Biology: Zoology Chemistry: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Some spiders can transfer mercury contamination to land animals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Sitting calmly in their webs, many spiders wait for prey to come to them. Arachnids along lakes and rivers eat aquatic insects, such as dragonflies. But, when these insects live in mercury-contaminated waterways, they can pass the metal along to the spiders that feed on them. Now, researchers have demonstrated how some shoreline spiders can move mercury contamination from riverbeds up the food chain to land animals.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Landslides Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

100-year floods could occur yearly by end of 21st century      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Most coastal communities will encounter '100-year floods' annually by the end of the century, even under a moderate scenario where carbon dioxide emissions peak by 2040, according to a new study. And as early as 2050, regions worldwide could experience 100-year floods every nine to fifteen years on average.

Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Climate
Published

New research reveals why and when the Sahara Desert was green      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A pioneering study has shed new light on North African humid periods that have occurred over the past 800,000 years and explains why the Sahara Desert was periodically green.

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

Plant-based food alternatives could support a shift to global sustainability      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Replacing 50% of meat and milk products with plant-based alternatives by 2050 can reduce agriculture and land use related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 31% and halt the degradation of forest and natural land, according to new research.

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

Climate change is reducing global river water quality      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A review of almost 1000 studies on the effects of climate change and extreme weather events on rivers around the world has found an overall negative effect on water quality in rivers globally. An international team of experts sourced from every continent, conducted between 2000-2022.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Fewer but more intense tropical storms predicted over the Ganges and Mekong      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate experts project a decline in the frequency of future tropical storms but an increase in their strength across the Ganges and Mekong basins allowing for better future planning.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Conservation in shark sanctuaries      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are assessing the efficacy of shark sanctuaries by developing a modeling system that utilizes publicly accessible fishing data to determine shark catch and mortality rates. Their findings represent an important step in utilizing data science to tackle oceanic conservation challenges.

Ecology: Invasive Species Geoscience: Geography
Published

Invasive red fire ants spreading in Europe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

One of the most invasive species in the world is Solenopsis invicta, a red fire ant species with a painful sting. Native to South America, the ant has established itself across the globe. A group of ant experts confirm that the species has made its way to Sicily -- the ant's first official sighting in Europe. The ants could soon spread all over the continent, the researchers warn, which could cause major environmental, health, and economic problems in Italy and beyond.

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

Helicopter-based observations uncover warm ocean water flows toward Totten Ice Shelf in Southeast Antarctica      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of scientists has successfully conducted large-scale helicopter-based observations along the coast of East Antarctica and has identified pathways through which warm ocean water flows from the open ocean into ice shelf cavities for the first time.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Scientific ocean drilling discovers dynamic carbon cycling in the ultra-deep-water Japan Trench      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Hadal trenches, with their deepest locations situated in the so-called hadal zone, the deepest parts of the ocean in water depth >6km, are the least-explored environment on Earth, linking the Earth's surface and its deeper interior. An international team conducting deep-subsurface sampling in a hadal trench at high spatial resolution has revealed exciting insights on the carbon cycling in the trench sediment.

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

Researchers charting a sustainable course in oceanic carbon capture      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As researchers around the world race against time to develop new strategies and technologies to fight climate change, a team of scientists is exploring one possible way to directly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the environment: Negative emissions technologies (NETs).

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Floating sea farms: A solution to feed the world and ensure fresh water by 2050      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The sun and the sea -- both abundant and free -- are being harnessed in a unique project to create vertical sea farms floating on the ocean that can produce fresh water for drinking and agriculture.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Scientists find evidence of sea star species hybridization      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study presents genomic evidence of hybridization between two closely related species of sea stars -- Asterias rubens, the common starfish, and Asterias forbesi, known as Forbes' sea star.

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography
Published

Study reveals human destruction of global floodplains      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A hydrologist's study provides a global estimate of human destruction of natural floodplains. The study can help guide future development in a way that can restore and conserve vital floodplain habitats that are critical to wildlife, water quality and reducing flood risk for people.

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

'Brainless' robot can navigate complex obstacles      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers who created a soft robot that could navigate simple mazes without human or computer direction have now built on that work, creating a 'brainless' soft robot that can navigate more complex and dynamic environments.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

A finer picture of global migration reveals complex patterns      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research shows that socio-economic factors play a larger role in migration than climate.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Bursting air bubbles may play a key role in how glacier ice melts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has uncovered a possible clue as to why glaciers that terminate at the sea are retreating at unprecedented rates: the bursting of tiny, pressurized bubbles in underwater ice.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Stability inspection for West Antarctica shows: marine ice sheet is not destabilized yet, but possibly on a path to tipping      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Antarctica's vast ice masses seem far away, yet they store enough water to raise global sea levels by several meters. A team of experts has now provided the first systematic stability inspection of the ice sheet's current state. Their diagnosis: While they found no indication of irreversible, self-reinforcing retreat of the ice sheet in West Antarctica yet, global warming to date could already be enough to trigger the slow but certain loss of ice over the next hundreds to thousands of years.

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

Ag tech can cut billions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As the Earth's human population grows, greenhouse gas emissions from the world's food system are on track to expand. A new study demonstrates that state-of-the-art agricultural technology and management can not only reduce that growth, but eliminate it altogether by generating net negative emissions -- reducing more greenhouse gas than food systems add.