Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geography
Published

Is natural spa water a fossil of water? Uncover the real ultra-deep water cycles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery regarding the origins of non-meteoric water in natural spa waters located in central Japan. Based on numerical modeling, their results suggest that this water has been confined within the lithosphere for an extensive period of 1.5-5 million years. They identified three primary sources for this ancient water: the Philippine Sea Plate, the Pacific Plate, and ancient seafloor sediments, particularly in the Niigata and southwest Gunma regions.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

New soft robots roll like tires, spin like tops and orbit like moons      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new soft robot design that engages in three simultaneous behaviors: rolling forward, spinning like a record, and following a path that orbits around a central point. The device, which operates without human or computer control, holds promise for developing soft robotic devices that can be used to navigate and map unknown environments.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography
Published

Protecting coral 'nurseries' as important as safeguarding established coral reefs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research in the southwestern part of Hawai'i Island shows that identifying and protecting marine ecosystems both down-current and up-current of coral reefs, specifically areas where coral larvae are more likely to survive and thrive, is crucial to future coral conservation and restoration efforts -- especially as reefs face increasing pressure from the devastating effects of climate change.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Chemistry: Biochemistry Ecology: Sea Life Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Fastest swimming insect could inspire uncrewed boat designs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Whirligig beetles, the world's fastest-swimming insect, achieve surprising speeds by employing a strategy shared by fast-swimming marine mammals and waterfowl, according to a new study that rewrites previous explanations of the physics involved.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Protected areas for elephants work best if they are connected      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The largest analysis yet of African savannah elephant populations shows that conservationists have successfully protected elephants in southern Africa for the last 25 years. However, the pattern varies regionally, with some elephant populations soaring and others still facing large declines. The key to long-term stability appears to be connecting large core areas with neighboring buffer zones, as opposed to well-protected but isolated protected areas known as 'fortress conservation.'

Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Soft robotic, wearable device improves walking for individual with Parkinson's disease      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have used a soft, wearable robot to help a person living with Parkinson's walk without freezing. The robotic garment, worn around the hips and thighs, gives a gentle push to the hips as the leg swings, helping the patient achieve a longer stride. The device completely eliminated the participant's freezing while walking indoors, allowing them to walk faster and further than they could without the garment's help.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Re-calibrating the sail plan for Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders in ocean sciences      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In Hawaii and across much of Oceania, Pacific Islanders celebrate the connections between their islands and the ocean that surrounds them.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Evolution might stop humans from solving climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Human culture has evolved to allow humans to extract resources and helped us expand to dominate the biosphere. But the same evolutionary processes may counteract efforts to solve new global environmental threats like climate change, according to a new study. Tackling the climate crisis will require worldwide regulatory, technical and economic systems supported by strong global cooperation. However, this new study concludes that the group-level processes characteristic of human cultural evolution, will cause environmental competition and conflict between sub-global groups, and work against global solutions. Adapting to climate change and other environmental problems will, therefore, require human evolution to change.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Understanding climate mobilities: New study examines perspectives from South Florida practitioners      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent study assessed the perspectives of 76 diverse South Florida climate adaptation professionals. A new study explores the expectations and concerns of practitioners from the private sector, community-based organizations, and government agencies about the region's ability to adapt in the face of increasing sea level rise and diverse consequences for where people live and move, also known as climate mobility.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

From NYC to DC and beyond, cities on the East Coast are sinking      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Major cities on the U.S. Atlantic coast are sinking, in some cases as much as 5 millimeters per year -- a decline at the ocean's edge that well outpaces global sea level rise, confirms new research. Particularly hard hit population centers such as New York City and Long Island, Baltimore, and Virginia Beach and Norfolk are seeing areas of rapid 'subsidence,' or sinking land, alongside more slowly sinking or relatively stable ground, increasing the risk to roadways, runways, building foundations, rail lines, and pipelines, according to a new study.

Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

How national policies affect forests in border regions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How do national policies impact deforestation? Researchers have looked into this question at the global scale and have found that, contrary to common assumptions, national strategies have a significant -- and visible -- influence on efforts to protect forest heritage.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Could an electric nudge to the head help your doctor operate a surgical robot?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

People who received gentle electric currents on the back of their heads learned to maneuver a robotic surgery tool in virtual reality and then in a real setting much more easily than people who didn't receive those nudges, a new study shows.

Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Space: General
Published

Millions of mysterious pits in the ocean decoded      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The world's ocean are a vast habitat for countless creatures that settle, spawn, dig or feed on the seafloor. They also influence the shape of the ocean floor. How exactly this takes place has been scarcely investigated so far. In an interdisciplinary study, geoscientists, biologists and oceanographers, have examined crater-like depressions on the seafloor of the North Sea. They were able to show that these directly relate to the habitats of porpoises and sand eels, and for the first time provide a conclusive explanation for the importance of vertebrates in shaping the seafloor.

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

Scientists uncover link between the ocean's weather and global climate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists outline the first direct evidence linking seemingly random weather systems in the ocean with climate on a global scale. The team's work creates a promising framework for better understanding the climate system.

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

Reduced air pollution during pandemic points to way to preserve Himalayan glaciers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Reducing air pollution to levels similar to those during the coronavirus pandemic could protect the glaciers in the Himalayas and prevent them from disappearing by the end of the century. This is the conclusion reached by an international research team analyzing the situation during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Genetic sequencing uncovers unexpected source of pathogens in floodwaters      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers report that local rivers and streams were the source of the Salmonella enterica contamination along coastal North Carolina after Hurricane Florence in 2018 -- not the previously suspected high number of pig farms in the region.