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

Mix-and-match kit could enable astronauts to build a menagerie of lunar exploration bots      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The Walking Oligomeric Robotic Mobility System, or WORMS, is a reconfigurable, modular, multiagent robotics architecture for extreme lunar terrain mobility. The system could be used to assemble autonomous worm-like parts into larger biomimetic robots that could explore lava tubes, steep slopes, and the moon's permanently shadowed regions.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Robots can help improve mental wellbeing at work -- as long as they look right      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Robots can be useful as mental wellbeing coaches in the workplace -- but perception of their effectiveness depends in large part on what the robot looks like.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Researcher solves nearly 60-year-old game theory dilemma      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A researcher has solved a nearly 60-year-old game theory dilemma called the wall pursuit game, with implications for better reasoning about autonomous systems such as driver-less vehicles.

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

New study finds early warning signs prior to 2002 Antarctic ice shelf collapse      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In 2002, an area of ice about the size of Rhode Island dramatically broke away from Antarctica as the Larsen B ice shelf collapsed. A new study of the conditions that led to the collapse may reveal warning signs to watch for future Antarctic ice shelf retreat, according to a new scientists.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Energy: Technology Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Researchers develop soft robot that shifts from land to sea with ease      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Most animals can quickly transition from walking to jumping to crawling to swimming if needed without reconfiguring or making major adjustments. Most robots cannot. But researchers have now created soft robots that can seamlessly shift from walking to swimming, for example, or crawling to rolling using a bistable actuator made of 3D-printed soft rubber containing shape-memory alloy springs that react to electrical currents by contracting, which causes the actuator to bend. The team used this bistable motion to change the actuator or robot's shape. Once the robot changes shape, it is stable until another electrical charge morphs it back to its previous configuration.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Researchers find decaying biomass in Arctic rivers fuels more carbon export than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study found that plants and small organisms in Arctic rivers could be responsible for more than half the particulate organic matter flowing to the Arctic Ocean. That's a significantly greater proportion than previously estimated, and it has implications for how much carbon gets sequestered in the ocean and how much moves into the atmosphere.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Minke whales are as small as a lunge-feeding baleen whale can be      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study of Antarctic minke whales reveals a minimum size limit for whales employing the highly efficient 'lunge-feeding' strategy that enabled the blue whale to become the largest animal on Earth.

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

Arctic climate modelling too conservative      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Climate models used by the UN's IPCC and others to project climate change are not accurately reflecting what the Arctic's future will be, experts say.

Biology: Marine Chemistry: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Assessing the potential risks of ocean-based climate intervention technologies on deep-sea ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An international team of experts convened remotely as part of the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative's Climate Working Group to consider the deep-sea impacts of ocean-based climate intervention (OBCI). A research team has analyzed the proposed approaches to assess their potential impacts on deep-sea ecosystems and biodiversity. Their findings raise substantial concern on the potential impacts of these technologies on deep-sea ecosystems and call for the need for an integrated research effort to carefully assess the cost and benefits of each intervention.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Scientists call for global push to eliminate space junk      (via sciencedaily.com) 

As almost 200 countries agree a legally-binding treaty to protect the High Seas, a collaboration of experts in ocean plastic pollution and satellite technology has urged world leaders to learn lessons from the management of the High Seas and act now to protect Earth's orbit.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Life in the smoke of underwater volcanoes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Disconnected from the energy of the sun, the permanently ice-covered Arctic deep sea receives miniscule amounts of organic matter that sustains life. Bacteria which can harvest the energy released from submarine hydrothermal sources could thus have an advantage. Scientists found bacteria uniquely adapted to this geo-energy floating in deep-sea waters. They describe the role of these bacteria for biogeochemical cycling in the ocean.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Records from Platform Holly provide a glimpse of how petroleum production affects natural gas seeps      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

From oil rigs to tar seeps, it's hard to miss the presence of petroleum around the Santa Barbara Channel. Scientists have now investigated the interplay between the two processes releasing oil from underground: human enterprise and regional geology.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Unprecedented increase in ocean plastic since 2005 revealed by four decades of global analysis      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A global dataset of ocean plastic pollution between 1979 and 2019 reveals a rapid and unprecedented increase in ocean plastics since 2005, according to a new study.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General
Published

Artificial intelligence (AI) reconstructs motion sequences of humans and animals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Imagine for a moment, that we are on a safari watching a giraffe graze. After looking away for a second, we then see the animal lower its head and sit down. But, we wonder, what happened in the meantime? Computer scientists have found a way to encode an animal's pose and appearance in order to show the intermediate motions that are statistically likely to have taken place.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Elegantly modeling Earth's abrupt glacial transitions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Milutin Milankovitch hypothesized that the timing of glacial transitions has been controlled by the orbital parameters of the Earth, which suggests that there may be some predictability in the climate, a notoriously complex system. Now researchers propose a new paradigm to simplify the verification of the Milankovitch hypothesis. The new 'deterministic excitation paradigm' combines the physics concepts of relaxation oscillation and excitability to link Earth's orbital parameters and the glacial cycles in a more generic way.

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

Sea level rise poses particular risk for Asian megacities      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Sea level rise this century may disproportionately affect certain Asian megacities, according to new research that looks at the effects of natural sea level fluctuations in addition to climate change. The study identified several Asian megacities that may face especially significant risks by 2100, including Chennai, Kolkata, Yangon, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Manila.

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

Ocean surface tipping point could accelerate climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study has found that intense global warming could shut down the ocean's ability to soak up carbon dioxide, leading to accelerated global warming as the greenhouse gas accumulates in the atmosphere. The decline happens because of a surface layer of low-alkalinity water that emerges during extreme warming that hinders the ability of the oceans to absorb CO2. The study is based on a climate simulation configured to a worst-case emissions scenario that the researchers say must be avoided at all costs.

Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Most detailed geological model reveals Earth's past 100 million years      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Previous models of Earth's recent (100 million years) geomorphology have been patchy at best. For the first time a detailed continuous model of the Earth's landscape evolution is presented, with potential for understanding long-term climate and biological development.

Engineering: Robotics Research Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Robot provides unprecedented views below Antarctic ice shelf      (via sciencedaily.com) 

With the help of an underwater robot, known as Icefin, a U.S.- New Zealand research team has obtained an unprecedented look inside a crevasse at Kamb Ice Stream -- revealing more than a century of geological processes beneath the Antarctic ice.