Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Volcanoes Paleontology: Climate
Published

Extinct offshore volcano could store gigatons of carbon dioxide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study concludes that an extinct volcano off the shore of Portugal could store as much as 1.2-8.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of ~24-125 years of the country's industrial emissions. For context, in 2022 a total of 42.6 megatons (0.0426 gigatons) of carbon dioxide was removed from the atmosphere by international carbon capture and storage efforts, according to the Global CCS Institute. The new study suggests that carbon capture and storage in offshore underwater volcanoes could be a promising new direction for removal and storage of much larger volumes of the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

A giant leap forward in wireless ultrasound monitoring for subjects in motion      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed the first fully integrated wearable ultrasound system for deep-tissue monitoring, including for subjects on the go.

Anthropology: Cultures Archaeology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ancient climate change solves mystery of vanished South African lakes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New evidence for the presence of ancient lakes in some of the most arid regions of South Africa suggests that Stone Age humans may have been more widespread across the continent than previously thought.

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

Half of world's largest lakes losing water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fifty-three percent of the world's largest freshwater lakes are in decline, storing less water than they did three decades ago, according to a new study. The study analyzed satellite observations dating back decades to measure changes in water levels in nearly 2,000 of the world's biggest lakes and reservoirs. It found that climate change, human consumption and sedimentation are responsible.

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

Past climate change to blame for Antarctica's giant underwater landslides      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists found weak, biologically-rich layers of sediments hundreds of meters beneath the seafloor which crumbled as oceans warmed and ice sheets declined. The landslides were discovered in the eastern Ross Sea in 2017, by an international team of scientists during the Italian ODYSSEA expedition, and scientists revisited the area in 2018 as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 374 where they collected sediment cores to understand what caused them.

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

'Warm Ice Age' changed climate cycles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Approximately 700,000 years ago, a 'warm ice age' permanently changed the climate cycles on Earth. During this exceptionally warm and moist period, the polar glaciers greatly expanded. A research team identified this seemingly paradoxical connection. The shift in the Earth's climate represents a critical step in our planet's later climate development.

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

Out of this world control on Ice Age cycles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team, composed of climatologists and an astronomer, have used an improved computer model to reproduce the cycle of ice ages (glacial periods) 1.6 to 1.2 million years ago. The results show that the glacial cycle was driven primarily by astronomical forces in quite a different way than it works in the modern age. These results will help us to better understand the past, present, and future of ice sheets and the Earth's climate.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate
Published

Great Bas­in: His­tory of water sup­ply in one of the dri­est regions in the USA      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team has reconstructed the evolution of groundwater in the Great Basin, USA -- one of the driest regions on Earth -- up to 350,000 years into the past with unprecedented accuracy. The results shed new light on the effects of climate change on water supply and provide important insights for the sustainable use of groundwater resources.

Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

A cocktail party of 3D-printed robot heads      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Imagine a cocktail party full of 3D-printed, humanoid robots listening and talking to each other. That seemingly sci-fi scene is the goal of an augmented listening laboratory. With precise control over the simulated subjects, the researchers can adjust the parameters of the experiment and even set the machines in motion to simulate neck movements.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Wearable ultrasound patch provide non-invasive deep tissue monitoring      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a stretchable ultrasonic array capable of serial, non-invasive, three-dimensional imaging of tissues as deep as four centimeters below the surface of human skin, at a spatial resolution of 0.5 millimeters. This new method provides a non-invasive, longer-term alternative to current methods, with improved penetration depth.

Computer Science: General Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Sensor enables high-fidelity input from everyday objects, human body      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Couches, tables, sleeves and more can turn into a high-fidelity input device for computers using a new sensing system.

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

West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated far inland, re-advanced since last Ice Age      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is melting rapidly, raising concerns it could cross a tipping point of irreversible retreat in the next few decades if global temperatures rise 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius (2.7 to 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. New research finds that 6,000 years ago, the grounded edge of the ice sheet may have been as far as 250 kilometers (160 miles) inland from its current location, suggesting the ice retreated deep into the continent after the end of the last ice age and re-advanced before modern retreat began.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Paleontology: Climate
Published

Prolonged droughts likely spelled the end for Indus megacities      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has found evidence -- locked into an ancient stalagmite from a cave in the Himalayas -- of a series of severe and lengthy droughts which may have upturned the Bronze Age Indus Civilization.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Lead vocal tracks in popular music go quiet      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists carried out an analysis of hundreds of popular song recordings from 1946 to 2020 to determine the lead vocal to accompaniment ratio, or LAR. The study considered the four highest-ranked songs from the Billboard Hot 100 chart for each year and the results show that, contrary to expectations, the LAR for popular music decreased over the decades in question. This means that, relative to their bands, lead singers are getting quieter.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

It's not as difficult as you think to shout upwind      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Why does it feel so difficult to shout upwind? The sensation is common enough to have found its way into an idiom about not being understood. Researchers wanted a scientific explanation for the phenomenon -- and there wasn't been one. They have now shown that our common sense understanding of this situation is wrong. It isn't harder to shout into the wind; it's just harder to hear yourself.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Climate
Published

Puerto Rico tsunami deposit could have come from pre-Columbian megathrust earthquake      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tsunami deposits identified in a coastal mangrove pond in Northwest Puerto Rico could have come from a megathrust earthquake at the Puerto Rico Trench that occurred between 1470 and 1530, according to new research.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Robotics Research Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound Physics: Optics
Published

Versatile, high-speed, and efficient crystal actuation with photothermally resonated natural vibrations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mechanically responsive molecular crystals are extremely useful in soft robotics, which requires a versatile actuation technology. Crystals driven by the photothermal effect are particularly promising for achieving high-speed actuation. However, the response (bending) observed in these crystals is usually small. Now, scientists address this issue by inducing large resonated natural vibrations in anisole crystals with UV light illumination at the natural vibration frequency of the crystal.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Paleontology: Climate
Published

African penguins: Climate refugees from a distant past?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Imagine the view from the western coastline of southern Africa during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) over twenty thousand years ago: in the distance you would see at least fifteen large islands -- the largest 300 square kilometers in area -- swarming with hundreds of millions of marine birds and penguin colonies.