Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography
Published

Humans converted at least 250,000 acres of estuaries to cities, farms in last 35 years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Worldwide over the past 35 years, dams and land reclamation activities converted 250,000 acres of estuary -- an area roughly 17 times the size of Manhattan -- to urban land or agricultural fields, with most land conversion and estuary loss in rapidly developing countries, a new study finds. The findings could help developing countries avoid problems faced by countries that have already lost or degraded their estuaries.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Atmospheric and economic drivers of global air pollution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Carbon monoxide emissions from industrial production have serious consequences for human health and are a strong indicator of overall air pollution levels. Many countries aim to reduce their emissions, but they cannot control air flows originating in other regions. A new study looks at global flows of air pollution and how they relate to economic activity in the global supply chain.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather Mathematics: Statistics
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How climate change will impact food production and financial institutions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new method to predict the financial impacts climate change will have on agriculture, which can help support food security and financial stability for countries increasingly prone to climate catastrophes.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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Deep parts of Great Barrier Reef 'insulated' from global warming -- for now      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some deeper areas of the Great Barrier Reef are insulated from harmful heatwaves -- but that protection will be lost if global warming continues, according to new research.

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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Boreal forest and tundra regions worst hit over next 500 years of climate change, study shows      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Modelling climate change over a 500 year period shows that much of the boreal forest, the Earth's northernmost forests and most significant provider of carbon storage and clean water, could be seriously impacted, along with tundra regions, treeless shrublands north of the boreal forest that play a significant role in regulating the Earth's climate.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Climate Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: The Solar System
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Climate change threatens Antarctic meteorites      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Antarctica harbors a large concentration of meteorites imbuing the icy continent with an unparalleled wealth of information on our solar system. However, these precious meteorites are rapidly disappearing from the ice sheet surface due to global warming, according to a new study.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Mathematics: Statistics
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How scientists are accelerating chemistry discoveries with automation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed an automated workflow that could accelerate the discovery of new pharmaceutical drugs and other useful products. The new automated approach could analyze chemical reactions in real time and identify new chemical-reaction products much faster than current laboratory methods.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Ocean waves propel PFAS back to land      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reveals that PFAS re-emit into the air from crashing ocean waves at levels comparable to or greater than other sources, establishing a cyclical transport process for these 'forever chemicals' between land and sea.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
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A simple, inexpensive way to make carbon atoms bind together      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The active ingredient in many drugs is what's known as a small molecule: bigger than water, much smaller than an antibody and mainly made of carbon. It's tough, however, to make these molecules if they require a quaternary carbon -- a carbon atom bonded to four other carbon atoms. But now, scientists have uncovered a potential cost-effective way to produce these tricky motifs.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features
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Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers has shown that molecules can be as formidable at scrambling quantum information as black holes by combining mathematical tools from black hole physics and chemical physics and testing their theory in chemical reactions.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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Heat stress from ocean warming harms octopus vision      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While climate change has led to an increase in the abundance of octopuses, heat stress from projected ocean warming could impair their vision and impact the survivability of the species.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography
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Four in five bird species cannot tolerate intense human pressures      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a recent study, researchers found that 78% of the world's bird species do not thrive in the most modified human-dominated environments. These species are also most likely to have declining populations.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Ocean floor a 'reservoir' of plastic pollution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New science has taken a deep dive into plastic waste, providing the first estimate of how much ends up on the sea floor.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Adult fish struggle to bounce back in marine protected areas      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Many marine protected areas are falling short of their most basic purpose: to rebuild struggling fish populations. In a new study, scientists looked at the age breakdown of reef fish in marine protected areas for the first time. They discovered in almost all of them, adult fish populations -- vital to spawning the next generation -- have either flatlined or declined.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry
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Physics of complex fluids: Ring polymers show unexpected motion patterns under shear      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international research team is attracting the attention of experts in the field with computational results on the behavior of ring polymers under shear forces: They showed that for the simplest case of connected ring pairs, the type of linkage -- chemically bonded vs. mechanically linked -- has profound effects on the dynamic properties under continuous shear. In these cases novel rheological patterns emerge.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology
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'Tug of war' tactic enhances chemical separations for critical materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Lanthanide elements are important for clean energy and other applications. To use them, industry must separate mixed lanthanide sources into individual elements using costly, time-consuming, and waste-generating procedures. An efficient new method can be tailored to select specific lanthanides. The technique combines two substances that do not mix and that prefer different types of lanthanides. The process would allow for smaller equipment, less use of chemicals, and less waste production.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Researchers visualize quantum effects in electron waves      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

One of the most fundamental interactions in physics is that of electrons and light. In an experiment, scientists have now managed to observe what is known as the Kapitza-Dirac effect for the first time in full temporal resolution. This effect was first postulated over 90 years ago, but only now are its finest details coming to light.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Water-based paints: Less stinky, but some still contain potentially hazardous chemicals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Choosing paint for your home brings a lot of options: What kind of paint, what type of finish and what color? Water-based paints have emerged as 'greener' and less smelly than solvent-based options. And they are often advertised as containing little-to-no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). But, according to new research, some of these paints do contain compounds that are considered VOCs, along with other chemicals of emerging concern.