Ecology: General Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Some countries could meet their total electricity needs from floating solar panels      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Floating solar photovoltaic panels could supply all the electricity needs of some countries, new research has shown. The researchers calculated the daily electrical output for floating photovoltaics (FPV) on nearly 68,000 lakes and reservoirs around the world, using available climate data for each location.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General
Published

Towards next-gen functional materials: direct observation of electron transfer in solids      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Nanoscale electron transfer (ET) in solids is fundamental to the development of multifunctional materials. However, ET in solids is not yet clearly understood. Now, researchers achieved a direct observation of solid-state ET through X-ray crystal analysis by fabricating a novel double-walled non-covalent crystalline nanotube, which can absorb electron donor molecules and maintain its crystalline structure during ET. This innovative approach can lead to the design of novel functional materials soon.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics
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Observing ultrafast photoinduced dynamics in a halogen-bonded supramolecular system      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers uncover how the halogen bond can be exploited to direct sequential dynamics in the multi-functional crystals, offering crucial insights for developing ultrafast-response times for multilevel optical storage.

Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography
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Centering relationships between people and place: A critical step towards improving science's contributions to society      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Marine conservation scientists advocate for a cultural shift in academia that fosters deeper connections with places of study and encourages collaboration with local communities to make science more relevant, equitable and meaningful.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Microscopic defects in ice shape how massive glaciers flow, study shows      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A glacier's flow depends on how microscopic defects move through the ice, according to new research that also yielded a new model for predicting how glaciers will flow, ultimately contributing to sea-level rise.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
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Shape and depth of ocean floor profoundly influence how carbon is stored there      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The movement of carbon between the atmosphere, oceans and continents -- or carbon cycle -- regulates Earth's climate, with the ocean playing a major role in carbon sequestration. A new study finds that the shape and depth of the ocean floor explain up to 50% of the changes in depth at which carbon has been sequestered there over the past 80 million years. While these changes have been previously attributed to other causes, the new finding could inform ongoing efforts to combat climate change through marine carbon sequestration.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
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Transition-metal-free zeolite catalyst for direct conversion of methane to methanol      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Direct oxidation of methane to methanol is dominated by transition- or noble-metal-based catalysts, thus making the reaction quite expensive. To make the process efficient and cost-effective, researchers developed a transition-metal-free aluminosilicate ferrierite zeolite catalyst that can produce methanol by using methane and nitrous oxide as starting materials. The new catalyst ensures excellent methanol production efficiency, one of the highest recorded rates in the literature thus far.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Geoscience: Geography
Published

Best of both worlds: Innovative positioning system enhances versatility and accuracy of drone-viewpoint mixed reality applications      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed an innovative positioning system that enhances the versatility and accuracy of drone-viewpoint mixed reality (MR) applications by aligning real and virtual world coordinates without predefined routes. By integrating visual positioning systems and natural feature-based tracking, this technology is expected to be applied to urban landscape simulation, maintenance, and inspection work.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography
Published

Wire snare removal in protected areas is labor-intensive but effective -- and essential to solving the Southeast Asian snaring crisis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Snaring -- a non-selective method of poaching using wire traps -- is widespread in tropical forests in Southeast Asia. Snaring decimates wildlife populations and has pushed many larger mammals to local or even global extinction. Eleven years of data from ranger patrols in the Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserves in Viet Nam show that intensive removal efforts are labour-intensive and costly but brought snaring down by almost 40 percent and therefore reduced imminent threats to wildlife. Further reductions were difficult to achieve despite continued removal efforts. Snare removal is therefore necessary but by itself not sufficient to save the threatened wildlife diversity in tropical forests, scientists conclude.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Urgent need for action now for increasing threat from invasive alien species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Urgent action now is needed to tackle the major and growing global issue of invasive alien species, says a team of 88 experts from 47 countries. The paper follows the (IPBES) thematic assessment report on invasive alien species and their control. The experts say co-developing management actions with multiple stakeholders including government and private sector stakeholders, and Indigenous Peoples and local communities will be critical to achieving success in addressing biological invasions.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General
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Scientists develop 'x-ray vision' technique to see inside crystals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers has created a new way to visualize crystals by peering inside their structures, akin to having X-ray vision. Their new technique -- which they aptly named 'Crystal Clear' -- combines the use of transparent particles and microscopes with lasers that allow scientists to see each unit that makes up the crystal and to create dynamic three-dimensional models.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Climate
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Arctic melting heavily influenced by little-studied meteorological phenomena      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of scientists has combined paleoclimatic data from the last 2,000 years with powerful computer modeling and in-the-field research on lake sediments and tree rings to show that an understudied phenomenon, known as atmospheric blocking, has long influenced temperature swings in the Arctic. As temperatures warm due to climate change, atmospheric blocking will help drive ever-wilder weather events. The study focused on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago, Svalbard, at the edge of the Arctic Ocean.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Thawing permafrost: Not a climate tipping element, but nevertheless far-reaching impacts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Permafrost soils store large quantities of organic carbon and are often portrayed as a critical tipping element in the Earth system, which, once global warming has reached a certain level, suddenly and globally collapses. Yet this image of a ticking timebomb, one that remains relatively quiet until, at a certain level of warming, it goes off, is a controversial one among the research community. Based on the scientific data currently available, the image is deceptive, as an international team has shown in a recently released study. According to their findings, there is no single global tipping point; rather, there are numerous local and regional ones, which 'tip' at different times, producing cumulative effects and causing the permafrost to thaw in step with climate change.

Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Chemistry: General Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Fungus breaks down ocean plastic      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A fungus living in the sea can break down the plastic polyethylene, provided it has first been exposed to UV radiation from sunlight. Researchers expect that many more plastic degrading fungi are living in deeper parts of the ocean.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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Greenhouses cover more and more of Earth's surface      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Greenhouse cultivation is booming globally, especially in the Global South -- and across one country in particular. This is revealed in a new study that deploys detailed satellite imagery and AI to map greenhouses across the planet. According to the researchers, the development is a source of both promise and concern.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: General
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This self-powered sensor could make MRIs more efficient      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

MRI scans are commonly used to diagnose a variety of conditions, anything from liver disease to brain tumors. But, as anyone who has been through one knows, patients must remain completely still to avoid blurring the images and requiring a new scan. A prototype device could change that. The self-powered sensor detects movement and shuts down an MRI scan in real time, improving the process for patients and technicians.

Ecology: General Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

People are altering decomposition rates in waterways      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Humans may be accelerating the rate at which organic matter decomposes in rivers and streams on a global scale, according to a new study. That could pose a threat to biodiversity in waterways around the world and increase the amount of carbon in Earth's atmosphere, potentially exacerbating climate change. The study is the first to combine a global experiment and predictive modeling to illustrate how human impacts to waterways may contribute to the global climate crisis.