Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Mapping Mexico's dengue fever hotspots      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have analyzed data from Mexico's Ministry of Health to identify dengue fever hotspots. Working with epidemiologists at the University of North Texas and Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, the team calculated environmental and socioeconomic risk factors and mapped areas where severe outbreaks occur.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astronomers uncover a one-in-ten-billion binary star system: Kilonova progenitor system      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers using data from the SMARTS 1.5-meter Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), have made the first confirmed detection of a star system that will one day form a kilonova -- the ultra-powerful, gold-producing explosion created by merging neutron stars. These systems are so phenomenally rare that only about 10 such systems are thought to exist in the entire Milky Way.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Structures and Features
Published

The bubbling universe: A previously unknown phase transition in the early universe      (via sciencedaily.com) 

What happened shortly after the universe was born in the Big Bang and began to expand? Bubbles occurred and a previously unknown phase transition happened, according to particle physicists.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Thin, lightweight layer provides radiation barrier for perovskites in space, protection from elements on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An ultrathin protective coating proves sufficient to protect a perovskite solar cell from the harmful effects of space and harden it against environmental factors on Earth, according to newly published research.

Geoscience: Severe Weather Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

Far-off storms fuel sneaker waves along Pacific Northwest coast, new research suggests      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Sneaker waves are likely fueled by a specific type of wave condition generated by far-off storms and paired with just the right conditions closer to shore, a new study has found.

Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features
Published

Scientists release newly accurate map of all the matter in the universe      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A group of scientists have released one of the most precise measurements ever made of how matter is distributed across the universe today.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Understanding plants can boost wildland-fire modeling in uncertain future      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new conceptual framework for incorporating the way plants use carbon and water, or plant dynamics, into fine-scale computer models of wildland fire provides a critical first step toward improved global fire forecasting.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate
Published

Monitoring an 'anti-greenhouse' gas: Dimethyl sulfide in Arctic air      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Data stored in ice cores dating back 55 years bring new insight into atmospheric levels of a molecule that can significantly affect weather and climate.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Honey bee colony loss in the U.S. linked to mites, extreme weather, pesticides      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Honey bee colony loss across the United States over the last five years is primarily related to the presence of parasitic mites, nearby pesticides, and extreme weather events as well as challenges with overwintering, according to a new study. The study took advantage of novel statistical methods and is among the first to concurrently consider a variety of potential honey bee stressors at a national scale.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features
Published

Volcano-like rupture could have caused magnetar slowdown      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In October 2020, a highly magnetic neutron star called SGR 1935+2154 abruptly began spinning more slowly. Astrophysicist now show the magnetar's rotational slowdown could have been caused by a volcano-like rupture near its magnetic pole.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features
Published

Starry tail tells the tale of dwarf galaxy evolution      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A giant diffuse tail of stars has been discovered emanating from a large, faint dwarf galaxy. The presence of a tail indicates that the galaxy has experienced recent interaction with another galaxy. This is an important clue for understanding how so called 'ultra-diffuse' galaxies are formed.

Geoscience: Severe Weather Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Outlook for the blue economy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A handful of hyper-productive fisheries provide sustenance to a billion people and employ tens of millions. These fisheries occur on the eastern edges of the world's oceans -- off the West Coast of the U.S., the Canary Islands, Peru, Chile, and Benguela. There, a process called upwelling brings cold water and nutrients to the surface, which in turn supports large numbers of larger sea creatures that humans depend on for sustenance. A new project is seeking to understand how changes to the climate and oceans will impact fisheries in the U.S. and around the world.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Solar System formed from 'poorly mixed cake batter,' isotope research shows      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Earth's potassium arrived by meteoritic delivery service finds new research led by Earth and planetary scientists. Their work shows that some primitive meteorites contain a different mix of potassium isotopes than those found in other, more-chemically processed meteorites. These results can help elucidate the processes that shaped our Solar System and determined the composition of its planets.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features
Published

NASA's Fermi detects first gamma-ray eclipses from 'spider' star systems      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have discovered the first gamma-ray eclipses from a special type of binary star system using data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. These so-called spider systems each contain a pulsar -- the superdense, rapidly rotating remains of a star that exploded in a supernova -- that slowly erodes its companion.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Satellite data shows sustained severe drought in Europe      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Europe lacks groundwater -- a lot of groundwater. The continent has already been suffering from a severe drought since 2018. This is confirmed by satellite data.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features
Published

Were galaxies much different in the early universe?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The most sensitive telescope now searching for radio signals from cosmic dawn, an era around 200 million years after the Big Bang when stars ignited, has doubled its sensitivity, a new paper reports. While not yet detecting this radiation -- the redshifted 21-centimeter line -- they have put new limits on the elemental composition of galaxies during the Epoch of Reionization. Early galaxies seem to be low in metals, fitting the most popular theory of cosmic evolution.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

The key to weathering rapid sea-level rise may lie in a Massachusetts salt marsh      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers recently announced that salt marshes, critical habitats threatened by rapid sea-level rise, may in fact thrive despite higher water levels. The key factor that determines whether salt marshes collapse or flourish involves not water, but sediment.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Darkest view ever of interstellar ice      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers used observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to achieve the darkest ever view of a dense interstellar cloud. These observations have revealed the composition of a virtual treasure chest of ices from the early universe, providing new insights into the chemical processes of one of the coldest, darkest places in the universe as well as the origins of the molecules that make up planetary atmospheres.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features
Published

Massive fuel-hungry black holes feed off intergalactic gas      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Research has revealed how supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are feeding off gas clouds which reach them by traveling hundreds of thousands of light years from one galaxy to another.