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Categories: Environmental: Water, Space: Astronomy
Published Swarms of miniature robots clean up microplastics and microbes, simultaneously
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When old food packaging, discarded children's toys and other mismanaged plastic waste break down into microplastics, they become even harder to clean up from oceans and waterways. These tiny bits of plastic also attract bacteria, including those that cause disease. Researchers describe swarms of microscale robots (microrobots) that captured bits of plastic and bacteria from water. Afterward, the bots were decontaminated and reused.
Published Millions in costs due to discharge of scrubber water into the Baltic Sea
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Discharge from ships with so-called scrubbers cause great damage to the Baltic Sea. A new study shows that these emissions caused pollution corresponding to socio-economic costs of more than EUR 680 million between 2014 and 2022. At the same time, the researchers note that the shipping companies' investments in the much-discussed technology, where exhaust gases are 'washed' and discharged into the sea, have already been recouped for most of the ships. This means that the industry is now making billions of euros by running its ships on cheap heavy fuel oil instead of cleaner fuel.
Published Venus has almost no water: A new study may reveal why
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Billions of years ago, Venus may have harbored as much water as Earth. Today, almost all of it has disappeared. A new study may help to explain why.
Published Turbid waters keep the coast healthy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source To preserve the important intertidal areas and salt marshes off our coasts for the future, we need more turbid water. That is one of the striking conclusions from a new study.
Published The Clues for Cleaner Water
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source By using experimental electrochemical analyses, mass spectrometry, and computational quantum chemistry modeling, the researchers created an 'atomic-scale storyline' to explain how ozone is generated on NATO electrocatalysts. They identified that some of the nickel in NATO is probably leaching out of the electrodes via corrosion, and these nickel atoms, now floating in the solution near the catalyst, can promote chemical reactions that eventually generate ozone.
Published Astronomers observe elusive stellar light surrounding ancient quasars
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Astronomers observed the elusive starlight surrounding some of the earliest quasars in the universe. The findings may shed light on how the earliest supermassive black holes became so massive despite having a relatively short amount of cosmic time in which to grow.
Published Lake tsunamis pose significant threat under warming climate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The names might not be familiar -- Cowee Creek, Brabazon Range, Upper Pederson Lagoon -- but they mark the sites of recent lake tsunamis, a phenomenon that is increasingly common in Alaska, British Columbia and other regions with mountain glaciers. Triggered by landslides into small bodies of water, most of these tsunamis have occurred in remote locations so far, but geologists say it may just be a matter of time before a tsunami swamps a more populated place.
Published Hubble views a galaxy with a voracious black hole
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Bright, starry spiral arms surround an active galactic center in a new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the galaxy NGC 4951. Located in the Virgo constellation, NGC 4951 is located roughly 50 million light-years away from Earth. It's classified as a Seyfert galaxy, which means that it's an extremely energetic type of galaxy with an active galactic nucleus (AGN).
Published New discoveries about Jupiter's magnetosphere
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New discoveries about Jupiter could lead to a better understanding of Earth's own space environment and influence a long-running scientific debate about the solar system's largest planet.
Published Did a magnetic field collapse trigger the emergence of animals?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers uncovered compelling evidence that Earth's magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period -- 635 to 541 million years ago -- diversified and thrived. Their study raises the question of whether these fluctuations in Earth's ancient magnetic field led to shifts in oxygen levels that may have been crucial to the proliferation of life forms millions of years ago.
Published Ice shelves fracture under weight of meltwater lakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Heavy pooling meltwater can fracture ice, potentially leading to ice shelf collapse.
Published Plants utilize drought stress hormone to block snacking spider mites
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Recent findings that plants employ a drought-survival mechanism to also defend against nutrient-sucking pests could inform future crop breeding programs aimed at achieving better broadscale pest control.
Published New eco-friendly lubricant additives protect turbine equipment, waterways
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have developed lubricant additives that protect both water turbine equipment and the surrounding environment.
Published For microscopic organisms, ocean currents act as 'expressway' to deeper depths
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Some of the ocean's tiniest organisms get swept into underwater currents that act as a conduit that shuttles them from the sunny surface to deeper, darker depths where they play a huge role in affecting the ocean's chemistry and ecosystem, according to new research.
Published Oil palm plantations are driving massive downstream impact to watershed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The global demand for palm oil -- the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet, in everything from instant noodles to lipstick -- is driving worldwide tropical deforestation. While many studies have shown the loss of biodiversity when rainforests are converted to oil palm plantations, researchers have now shown the far-reaching and wide-ranging disturbances to the watersheds in which such plantations occur.
Published Webb telescope probably didn't find life on an exoplanet -- yet
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Recent reports of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope finding signs of life on a distant planet understandably sparked excitement. A new study challenges this finding, but also outlines how the telescope might verify the presence of the life-produced gas.
Published Mystery behind huge opening in Antarctic sea ice solved
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered the missing piece of the puzzle behind a rare opening in the sea ice around Antarctica, which was nearly twice the size of Wales and occurred during the winters of 2016 and 2017. A study reveals a key process that had eluded scientists as to how the opening, called a polynya, was able to form and persist for several weeks.
Published A 'cosmic glitch' in gravity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered a potential 'cosmic glitch' in the universe's gravity, explaining its strange behavior on a cosmic scale.
Published Improved AI process could better predict water supplies
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new computer model uses a better artificial intelligence process to measure snow and water availability more accurately across vast distances in the West, information that could someday be used to better predict water availability for farmers and others. The researchers predict water availability from areas in the West where snow amounts aren't being physically measured.
Published Researchers develop an AI model to reduce uncertainty in evapotranspiration prediction
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Evapotranspiration (ET) includes evaporation from soil and open water pools such as lakes, rivers, and ponds, as well as transpiration from plant leaves. The difference between precipitation and ET indicates the water balance available for societal needs, including agricultural and industrial production. However, measuring ET is challenging. A new study presents a computer model that uses artificial intelligence (AI) for ET prediction based on remote sensing estimates.