Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Gone for good? California's beetle-killed, carbon-storing pine forests may not come back      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ponderosa pine forests in the Sierra Nevada that were wiped out by western pine beetles during the 2012-2015 megadrought won't recover to pre-drought densities, reducing an important storehouse for atmospheric carbon.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Underground water could be the solution to green heating and cooling      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

About 12% of the total global energy demand comes from heating and cooling homes and businesses. A new study suggests that using underground water to maintain comfortable temperatures could reduce consumption of natural gas and electricity in this sector by 40% in the United States. The approach, called aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES), could also help prevent blackouts caused by high power demand during extreme weather events.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Coral skeletons influence reef recovery after bleaching      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Natural disasters can devastate a region, abruptly killing the species that form an ecosystem's structure. But how this transpires can influence recovery. While fires scorch the landscape to the ground, a heatwave leaves an army of wooden staves in its wake. Storm surges and coral bleaching do something similar underwater.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate
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Researchers correlate Arctic warming to extreme winter weather in midlatitude and its future      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A warmer Arctic has been linked to extreme winter weather in the midlatitude regions. But, it is not clear how global warming affects this link. In a new study, researchers show, using weather data and climate models, that while the 'Warm Arctic-Cold Continent' pattern will continue as the climate continues to warm, Arctic warming will become a less reliable predictor of extreme winter weather in the future.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Preventing urban flooding in the face of climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Planners have come up with many innovative ways to prevent flooding caused by heavy downpours -- from planting rain gardens to installing green roofs. But in many cases, nothing works quite as well as a simple hole in the ground -- a detention basin.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Hope for salamanders? Study recalibrates climate change effects      (via sciencedaily.com) 

For tiny salamanders squirming skin-to-soil, big-picture weather patterns may seem as far away as outer space. But for decades, scientists have mostly relied on free-air temperature data at large spatial scales to predict future salamander distributions under climate change. The outlook was dire for the mini ecosystem engineers, suggesting near elimination of habitat in crucial areas.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Why are forests turning brown in summer?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

European forests are increasingly turning brown in the course of hot, dry summers. In the scorching summer of 2022, Europe experienced more trees turning brown than ever, with 37% of temperate and Mediterranean forest regions affected. In the three-year meteorological history of low-?greenness events, characteristic weather signals can be found as precursors of the events.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather Mathematics: Modeling
Published

AI could set a new bar for designing hurricane-resistant buildings      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Being able to withstand hurricane-force winds is the key to a long life for many buildings on the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast of the U.S. Determining the right level of winds to design for is tricky business, but support from artificial intelligence may offer a simple solution.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Severe Weather Mathematics: Modeling
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Machine learning model helps forecasters improve confidence in storm prediction      (via sciencedaily.com) 

When severe weather is brewing and life-threatening hazards like heavy rain, hail or tornadoes are possible, advance warning and accurate predictions are of utmost importance. Weather researchers have given storm forecasters a powerful new tool to improve confidence in their forecasts and potentially save lives. Over the last several years, Russ Schumacher, professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science and Colorado State Climatologist, has led a team developing a sophisticated machine learning model for advancing skillful prediction of hazardous weather across the continental United States. First trained on historical records of excessive rainfall, the model is now smart enough to make accurate predictions of events like tornadoes and hail four to eight days in advance -- the crucial sweet spot for forecasters to get information out to the public so they can prepare. The model is called CSU-MLP, or Colorado State University-Machine Learning Probabilities.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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SMART warnings could protect communities at risk from flooding      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engaging communities in developing a real-time early warning system could help to reduce the often-devastating impact of flooding on people and property -- particularly in mountainous regions where extreme water events are a 'wicked' problem, a new study reveals.

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

The global economics of climate action      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Climate change has serious consequences for the environment and people and is a major threat to economic stability. A new assessment reviews innovative, integrated research that underpins the economic case for strong near-term climate action.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Genome of a drought-tolerant plant: Many genes are involved in 'resurrection'      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Some plants can survive months without water, only to turn green again after a brief downpour. A recent study shows that this is not due to a 'miracle gene.' Rather, this ability is a consequence of a whole network of genes, almost all of which are also present in more vulnerable varieties.

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

Drought, heat waves worsen West Coast air pollution inequality      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study found drought and heat waves could make air pollution worse for communities that already have a high pollution burden in California, and deepen pollution inequalities along racial and ethnic lines. The study also found financial penalties for power plants can significantly reduce people's pollution exposure, except during severe heat waves.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Phytoplankton blooms offer insight into impacts of climate change      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The first study into the biological response of the upper ocean in the wake of South Pacific cyclones could help predict the impact of warming ocean temperatures, researchers believe.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Simulated terrible drivers cut the time and cost of AV testing by a factor of one thousand      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The push toward truly autonomous vehicles has been hindered by the cost and time associated with safety testing, but a new system shows that artificial intelligence can reduce the testing miles required by 99.99%.

Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Qubits put new spin on magnetism: Boosting applications of quantum computers      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Research using a quantum computer as the physical platform for quantum experiments has found a way to design and characterize tailor-made magnetic objects using quantum bits, or qubits. That opens up a new approach to develop new materials and robust quantum computing.

Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Landslides Geoscience: Severe Weather
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East Coast, US, landslide impacts from Puerto Rico to Vermont and in between      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In the U.S., we may often think of landslides as primarily a West Coast problem, mostly plaguing the mountainous terrain of California, Oregon, and Washington. New research highlights the major impacts of landslides on the U.S. East Coast and what is being done to save lives and deal with the damages.

Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

High winds can worsen pathogen spread at outdoor chicken farms      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A study of chicken farms in the West found that high winds increased the prevalence of Campylobacter in outdoor flocks, a bacterial pathogen in poultry that is the largest single cause of foodborne illness in the U.S. Researchers found that about 26% of individual chickens had the pathogen at the 'open environment' farms in the study, which included organic and free-range chicken farms. High winds the week prior to sampling and the farms' location in more intensive agricultural settings were linked to a greater prevalence of Campylobacter.

Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Severe Weather
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A mechanistic and probabilistic method for predicting wildfires      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In the event of dry weather and high winds, power system-ignited incidents are more likely to develop into wildfires. The risk is greater if vegetation is nearby. A new study provides the methodology for predicting at what point during a high wind storm, powerline ignition is likely.