -- is a fundamental limit in the creation of these elements, and what are the characteristics of the so-called island of enhanced stability. In a recent review, experts in theoretical and experimental chemistry and physics of the heaviest elements and their nuclei summarize the major challenges and offer a fresh view on new superheavy elements and the limit of the periodic table.

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Marine heatwaves will become a regular occurrence in the Arctic in the near future and are a product of higher anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions -- as shown in a new study.

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An estimated 11,000 sq miles or 28,707 sq kilometers of Greenland's ice sheet and glaciers have melted over the last three decades, according to a major analysis of historic satellite records.

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The properties of supramolecular polymers are dictated by the self-assembled state of the molecules. However, not much is known about the impact of morphologies on the properties of nano- and mesoscopic-scale polymeric assemblies. Recently, a research team demonstrated how terminus-free toroids and random coils derived from the same luminescent molecule show different photophysical properties. The team also presented a novel method for purifying the toroidal structure.

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More time stranded on land means greater risk of starvation for polar bears, a new study indicates. During three summer weeks, 20 polar bears closely observed by scientists tried different strategies to maintain energy reserves, including resting, scavenging and foraging. Yet nearly all of them lost weight rapidly: on average around 1 kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, per day. Some have speculated that polar bears might adapt to the longer ice-free seasons due to climate warming by acting like their grizzly bear relatives and either rest or eat terrestrial food. The polar bears in this study tried versions of both strategies -- with little success.

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New research has shown there is more coral reef area across the globe than previously thought, with detailed satellite mapping helping to conserve these vital ecosystems.

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New research revealed that when coral bleaching occurs, corals release unique organic compounds into the surrounding water that not only promote bacterial growth overall, but select for opportunistic bacteria that may further stress reefs.

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You can mend a broken heart this valentine s day now that researchers invented a new hydrogel that can be used to heal damaged heart tissue and improve cancer treatments.

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Researchers find deforestation accounts for about 10 percent of global human-made mercury emissions. While it cannot be the only solution, they suggest reforestation could increase global mercury uptake by about 5 percent.

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Scientists have discovered that a known practice in information technology can also be applied to chemistry. Researchers found that to enhance the sampling in chemical simulations, all you need to do is stop and restart.

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A chemical element so visually striking that it was named for a goddess shows a 'Goldilocks' level of reactivity -- neither too much nor too little -- that makes it a strong candidate as a carbon scrubbing tool.

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Climate changes usually happens over long periods of time, but during the last glacial period, extreme fluctuations in temperature occurred within just a few years. Researchers have now been able to prove the phenomenon also occurred during the penultimate glacial period.

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Semiconductors are ubiquitous in modern technology, working to either enable or prevent the flow of electricity. In order to understand the potential of two-dimensional semiconductors for future computer and photovoltaic technologies, researchers investigated the bond that builds between the electrons and holes contained in these materials. By using a special method to break up the bond between electrons and holes, they were able to gain a microscopic insight into charge transfer processes across a semiconductor interface.

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Hydrogen stored in hydrogen boride sheets can be efficiently released electrochemically, report scientists. Through a series of experiments, they demonstrated that dispersing these sheets in an organic solvent and applying a small voltage is enough to release all the stored hydrogen efficiently. These findings suggest hydrogen boride sheets could soon become a safe and convenient way to store and transport hydrogen, which is a cleaner and more sustainable fuel.