Chemistry: General Chemistry: Thermodynamics Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New mechanism to cool buildings while saving energy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The movement of radiant heat -- felt when a hot surface warms our bodies and homes -- between buildings and their surroundings at ground level makes buildings with less skyward-facing surfaces harder to cool. A research team has demonstrated a new passive cooling technology that coats walls and windows with materials that can better manage heat movement between buildings and their surroundings at ground level. Findings could reduce the reliance on air conditioning and provide a more environmentally friendly, low-cost and scalable option for low-income communities with limited or no access to cooling and heating systems.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: Optics
Published

New technology uses light to engrave erasable 3D images      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers invented a technique that uses a specialized light projector and a photosensitive chemical additive to imprint two- and three-dimensional images inside any polymer. The light-based engraving remains in the polymer until heat or light are applied, which erases the image and makes it ready to use again. The technology is intended for any situation where having detailed, precise visual data in a compact and easily customizable format could be critical, such as planning surgeries and developing architectural designs.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Record-breaking recovery of rocks that originated in Earth's mantle could reveal secrets of planet's history      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have recovered the first long section of rocks that originated in the Earth's mantle, the layer below the crust and the planet's largest component. The rocks will help unravel the mantle's role in the origins of life on Earth, the volcanic activity generated when it melts, and how it drives the global cycles of important elements such as carbon and hydrogen.

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

South Florida estuaries warming faster than Gulf of Mexico, global ocean, USF research shows      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Estuaries in South Florida have experienced rapid warming over the past two decades, including a record-breaking marine heat wave in 2023, research shows. The findings paint a troubling picture for the marine life that calls Florida home. Possible causes include evaporation, water capacity and residence time (the amount of time water spends in an estuary). No single factor has been identified as dominant.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

The race to discover biodiversity: 11 new marine species and a new platform for rapid species description      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new paper describes a ground-breaking experiment that united 25 independent taxonomists from 10 countries. The initiative boasts the discovery of 11 new marine species from all over the globe, occurring at depths from 5.2 to 7081 meters. It also represents a significant step forward in accelerating the pace at which new marine species are described and published.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Researchers solve long-standing challenge for piezoelectric materials      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Heat and pressure can deteriorate the properties of piezoelectric materials that make state-of-the-art ultrasound and sonar technologies possible -- and fixing that damage has historically required disassembling devices and exposing the materials to even higher temperatures. Now researchers have developed a technique to restore those properties at room temperature, making it easier to repair these devices -- and paving the way for new ultrasound technologies.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Physics: General
Published

Heating for fusion: Why toast plasma when you can microwave it!      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Can plasma be sufficiently heated inside a tokamak using only microwaves? New research suggests it can! Eliminating the central ohmic heating coil normally used in tokamaks will free up much-needed space for a more compact, efficient spherical tokamak.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Greenland fossil discovery reveals increased risk of sea-level catastrophe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Seeds, twigs, and insect parts found under two miles of ice confirm Greenland's ice sheet melted in the recent past, the first direct evidence that the center -- not just the edges -- of the two-mile-deep ice melted away in the recent geological past. The new research indicates that the giant ice sheet is more fragile than scientists had realized until the last few years -- and reveals increased risk of sea-level catastrophe in a warmer future.

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

Link between global warming and rising sea levels      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study suggests that Earth's natural forces could substantially reduce Antarctica's impact on rising sea levels, but only if carbon emissions are swiftly reduced in the coming decades. By the same token, if emissions continue on the current trajectory, Antarctic ice loss could lead to more future sea level rise than previously thought.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Revolutionary loop heat pipe transports 10 kW of waste heat -- No electricity required      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have unveiled a new loop heat pipe capable of transporting up to 10 kW of heat without using electric power. The loop heat pipe's design aims to contribute to energy savings and carbon neutrality in various fields, including waste heat recovery, solar heat utilization, electric vehicle thermal management, and data center cooling.

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Sea level changes shaped early life on Earth, fossil study reveals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Shifts in the Earth's continental plates that drove long-term changes in sea level set the stage for the evolution of the earliest animals on Earth, a study suggests.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Combined effects of plastic pollution and seawater flooding amplify threats to coastal plant species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study highlights how a combination of environmental stressors -- namely plastic pollution and seawater flooding -- can increase the threats faced by plants in some of the planet's critical ecosystems. It showed that both stressors had some effects on the species tested, but being exposed to both microplastics and flooding together -- a threat likely to increase as a result of climate change and plastic use -- had a more pronounced impact on their resource allocation.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Climate change may lead to shifts in vital Pacific Arctic fisheries      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Commercially important marine fish and invertebrate species will likely shift northwards under a warmer climate, according to new research.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Extinction Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

3D models provide unprecedented look at corals' response to bleaching events      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Marine biologists are providing a glimpse into coral 'bleaching' responses to stress, using imaging technology to pinpoint coral survival rates following multiple bleaching events off the island of Maui. Using a time series of coral reef 3D models from Maui, the researchers tracked the bleaching response of 1,832 coral colonies from 2014 to 2021. The seven-year data set provided detailed imagery of the reefs year-by-year, allowing the team to identify patterns of coral growth and survivorship through sequential bleaching events that occurred in 2015 and 2019.

Archaeology: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Underwater mapping reveals new insights into melting of Antarctica's ice shelves      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Clues to future sea level rise have been revealed by the first detailed maps of the underside of a floating ice shelf in Antarctica. An international research team deployed an unmanned submersible beneath the Dotson Ice Shelf in West Antarctica.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Barriers designed to prevent saltwater intrusion may worsen inland flooding      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Building protection barriers without accounting for potential inland flooding risks from groundwater can eventually worsen the very issues they aim to solve.

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

What's the weather like in the deep sea?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has revealed how even the deepest seafloors are affected by the daily back-and-forth of the tides, and the change of the seasons, and that currents at the bottom of the ocean are far more complicated than previously thought. These findings are helping us understand the deep-sea pathways of nutrients that support important deep-sea ecosystems, assess where microplastics and other pollutants accumulate in the ocean, and reconstruct past climate change.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Recent volcanic 'fires' in Iceland triggered by storage and melting in crust      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have detected geochemical signatures of magma pooling and melting beneath the subsurface during the 'Fagradalsfjall Fires', that began on Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula in 2021. Samples show that the start of the eruption began with massive pooling of magma, contrasting initial hypothesis for magma ascent straight from the mantle.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Chemistry: Biochemistry Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

North Sea oil and gas extraction spikes pollution by 10,000 percent, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

North Sea oil and gas extraction can cause pollution to spike by more than 10,000 percent within half a kilometer around off-shore sites, a study has found. The research has uncovered the true impact on Britain's seabed life -- with the number of species plummeting nearly 30 percent near platforms.