Chemistry: Thermodynamics Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Experiencing record-breaking heat days affects perception of weather trends      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research finds that experiencing days in which the temperature exceeds previous highs for that time of year affects people’s perception of weather trends.

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

Paleoclimatologists use ancient sediment to explore future climate in Africa      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With global warming apparently here to stay, a team of paleoclimatologists are studying an ancient source to determine future rainfall and drought patterns: fossilized plants that lived on Earth millions of years ago.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Ecotoxicity testing of micro- and nano-plastics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of researchers has published the first harmonized exposure protocol for ecotoxicity testing of microplastics and nanoplastics.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Researchers identify largest ever solar storm in ancient 14,300-year-old tree rings      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of scientists have discovered a huge spike in radiocarbon levels 14,300 years ago by analyzing ancient tree-rings found in the French Alps. The radiocarbon spike was caused by a massive solar storm, the biggest ever identified.  A similar solar storm today would be catastrophic for modern technological society – potentially wiping out telecommunications and satellite systems, causing massive electricity grid blackouts, and costing us billions. The academics are warning of the importance of understanding such storms to protect our global communications and energy infrastructure for the future.

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

The Gulf Stream is warming and shifting closer to shore      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Gulf Stream is intrinsic to the global climate system, bringing warm waters from the Caribbean up the East Coast of the United States. As it flows along the coast and then across the Atlantic Ocean, this powerful ocean current influences weather patterns and storms, and it carries heat from the tropics to higher latitudes as part of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.  A new study now documents that over the past 20 years, the Gulf Stream has warmed faster than the global ocean as a whole and has shifted towards the coast. The study relies on over 25,000 temperature and salinity profiles collected between 2001 and 2023.  

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Climate-driven extreme heat may make parts of Earth too hot for humans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

If global temperatures increase by 1 degree Celsius (C) or more than current levels, each year billions of people will be exposed to heat and humidity so extreme they will be unable to naturally cool themselves, according to interdisciplinary research. Results indicated that warming of the planet beyond 1.5 C above preindustrial levels will be increasingly devastating for human health across the planet.  

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

Climate change brings earlier arrival of intense hurricanes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has revealed that since the 1980s, Category 4 and 5 hurricanes (maximum wind speed greater than 131 miles per hour) have been arriving three to four days earlier with each passing decade of climate change.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: General
Published

The medicine of the future could be artificial life forms      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Imagine a life form that doesn't resemble any of the organisms found on the tree of life. One that has its own unique control system, and that a doctor would want to send into your body. It sounds like a science fiction movie, but according to nanoscientists, it can—and should—happen in the future.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

New research may make future design of nanotechnology safer with fewer side effects      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study may offer a strategy that mitigates negative side effects associated with intravenous injection of nanoparticles commonly used in medicine.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Energy: Technology Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Comfort with a smaller carbon footprint      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a data-driven AI algorithm for controlling the heating and cooling of an office building. The system does not require ambient sensors or specific knowledge of the building's rooms. During heating operations, the system was able to achieve energy savings of up to 30%, which can represent significant reductions to cost and environmental impact.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Two-dimensional compounds can capture carbon from the air      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some of the thinnest materials known to humankind -- MXene and MBene compounds -- may provide solutions to scientists in their quest to curb the effects of global warming. These substances are only a few atoms thick, making them two-dimensional. Because of their large surface area, the materials have the potential to absorb carbon dioxide molecules from the atmosphere, which could help reduce the harmful effects of climate change by safely sequestering carbon dioxide, according to a review study.

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

Study identifies jet-stream pattern that locks in extreme winter cold, wet spells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Winter is coming—eventually. And while the earth is warming, a new study suggests that the atmosphere is being pushed around in ways that cause long bouts of extreme winter cold or wet in some regions. The study’s authors say they have identified giant meanders in the global jet stream that bring polar air southward, locking in frigid or wet conditions concurrently over much of North America and Europe, often for weeks at a time. Such weather waves, they say, have doubled in frequency since the 1960s. In just the last few years, they have killed hundreds of people and paralyzed energy and transport systems.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Hot weather hits productivity -- even in air-conditioned factories      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Hot weather reduces workers’ productivity – even if their workplace is air conditioned.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Controlled burns help prevent wildfires; Climate change is limiting their use      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change means the American West will have 17% fewer safe days to light prescribed fires for wildfire management, according to new research. Winter, however, will see a net 4% increase in the number of favorable days. Implementing controlled burns in the West will require changes to policy and the availability of firefighters.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Bioengineering breakthrough increases DNA detection sensitivity by 100 times      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have pushed forward the boundaries of biomedical engineering one hundredfold with a new method for DNA detection with unprecedented sensitivity.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Wearable sensor to monitor 'last line of defense' antibiotic      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have combined earlier work on  painless microneedles with nanoscale sensors to create a wearable sensor patch capable of continuously monitoring the levels of a ‘last line of defense’ antibiotic.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Ecology: General Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate
Published

Climate and human land use both play roles in Pacific island wildfires past and present      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It’s long been understood that human settlement contributes to conditions that make Pacific Islands more susceptible to wildfires, such as the devastating Aug. 8 event that destroyed the Maui community of Lahaina. But a new study from fire scientist shows that climate is an undervalued part of the equation.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Technology Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

Researchers dynamically tune friction in graphene      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The friction on a graphene surface can be dynamically tuned using external electric fields, according to researchers.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

3D-printed plasmonic plastic enables large-scale optical sensor production      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed plasmonic plastic -- a type of composite material with unique optical properties that can be 3D-printed. This research has now resulted in 3D-printed optical hydrogen sensors that could play an important role in the transition to green energy and industry.