Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Chemistry: Biochemistry Ecology: Sea Life Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Caller ID of the sea: Tagging whale communication and behavior      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biologists use a novel method of simultaneous acoustic tagging to gain insights into the link between whale communication and behavior

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

Unintended consequences of fire suppression      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reveals how fire suppression ensures that wildfires will burn under extreme conditions at high severity, exacerbating the impacts of climate change and fuel accumulation.

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

Droughts in Europe could be avoided with faster emissions cuts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Models suggest summer rainfall in southern Europe could decline by up to 48% by the year 2100 if emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise rapidly.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Researchers take major step toward developing next-generation solar cells      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have discovered a new way to manufacture solar cells using perovskite semiconductors. It could lead to lower-cost, more efficient systems for powering homes, cars, boats and drones.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Major environmental benefits recycling gold with biodiesel      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed an environmentally friendly method for recycling and purifying metals. Using gold earrings from a pawnshop in Gothenburg and biodiesel from the nearest filling station, the discovery could change an industry that is currently dependent on large amounts of fossil oil.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

All countries' agri-environmental policies at a glance      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There can be no analysis without data. In this spirit, researchers have published a database containing over 6,000 agri-environmental policies, thus enabling their peers as well as policymakers and businesses to seek answers to all manner of different questions. The researchers have used two examples to demonstrate how this can be done: how a country's economic development is linked to its adoption of agri-environmental policies and how such policies impact soil erosion.

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

Enormous ice loss from Greenland glacier      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ground-based measuring devices and aircraft radar operated in the far northeast of Greenland show how much ice the 79 N-Glacier is losing. According to recent measurements, the thickness of the glacier has decreased by more than 160 meters since 1998. Warm ocean water flowing under the glacier tongue is melting the ice from below. High air temperatures cause lakes to form on the surface, whose water flows through huge channels in the ice into the ocean. One channel reached a height of 500 meters, while the ice above was only 190 meters thick.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Say hello to biodegradable microplastics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Finding viable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics and microplastics has never been more important. New research shows that their plant-based polymers biodegrade -- even at the microplastic level -- in under seven months.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Alaska Native tribes take lead on shellfish toxin testing where state falls short      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A group of coastal Alaska Native tribes in 2016 began monitoring shellfish, a traditional harvest, for deadly biotoxins because the state only tests commercial harvests. The program fills an essential gap in public health protection and has found success, with 17 tribes now in the testing network. Securing stable, long-term funding and improving public outreach could improve outcomes even further, a new study reports.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Maize genes control little helpers in the soil      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tiny organisms such as bacteria and fungi help to promote the health and function of plant roots. It is commonly assumed that the composition of these microbes is dependent on the properties of the soil. However, researchers have now discovered when studying different local varieties of maize that the genetic makeup of the plants also helps to influence which microorganisms cluster around the roots.

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

A new way to quantify climate change impacts: 'Outdoor days'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

'Outdoor days,' a new measure, describes climate change impacts by noting the number of days per year that outdoor temperatures are comfortable enough for normal outdoor activities.

Biology: Botany Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

New route to recyclable polymers from plants      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Cellulose, abundantly available from plant biomass, can be converted into molecules used to make a new class of recyclable polymers, to sustainably replace some plastics.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Cleaning up environmental contaminants with quantum dot technology      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was focused on quantum dots -- objects so tiny, they're controlled by the strange rules of quantum physics. Quantum dots used in electronics are often toxic, but their nontoxic counterparts are being explored for uses in medicine and in the environment, including water decontamination. One team of researchers has specially designed carbon- and sulfur-based dots for these environmental applications.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Deep Earth electrical grid mystery solved      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To 'breathe' in an environment without oxygen, bacteria in the ground beneath our feet depend upon a single family of proteins to transfer excess electrons, produced during the 'burning' of nutrients, to electric hairs called nanowires projecting from their surface.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Fossil Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Recyclable reagent and sunlight convert carbon monoxide into methanol      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have demonstrated the selective conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into methanol using a cascade reaction strategy. The two-part process is powered by sunlight, occurs at room temperature and at ambient pressure, and employs a recyclable organic reagent that's similar to a catalyst found in natural photosynthesis.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Heat exposure may increase inflammation and impair the immune system      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Exposure to high heat may impair the cells of the immune system that remember specific viruses and germs and over-produce signaling molecules that can lead to inflammation.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Ecology: Animals Energy: Batteries Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Crawfish could transfer ionic lithium from their environment into food chain      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are showing up in ever more devices, and the increasing use of this technology means more lithium is expected to find its way into the environment as a contaminant. In new research, a team has explored how this ion accumulates in a common Southern crustacean, the crawfish, with implications for the environment and public health.

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

The heat index -- how hot it really feels -- is rising faster than temperature      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers showed in 2022 that heat index calculations by NOAA based on analyses from the 1970s don't adequately reflect the heat stress humans feel during the extremes of heat and humidity accompanying climate change. Using their revised heat index, the researchers looked at Texas's summer 2023 heat wave and found that the 3 degree F rise in global temperatures has increased the state's heat index as much as 11 degrees F on the hottest days.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Greenhouse gas emissions in Global South countries linked with IMF lending policies, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study of 130 Global South nations has found that their greenhouse gas emissions were linked with IMF lending policies. The constraints of IMF's structural loans imposed coercive lending conditions that prompted borrowers to focus on increasing their exports, indirectly raising their greenhouse gas emissions through greater agricultural or manufacturing activities. GHG emissions increased within several years of countries' first structural loan, and increased almost immediately with subsequent loans, regardless of the lending conditions, the study found.