Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Drought, soil desiccation cracking, and carbon dioxide emissions: an overlooked feedback loop exacerbating climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Soil stores 80 percent of carbon on earth, yet with increasing cycles of drought, that crucial reservoir is cracking and breaking down, releasing even more greenhouse gases creating an amplified feedback loop that could accelerate climate change.

Chemistry: General Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: Optics
Published

New high-performance solar cell material      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reports the discovery of an entirely new stable, earth-abundant, high-performance material for solar absorbers -- the central part of a solar cell that turns light into electricity. While identifying new solar materials is typically very time-consuming, the researchers used a unique high-throughput computational screening method to quickly evaluate around 40,000 candidate materials.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Summer solstice triggers synchronized beech tree reproduction across Europe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has found that the summer solstice acts as a 'starting gun' to synchronize beech tree reproduction across vast distances in Europe, affecting ecosystem functions.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

History repeats as Coral Bay faces mass loss of coral and fish life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A perfect storm of environmental factors has seen a monumental loss of fish and coral life at a popular area of Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia's Gascoyne region -- however research into the event shows there is hope it will recover. In March 2022, during the annual coral spawning event, calm weather and limited tidal movement combined to trap the coral's eggs within Bills Bay, at the town of Coral Bay. This led to an excess of nutrients in the water which consumed more oxygen than usual -- causing massive numbers of fish and corals to die from asphyxiation.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

India's water problems set to get worse as the world warms      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Winter storms known as western disturbances that provide crucial snow and rainfall to northern India are arriving significantly later in the year.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Study explores impacts of Arctic warming on daily weather patterns in the U.S.      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Arctic sea ice is shrinking as the world continues to warm, and a new study may provide a better understanding of how the loss of this ice may impact daily weather in the middle latitudes, like the United States.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Rock weathering and climate: Low-relief mountain ranges are largest carbon sinks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For many hundreds of millions of years, the average temperature at the surface of the Earth has varied by not much more than 20 degrees Celsius, facilitating life on our planet. To maintain such stable temperatures, Earth appears to have a 'thermostat' that regulates the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide over geological timescales, influencing global temperatures. The erosion and weathering of rocks are important parts of this 'thermostat.'

Energy: Alternative Fuels
Published

Evolving hydrogen-storage technology: Guidelines developed for the design of anti-evaporation catalysts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has identified materials capable of catalyzing the conversion of ortho-hydrogen to para-hydrogen. These catalysts should be essential to the spread of mass-transportation/storage of liquid hydrogen.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General
Published

Researchers invent new triple-junction tandem solar cells with world-record efficiency      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed a novel triple-junction perovskite/Si tandem solar cell that can achieve a certified world-record power conversion efficiency of 27.1 per cent across a solar energy absorption area of 1 sq cm, representing the best-performing triple-junction perovskite/Si tandem solar cell thus far. To achieve this, the team engineered a new cyanate-integrated perovskite solar cell that is stable and energy efficient.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Antarctica's coasts are becoming less icy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists found unexpected evidence the area of polynyas around Antarctica is increasing dramatically, and it follows an intriguing cycle, growing and shrinking roughly every 16 years.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

In wake of powerful cyclone, remarkable recovery of Pacific island's forests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

After one of the most intense cyclones in world history tore through the Pacific island of Tanna in Vanuatu, new research showed the resilience of the island's forests.

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

2020 extreme weather event that brought fires and snow to western US      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The same weather system that led to the spread of the devastating Labor Day wildfires in 2020 brought record-breaking cold and early-season snowfall to parts of the Rocky Mountains. Now, new research is shedding light on the meteorology behind what happened and the impacts of such an extreme weather event.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Researchers use GPS-tracked icebergs in novel study to improve climate models      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research unearthed new information to help scientists better understand circulation patterns of ocean water around glaciers. In the summers of 2014 and 2019, a group of pioneers in glacial research attached GPS devices to 13 icebergs and tracked hourly changes in their positions as they passed through Greenland's Ilulissat Icefjord toward the ocean. Study results showed circulation in the primary fjord is greatly affected by freshwater flow from connecting tributary fjords, which is critically important to consider in circulation models.

Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Hurricanes and power grids: Eliminating large-scale outages with a new approach      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Large scale-power outages caused by tropical cyclones can be prevented almost entirely if a small but critical set of power lines is protected against storm damages, a new study finds. Scientists developed a new method that can be used to identify those critical lines and increase the system's resilience.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General
Published

Study unlocks nanoscale secrets for designing next-generation solar cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers has revealed ways to optimize efficiency and better control degradation, by engineering the nanoscale structure of perovskite devices.

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.

Chemistry: General Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Researchers improve the stability of perovskite solar cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Perovskite solar cells are considered the strongest contender to replace silicon solar cells. While they achieve high power conversion energy, they also suffer from lead leakage and perovskite degradation due to moisture. Now scientists leverage the technique of interfacial passivation, where lead ions are bound by crown ether B18C6, obtaining 21.7% power conversion energy. The crown ether also resists degradation due to moisture for 300 hours at room temperature and 85% humidity.

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.