Biology: General Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

A new perspective on the temperature inside tropical forests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New worldwide maps of temperatures inside tropical forests show that global warming affect different way in different parts of the forests. Undergrowth level temperature of the tropical forests can be even 4 degrees less than average temperature of the area.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Chemistry: Biochemistry Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Uncovering the secrets behind the silent flight of owls      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Owls produce negligible noise while flying. While many studies have linked the micro-fringes in owl wings to their silent flight, the exact mechanisms have been unclear. Now, a team of researchers has uncovered the effects of these micro-fringes on the sound and aerodynamic performance of owl wings through computational fluid dynamic simulations. Their findings can inspire biomimetic designs for the development of low-noise fluid machinery.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography
Published

Wolves and elk are (mostly) welcome back in Poland and Germany's Oder Delta region, survey shows      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An online survey conducted in Germany and Poland shows that large parts of the participants support the return of large carnivores and herbivores, such as wolves and elk, to the Oder Delta region. Presented with different rewilding scenarios, the majority of survey participants showed a preference for land management that leads to the comeback of nature to the most natural state possible. Locals, on the other hand, showed some reservations.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Deepwater Horizon oil spill study could lead to overhaul of cleanup processes worldwide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research could lead to major improvements in marine oil spill cleanup processes. The innovative study assessed the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on microscopic seawater bacteria that perform a significant role in ecosystem functioning.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Towards the quantum of sound      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of scientists has succeeded in cooling traveling sound waves in wave-guides considerably further than has previously been possible using laser light. This achievement represents a significant move towards the ultimate goal of reaching the quantum ground state of sound in wave-guides. Unwanted noise generated by the acoustic waves at room temperature can be eliminated. This experimental approach both provides a deeper understanding of the transition from classical to quantum phenomena of sound and is relevant to quantum communication systems and future quantum technologies.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Sea otters helped prevent widespread California kelp forest declines over the past century      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The study reveals dramatic regional kelp canopy changes along the California coast over a 100-year period. During this time there was a significant increase in kelp forest canopy along the central coast, the only region of California where southern sea otters survived after being hunted nearly to extinction for their fur in the 1800s. Contrastingly, kelp canopy decreased in northern and southern regions. At the century scale, the species' favorable impact on kelp forests along the central coast nearly compensated for the kelp losses along both northern and southern California resulting in only a slight overall decline statewide during this period.

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Researchers pump brakes on 'blue acceleration' harming the world ocean      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Protecting the world ocean against accelerating damage from human activities could be cheaper and take up less space than previously thought, new research has found.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Translating nuclear waste site data into microbial ecosystem insights      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A flagship seven-year study that explores how environmental stresses influence different ecological processes shaping the composition and structure of microbial communities in groundwater has now been published.

Biology: Zoology Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Rain can spoil a wolf spider's day, too      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers found that wolf spiders can't signal others or perceive danger from predators as easily on rain-soaked leaves compared to dry ones. Even communicating with would-be mates is harder after it rains.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Chemists create a 2D heavy fermion      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have synthesized the first 2D heavy fermion. The material, a layered intermetallic crystal composed of cerium, silicon, and iodine (CeSiI), has electrons that are 1000x heavier and is a new platform to explore quantum phenomena.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Thermodynamics Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Higher measurement accuracy opens new window to the quantum world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team has developed a new measurement method that, for the first time, accurately detects tiny temperature differences in the range of 100 microkelvin in the thermal Hall effect. Previously, these temperature differences could not be measured quantitatively due to thermal noise. Using the well-known terbium titanate as an example, the team demonstrated that the method delivers highly reliable results. The thermal Hall effect provides information about coherent multi-particle states in quantum materials, based on their interaction with lattice vibrations (phonons).

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

Climate change isn't producing expected increase in atmospheric moisture over dry regions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The warming climate has not lead to an expected increase in atmospheric moisture over arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The finding, which has surprised scientists, indicates that some regions may be even more vulnerable to future wildfires and extreme heat than projected.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Mathematics: Modeling
Published

New AI makes better permafrost maps      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New insights from artificial intelligence about permafrost coverage in the Arctic may soon give policy makers and land managers the high-resolution view they need to predict climate-change-driven threats to infrastructure such as oil pipelines, roads and national security facilities.

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

Stalagmites as climate archive      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When combined with data from tree-ring records, stalagmites can open up a unique archive to study natural climate fluctuations, a research team has demonstrated. The researchers analyzed the isotopic composition of oxygen in a stalagmite formed from calcareous water in a cave in southern Germany. In conjunction with the data acquired from tree rings, they were able to reconstruct short-term climate fluctuations over centuries and correlate them with historically documented environmental events.

Biology: Biochemistry Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

A new, rigorous assessment of OpenET accuracy for supporting satellite-based water management      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Sustainable water management is an increasing concern in arid regions around the world, and scientists and regulators are turning to remote sensing tools like OpenET to help track and manage water resources. OpenET uses publicly available data produced by NASA and USGS Landsat and other satellite systems to calculate evapotranspiration (ET), or the amount of water lost to the atmosphere through soil evaporation and plant transpiration, at the level of individual fields. This tool has the potential to revolutionize water management, allowing for field-scale operational monitoring of water use, and a new study provides a thorough analysis of the accuracy of OpenET data for various crops and natural land cover types.

Biology: Botany Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Climate change threatens global forest carbon sequestration, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change is causing Western U.S. forests to be less effective carbon sinks, even as it boosts the productivity of forests in the Eastern U.S., according to new research.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Experiment could test quantum nature of large masses for the first time      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new experiment could in principle test the quantumness of an object regardless of its mass or energy.

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

Chasing the light: Study finds new clues about warming in the Arctic      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Arctic, Earth's icy crown, is experiencing a climate crisis like no other. It's heating up at a furious pace -- four times faster than the rest of our planet. Researchers are pulling back the curtain on the reduction of sunlight reflectivity, or albedo, which is supercharging the Arctic's warming.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Quantum Computers Energy: Nuclear Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Solid-state qubits: Forget about being clean, embrace mess      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New findings debunk previous wisdom that solid-state qubits need to be super dilute in an ultra-clean material to achieve long lifetimes. Instead, cram lots of rare-earth ions into a crystal and some will form pairs that act as highly coherent qubits, a new paper shows.