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Categories: Geoscience: Geography, Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published Putting sound waves to work to create safer public spaces
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Absorbing excess sound to make public environments like theaters and concert halls safer for hearing and using the unwanted sound waves to create electricity is the aim of a new paper. The authors built a system of piezoelectric sensors that can be installed in walls, floors, and ceilings to absorb sound waves and collect their energy. They used computer simulations to fine-tune variables including the voltage needed to power the main device component, the frequency and intensity of the input sound, and piezoelectric sensors tested in parallel and serial configurations.
Published Faster Arctic warming hastens 2C rise by eight years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Arctic is currently warming nearly four times faster than the global average rate. The new study aimed to estimate the impact of this faster warming on how quickly the global temperature thresholds of 1.5C and 2C, set down in the Paris Agreement, are likely to be breached.
Published Ammonia for fertilizers without the giant carbon footprint
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Green ammonia has the potential to drastically reduce the carbon footprint needed to produce fertilizer vital for crop-growing.
Published Some of today's earthquakes may be aftershocks from quakes in the 1800s
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the 1800s, some of the strongest earthquakes in recorded U.S. history struck North America's continental interior. Almost two centuries later, the central and eastern United States may still be experiencing aftershocks from those events, a new study finds.
Published A 'fish cartel' for Africa could benefit the countries, and their seas
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Banding together to sell fishing rights could generate economic benefits for African countries, which receive far less from access to their fisheries on the global market than other countries do from theirs. By joining forces, researchers say African fisheries would not just secure more competitive access fees, they could also protect their seas' biodiversity.
Published Endangered turtle population under threat as pollution may lead to excess of females being born
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers find exposure to heavy metals cadmium and antimony and certain organic contaminants, accumulated by the mother and transferred to her eggs, may cause embryos to be feminized in green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), a species already at risk of extinction from a current lack of male hatchlings.
Published Found at last: Bizarre, egg-laying mammal finally rediscovered after 60 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A long-beaked echidna named after Sir David Attenborough and last seen by scientists in 1961 has been photographed for the first time in an Indonesian tropical forest. An international team of researchers worked with local communities to deploy over 80 camera traps to film the elusive animal. Besides rediscovering the echidna, the team uncovered a wealth of species completely new to science, including beetles, spiders, and a remarkable tree-dwelling shrimp.
Published New AI noise-canceling headphone technology lets wearers pick which sounds they hear
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed deep-learning algorithms that let users pick which sounds filter through their headphones in real time. Either through voice commands or a smartphone app, headphone wearers can select which sounds they want to include from 20 classes, such as sirens, baby cries, speech, vacuum cleaners and bird chirps.
Published Scientists caution against a reliance on mechanical devices to clear water bodies of plastic
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international group of scientists has called for the United Nations Treaty on Plastic Pollution to focus more on measures to reduce the production and consumption of plastics and the prevention of future plastic waste, rather than on the unselective removal of waste already in the water.
Published Barnacle bends shape to fend off warm-water sea snails on the move
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Some barnacles are 'morphing' to protect themselves from predatory warm-water sea snails, which are expanding into their territory due to climate change.
Published Greenland's glacier retreat rate has doubled over past two decades
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study documents how Greenland's peripheral glaciers have changed from 1890 to 2022. Using satellite images and a unique archive of historical aerial photos, researchers documented changes in the lengths of more than 1,000 of the country's glaciers over the past 130 years. Although glaciers in Greenland have experienced retreat throughout the last century, the rate of their retreat has rapidly accelerated over the last two decades.
Published Zooplankton in ocean and freshwater are rapidly escalating the global environmental threat of plastics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A collaborative research team has recently revealed that rotifers, a kind of microscopic zooplankton common in both fresh and ocean water around the world, are able to chew apart microplastics, breaking them down into even smaller, and potentially more dangerous, nanoplastics -- or particles smaller than one micron. Each rotifer can create between 348,000 -- 366,000 per day, leading to uncountable swarms of nanoparticles in our environment.
Published A different take on phosphorus: Bacteria use organic phosphorus and release methane in the process
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Some bacteria are able to tap into unusual sources of nutrients in the surface water of the oceans. This enables them to increase their primary production and extract more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In doing so, however, they release the potent greenhouse gas methane.
Published New dates for landslides reveal past Seattle fault earthquakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New maps of more than 1,000 deep-seated landslides in the Puget Lowlands of Washington State provide evidence of the last major earthquake along the Seattle Fault about 1,100 years ago -- and may also hold traces of older earthquakes along the fault.
Published Maps reveal biochar's potential for mitigating climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Twelve countries have the technical ability to sequester over 20% of their current total greenhouse gas emissions by converting crop residues to biochar. Bhutan leads the way with the potential to sequester 68% of its emissions in the form of biochar, followed by India, at 53%.
Published Africa's dangerous air pollution levels are a global problem, says new research
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new report has brought to light the challenge of air pollution levels in Africa and why international action is needed to combat it.
Published A database unifies the information on damage to European forests over the last 60 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are creating a database that harmonizes the recording of disturbances caused by insects and diseases in forests in 8 European countries by combining remote sensing, satellite images and field data.
Published New algae species rewrites understanding of reef systems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of marine scientists has identified and officially named four species of algae new to science, challenging previous taxonomical assumptions within the Porolithon genus. The discovery has far-reaching implications for our understanding of the ecological role of these algae in the coral reef ecosystem.
Published Food waste prevention in Europe can generate major footprint savings
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New calculations show that the European countries have great potential for reducing the demand for global food resources and the associated GHG footprint. Researchers have estimated the climate footprint savings that may be obtained from reducing food loss and waste along Europe's food supply chain by 50 % by 2030.
Published Fossils tell tale of last primate to inhabit North America before humans
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Paleontologists have shed light on the long-standing saga of Ekgmowechashala, based on fossil teeth and jaws found in both Nebraska and China. Ekgmowechashala is the last primate found in the fossil record before humans.