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

Dampening the 'seeds' of hurricanes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Increased atmospheric moisture may alter critical weather patterns over Africa, making it more difficult for the predecessors of many Atlantic hurricanes to form, according to a new study.

Biology: Biochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Unraveling the origin and global spread of the potato blight pathogen      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study challenges the common theory that the devastating potato blight pathogen Phytophthora infestans originated in Mexico. Researchers meticulously reconstructed its global migration history and found it likely originated in the South American Andes before spreading globally. This research provides significant insights into the pathogen's evolutionary journey, which is crucial for developing better disease management strategies worldwide.

Biology: Biochemistry Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Everybody needs good neighbors: Resident quolls help newcomers settle in at Mulligans Flat      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

GPS tracking collars have revealed how newly reintroduced eastern quolls are settling in at Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary in Canberra, with quolls who were born at the sanctuary accepting their new neighbors with open paws.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Climate
Published

Investigating newly discovered hydrothermal vents at depths of 3,000 meters off Svalbard      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Hydrothermal vents can be found around the world at the junctions of drifting tectonic plates. But there are many hydrothermal fields still to be discovered. During a 2022 expedition of the MARIA S. MERIAN, the first field of hydrothermal vents on the 500-kilometer-long Knipovich Ridge off the coast of Svalbard was discovered.

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

Tiny bright objects discovered at dawn of universe baffle scientists      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent discovery by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) confirmed that luminous, very red objects previously detected in the early universe upend conventional thinking about the origins and evolution of galaxies and their supermassive black holes.

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

Drowning in waste: Pollution hotspots in aquatic environments      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study explores waste management systems and reveals that achieving zero waste leakage by 2030 is unlikely, potentially jeopardizing related Sustainable Development Goals. The authors emphasize the need for global cooperation, particularly across four regions, to responsibly manage waste disposal.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Climate change to shift tropical rains northward      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Atmospheric scientists predict that unchecked carbon emissions will force tropical rains to shift northward in the coming decades, which would profoundly impact agriculture and economies near the Earth's equator. The northward rain shift would be spurred by carbon emissions that influence the formation of the intertropical convergence zones that are essentially atmospheric engines that drive about a third of the world's precipitation.

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

Too many missing satellite galaxies found      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Bringing us one step closer to solving the 'missing satellites problem,' researchers have discovered two new satellite galaxies.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Projected loss of brown macroalgae and seagrasses with global environmental change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers predict that climate change will drive a substantial redistribution of brown seaweeds and seagrasses at the global scale. The projected changes are alarming due to the fundamental role seaweeds and seagrasses in coastal ecosystems and provide evidence of the pervasive impacts of climate change on marine life.

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

The density difference of sub-Neptunes finally deciphered      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The majority of stars in our galaxy are home to planets. The most abundant are the sub-Neptunes, planets between the size of Earth and Neptune. Calculating their density poses a problem for scientists: depending on the method used to measure their mass, two populations are highlighted, the dense and the less dense. Is this due to an observational bias or the physical existence of two distinct populations of sub-Neptunes? Recent work argues for the latter.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Antarctic ice shelves hold twice as much meltwater as previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Slush -- water-soaked snow -- makes up more than half of all meltwater on the Antarctic ice shelves during the height of summer, yet is poorly accounted for in regional climate models. The findings could have profound implications for ice shelf stability and sea level rise.

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

New twists on tornadoes: Earth scientist studies why U.S. has so many tornadoes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Across the Midwest during the warmer months, studying the sky for signs of storms and tornadoes becomes one of the most popular pastimes. Working at the intersection of climate science and meteorology and using modeling, scientists are looking at the big picture of what causes severe storms and tornadoes -- and what dictates where they occur.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Researchers address ocean paradox with 55 gallons of fluorescent dye      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have directly measured cold, deep water upwelling via turbulent mixing along the slope of a submarine canyon in the Atlantic Ocean.

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

El NiƱo forecasts extended to 18 months with innovative physics-based model      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As more attention is drawn to possible severe weather around the world scientists are looking to improve planning for possible droughts, floods and other scenarios. A team of researchers created a new tool that will allow forecasting of El Nino Southern Oscillation by up to 18 months.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Precision instrument bolsters efforts to find elusive dark energy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Dark energy -- a mysterious force pushing the universe apart at an ever-increasing rate -- was discovered 26 years ago, and ever since, scientists have been searching for a new and exotic particle causing the expansion. Physicists combined an optical lattice with an atom interferometer to hold atoms in place for up to 70 seconds -- a record for an atom interferometer -- allowing them to more precisely test for deviations from the accepted theory of gravity that could be caused by dark energy particles such as chameleons or symmetrons. Though they detected no anomalies, they're improving the experiment to perform more sensitive tests of gravity, including whether gravity is quantized.

Geoscience: Earth Science Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Space Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Shocked quartz reveals evidence of historical cosmic airburst      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers continue to expand the case for the Younger Dryas Impact hypothesis. The idea proposes that a fragmented comet smashed into the Earth's atmosphere 12,800 years ago, causing a widespread climatic shift that, among other things, led to the abrupt reversal of the Earth's warming trend and into an anomalous near-glacial period called the Younger Dryas.

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

Pillars of creation star in new visualization from NASA's Hubble and Webb telescopes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Made famous in 1995 by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the Pillars of Creation in the heart of the Eagle Nebula have captured imaginations worldwide with their arresting, ethereal beauty. Now, NASA has released a new 3D visualization of these towering celestial structures using data from NASA's Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. This is the most comprehensive and detailed multiwavelength movie yet of these star-birthing clouds.

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

Underwater mountains have a big impact on ocean circulation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Colossal undersea mountains, towering up to thousands of metres high, stir up deep sea currents: impacting how our ocean stores heat and carbon. An international team used numerical modelling to quantify how underwater turbulence around these mountains, called seamounts, influences ocean circulation; finding it is an important mechanism in ocean mixing and one that is missing from climate models used in policymaking.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Telltale greenhouse gases could signal alien activity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

If aliens modified a planet in their solar system to make it warmer, we'd be able to tell. A new study identifies the artificial greenhouse gases that would be giveaways of a terraformed planet.