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Categories: Engineering: Graphene, Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published Global warming increases the diversity of active soil bacteria
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Warmer soils harbor a greater diversity of active microbes, according to a new study. The study represents a significant shift in our understanding of how microbial activity in the soil influences the global carbon cycle and possible feedback mechanisms on the climate. Until now, scientists have assumed that higher soil temperatures accelerate the growth of microbes, thus increasing the release of carbon into the atmosphere. However, this increased release of carbon is actually caused by the activation of previously dormant bacteria.
Published Common plant could help reduce food insecurity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An often-overlooked water plant that can double its biomass in two days, capture nitrogen from the air -- making it a valuable green fertilizer -- and be fed to poultry and livestock could serve as life-saving food for humans in the event of a catastrophe or disaster, a new study suggests.
Published Barriers against Antarctic ice melt disappearing at the double
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Undersea anchors of ice that help prevent Antarctica's land ice from slipping into the ocean are shrinking at more than twice the rate compared with 50 years ago, research shows. More than a third of these frozen moorings, known as pinning points, have decreased in size since the turn of the century, experts say. Further deterioration of pinning points, which hold in place the floating ice sheets that fortify Antarctica's land ice, would accelerate the continent's contribution to rising sea levels, scientists warn.
Published UBC Okanagan researchers look to the past to improve construction sustainability
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are revisiting old building practices -- the use of by-products and cast-offs -- as a way to improve building materials and sustainability of the trade. A technique known as rammed earth construction uses materials that are alternatives to cement and are often more readily available in the environment. One such alternative is wood fly ash, a by-product of pulp mills and coal-fired power plants.
Published Wetlands, parks and even botanical gardens among the best ways to cool cities during heatwaves
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Botanical gardens are not just beautiful -- they can cool the city air by 5 C during heatwaves, according to the most comprehensive review of its kind. Parks and wetlands have a similar effect.
Published Streams connected to groundwater show improved detoxification and microbial diversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Streams with ample connections to shallow groundwater flow-paths have greater microbial diversity and are more effective at preventing toxic forms of metals -- often products of upstream mining -- from entering and being transported downstream.
Published Climate change linked to rise in mental distress among teens, according to Drexel study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Worsening human-induced climate change may have effects beyond the widely reported rising sea levels, higher temperatures, and impacts on food supply and migration -- and may also extend to influencing mental distress among high schoolers in the United States.
Published Side effects of wide scale forestation could reduce carbon removal benefits by up to a third
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The side effects of large-scale forestation initiatives could reduce the CO2 removal benefits by up to a third, a pioneering study has found.
Published Carbon emissions from the destruction of mangrove forests predicted to increase by 50,000% by the end of the century
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The annual rate of carbon emissions due to the degradation of carbon stocks in mangrove forests is predicted to rise by nearly 50,000% by the end of the century, according to a new study. Mangroves in regions such as southern India, southeastern China, Singapore and eastern Australia are particularly affected.
Published Air pollution hides increases in rainfall
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a new study, researchers broke down how human-induced greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions influence rainfall in the United States. Greenhouse gas emissions increase rainfall, while aerosols have a long-term drying effect as well as short-term impacts that vary with the seasons. As aerosols decrease, their long-term drying effect will likely diminish, causing rainfall averages and extremes to rapidly increase.
Published New study is first step in predicting carbon emissions in agriculture
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have demonstrated that it is possible to provide accurate, high-resolution predictions of carbon cycles in agroecosystems, which could help mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Published Graphene research: Numerous products, no acute dangers found by study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Graphene is an enormously promising material. It consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern and has extraordinary properties: exceptional mechanical strength, flexibility, transparency and outstanding thermal and electrical conductivity. If the already two-dimensional material is spatially restricted even more, for example into a narrow ribbon, controllable quantum effects can be created. This could enable a wide range of applications, from vehicle construction and energy storage to quantum computing.
Published Biggest Holocene volcano eruption found by seabed survey
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A detailed survey of the volcanic underwater deposits around the Kikai caldera in Japan clarified the deposition mechanisms as well as the event's magnitude. As a result, the research team found that the event 7,300 years ago was the largest volcanic eruption in the Holocene by far.
Published Climate change could push bowhead whales to cross paths with shipping traffic
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The population of bowhead whales that migrates between the Bering and Beaufort Seas each year is a conservation success story, with today's population nearing -- if not exceeding -- pre-commercial whaling numbers. But climate change is shifting the whales' feeding grounds and migration patterns, potentially pushing them to spend more time in the paths of oncoming ships, according to a new study.
Published Air pollution linked to more signs of Alzheimer's in brain
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source People with higher exposure to traffic-related air pollution were more likely to have high amounts of amyloid plaques in their brains associated with Alzheimer's disease after death, according to a new study. Researchers looked at fine particulate matter, PM2.5, which consists of pollutant particles of less than 2.5 microns in diameter suspended in air.
Published Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats has long been in flux
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source It has been long assumed that Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats was formed as its ancient namesake lake dried up 13,000 years ago. But new research has gutted that narrative, determining these crusts did not form until several thousand years after Lake Bonneville disappeared, which could have important implications for managing this feature that has been shrinking for decades to the dismay of the racing community and others who revere the saline pan 100 miles west of Salt Lake City. Relying on radiocarbon analysis of pollen found in salt cores, the study concludes the salt began accumulating between 5,400 and 3,500 years ago, demonstrating how this geological feature is not a permanent fixture on the landscape.
Published Does Russia stand to benefit from climate change?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There exists a narrative about climate change that says there are winners and losers -- with Russia being one of the countries that stand to benefit from its effects. In a new study, researchers found that Russia is suffering from a variety of climate change impacts and is ill-prepared to mitigate or adapt to those climate impacts. And, as the rest of the world transitions to renewable energy sources, Russia's fossil-fuel-dependent government is not willing or ready to make alternative plans for the country, changes that could potentially benefit the whole of their society.
Published New cloud model could help with climate research
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When clouds meet clear skies, cloud droplets evaporate as they mix with dry air. A new study has succeeded in capturing what happens in a model. Ultimately, this could lead to more accurate climate modeling in the future.
Published Why are fish getting smaller as waters warm? It's not their gills
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A collaborative team of scientists recently found that there is no physiological evidence supporting a leading theory -- which involves the surface area of fish gills -- as to why many fish species are 'shrinking' as waters grow warmer due to climate change. Known as the Gill Oxygen Limitation (GOL) theory, it has been proposed as the universal mechanism explaining fish size and has been used in some predictions of future global fisheries yields. However, the researchers conducted a series of long-term experiments on brook trout and found that, though increased temperatures do lead to significantly decreased body size, gill surface area did not explain the change.
Published Converting rainforest to plantation impacts food webs and biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Every day, new areas of rainforests are converted into plantations, drastically changing tropical biodiversity and the way the ecosystem functions. Yet, the current understanding of the consequences is fragmentary: previous studies tended to examine either biodiversity or the ecosystem. An international research team brings these threads together in this study. They analyzed organisms ranging from microscopic mites and earthworms in the soil, to beetles and birds in tree canopies, comparing tropical rainforest with rubber and oil palm plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia.