Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Two epicenters led to Japan's violent Noto earthquake on New Year's Day      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The 7.5- magnitude earthquake beneath Japan's Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, 2024, occurred when a 'dual-initiation mechanism' applied enough energy from two different locations to break through a fault barrier -- an area that locks two sides of a fault in place and absorbs the energy of fault movement, slowing it down or stopping it altogether.

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

Unconventional interface superconductor could benefit quantum computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A multi-institutional team of scientists has developed a new superconductor material that could potentially be used in quantum computing and be a candidate 'topological superconductor.'

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Scientists propose guidelines for solar geoengineering research      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To guide future research into solar geoengineering, an international group of scientists is making specific recommendations for evaluating proposals in order to identify the most feasible and legitimate scenarios for stratospheric aerosol intervention.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

New images reveal global air quality trends      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The global concentrations of one of the main air pollutants known to affect human health have been graphically illustrated for the first time by a team of scientists.

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

Scientists call for an update in environmental decision making that takes human rights into account      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers argue that to protect human wellbeing global decisions with the potential to impact the environment must be guided by our understanding of the inseparable connection between humans and nature. The article's authors are aiming to support fair and inclusive decision-making for a healthy ocean for people and planet.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers
Published

Qubit coherence decay traced to thermal dissipation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Hitherto a mystery, the thermal energy loss of qubits can be explained with a surprisingly simple experimental setup, according to new research.

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

A deep dive for environmental data on coastal oceans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study addresses the lack of data on how much human-generated carbon dioxide is present in coastal oceans -- the saltwater ecosystems that link the land and sea. Capturing this data is crucial to calculating how much emissions must be cut in the future.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Highest prediction of sea-level rise unlikely      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study challenges as highly unlikely an alarming prediction of sea-level rise that -- while designated as low likelihood --earned a spot in the latest UN climate report for its projection that the collapse of polar ice sheets could make the world's oceans up to 50 feet higher by 2300. But researchers found that the model is based on inaccurate physics of how ice sheets retreat and break apart, though they stress that the accelerating loss of ice from Greenland and Antarctica is still dire.

Archaeology: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Landslides Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

New study reveals devastating power and colossal extent of a giant underwater avalanche off the Moroccan coast      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has revealed how an underwater avalanche grew more than 100 times in size causing a massive trail of destruction as it traveled 2000km across the Atlantic Ocean seafloor off the North West coast of Africa. Researchers provide an unprecedented insight into the scale, force and impact of one of nature's mysterious phenomena, underwater avalanches.

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

Using AI to link heat waves to global warming      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers used machine learning to determine how much global warming has influenced extreme weather events in the U.S. and elsewhere in recent years. Their approach could change how scientists study and predict the impact of climate change on extreme weather.

Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Forest loss intensifies climate change by increasing temperatures and cloud level, which leads to decrease of water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers report that deforestation during the last two decades induced a higher warming and cloud level rise than that caused by climate change, which threatens biodiversity and water supply in African montane forests.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Preservation of organic carbon in the ocean floor      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The preservation of organic carbon in marine sediments has long been a key question remaining unclear in understanding the long-term carbon cycling on Earth. Recently, scientists have gained new insights into the dynamic cycling of iron-bound organic carbon in subseafloor sediments.

Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science
Published

Will climate change lead to the extinction of a newly discovered tarantula species?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biologists have discovered a new species of tarantula from the Madrean Sky Island biodiversity hotspot in southeastern Arizona. This remarkable new species is endemic to the Chiricahua Mountains and is predominately distributed in mid- to high-elevation forests, which are increasingly threatened due to climate change.

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

Nitrogen interventions as a key to better health and robust ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international research team combined multidisciplinary methods to evaluate how nitrogen interventions could improve air quality and reduce nitrogen deposition. Their study found that interventions, such as improving fuel combustion conditions, increasing agricultural nitrogen use efficiency, and reducing food loss and waste, could significantly lower premature deaths attributed to air pollution, crop losses, and ecosystems risks.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Scientists discover phenomenon impacting Earth's radiation belts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two scientists discovered a new type of 'whistler,' an electromagnetic wave that carries a substantial amount of lightning energy to the Earth's magnetosphere.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology
Published

Decoding mysterious seismic signals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Geophysicists find link between seismic waves called PKP precursors and anomalies in Earth's mantle that are associated with hotspots associated with volcanism on the surface.

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

Scottish and Irish rocks confirmed as rare record of 'snowball Earth'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The study found that the Port Askaig Formation, composed of layers of rock up to 1.1 km thick, was likely laid down between 662 to 720 million years ago during the Sturtian glaciation -- the first of two global freezes thought to have triggered the development of complex, multicellular life.