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

Climate change disrupts seasonal flow of rivers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change is disrupting the seasonal flow of rivers in the far northern latitudes of America, Russia and Europe and is posing a threat to water security and ecosystems, according to new research.

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

How climate change risks increase at a national scale as the level of global warming increases      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have quantified how climate change risks to human and natural systems increase at a national scale as the level of global warming increases. A collection of eight studies -- all focusing on Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana and India -- shows that the risks of drought, flooding, declines in crop yields, and loss of biodiversity and natural capital greatly increase for each additional degree of global warming. The overarching picture for the accrual of climate risk across these countries as global warming increases from 1.5 C to 4 C above pre-industrial levels is presented.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Turning waste into gold      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have recovered gold from electronic waste. Their highly sustainable new method is based on a protein fibril sponge, which the scientists derive from whey, a food industry byproduct.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

When the music changes, so does the dance: Controlling cooperative electronic states in Kagome metals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Playing a different sound track is, physically speaking, only a minute change of the vibration spectrum, yet its impact on a dance floor is dramatic. People long for this tiny trigger, and as a salsa changes to a tango completely different collective patterns emerge. For such a tiny stimulus to have an effect, the crowd needs to know more than just one dance. Electrons in metals tend to show only one behavior at zero temperature, when all kinetic energy is quenched.

Biology: Botany Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Lake ecosystems: Nitrogen has been underestimated      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An ecological imbalance in a lake can usually be attributed to increased nutrient inputs. The result: increased phytoplankton growth, oxygen deficiency, toxic cyanobacterial blooms and fish kills. Until now, controls in lake management have focused primarily on phosphorus inputs to counteract this effect. Now, this dogma is shaken by a study showing that nitrogen is also a critical driver for phytoplankton growth in lakes worldwide.

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

Surprising methane discovery in Yukon glaciers: 'Much more widespread than we thought'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Global melting is prying the lid off methane stocks, the extent of which we do not know. A researcher has now discovered high concentrations of the powerful greenhouse gas in meltwater from three Canadian mountain glaciers, where it was not thought to exist -- adding new unknowns to the understanding of methane emissions from Earth's glaciated regions.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: Optics
Published

A bright idea for recycling rare-earth phosphors from used fluorescent bulbs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Recycling facilities collect glass and mercury from thrown away fluorescent bulbs, but discarded lighting could also supply rare-earth metals for reuse. The 17 metals referred to as rare earths aren't all widely available and aren't easily extracted with existing recycling methods. Now, researchers have found a simpler way to collect slightly magnetic particles that contain rare-earth metals from spent fluorescent bulbs.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Emergency atmospheric geoengineering wouldn't save the oceans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change is heating the oceans, altering currents and circulation patterns responsible for regulating climate on a global scale. If temperatures dropped, some of that damage could theoretically be undone. But employing 'emergency' atmospheric geoengineering later this century in the face of continuous high carbon emissions would not be able to reverse changes to ocean currents, a new study finds. This would critically curtail the intervention's potential effectiveness on human-relevant timescales.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

80 mph speed record for glacier fracture helps reveal the physics of ice sheet collapse      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research documents the fastest-known large-scale breakage along an Antarctic ice shelf. A 6.5-mile crack formed in 2012 over 5-and-a-half minutes, showing that ice shelves can effectively shatter -- though the speed is limited by seawater rushing in. The results help inform large-scale ice sheet models and projections of future sea level rise.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate
Published

Climate change threatens thousands of archaeological sites in coastal Georgia      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Thousands of historic and archaeological sites in Georgia are at risk from tropical storm surges, and that number will increase with climate change, according to a new study.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Under pressure: New tool for precise measurement of superconductors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers think they have a foundational tool for the thorny problem of how to measure and image the behavior of hydride superconductors at high pressure. They report creatively integrating quantum sensors into a diamond anvil cell, enabling direct readouts of the pressurized material's electrical and magnetic properties.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Study finds pesticide use linked to Parkinson's in rocky mountain, great plains region      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Pesticides and herbicides used in farming have been linked to Parkinson's disease in the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains region of the country, according to a preliminary study.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

The West is best to spot UFOs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers identified environmental factors that explain why reports of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) are more common in certain regions of the country. Most sightings occur in the American West where proximity to public lands, dark skies and military installations afford more opportunities to see strange objects in the air. Understanding the environmental context of these sightings will make it easier to find explanations for their occurrence and help identify truly anomalous objects that may be a legitimate threat.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Climate change shrinking fish      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fish weight in the western North Pacific Ocean dipped in the 2010s due to warmer water limiting food supplies, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed the individual weight and overall biomass of 13 species of fish. In the 1980s and 2010s, the fish were lighter. They attributed the first period of weight loss to greater numbers of Japanese sardine, which increased competition with other species for food. During the 2010s, while the number of Japanese sardine and chub mackerel moderately increased, the effect of climate change warming the ocean appears to have resulted in more competition for food, as cooler, nutrient-dense water could not easily rise to the surface. These results have implications for fisheries and policymakers trying to manage ocean resources under future climate change scenarios.

Ecology: Animals Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Chemistry in the ground affects how many offspring wild animals have      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemistry in the ground affect how many kids wild animals have Areas with more copper and selenium in the ground lead to higher reproductive success in wild musk oxen in Greenland.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

Researchers develop novel method to photosynthesize hydrogen peroxide using water and air      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a microporous covalent organic framework with dense donor-acceptor lattices and engineered linkages for the efficient and clean production of hydrogen peroxide through the photosynthesis process with water and air.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

Light stimulates a new twist for synthetic chemistry      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Molecules that are induced by light to rotate bulky groups around central bonds could be developed into photo-activated bioactive systems, molecular switches, and more.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Researchers are first to see at-risk bat flying over open ocean      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

On a research cruise focused on marine mammals and seabirds, scientists earned an unexpected bonus: The first-ever documented sighting of a hoary bat flying over the open ocean.