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

Greenhouse gas emissions at 'an all-time high' -- and it is causing an unprecedented rate of global warming, say scientists      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Human-induced warming, largely caused by the burning of fossil fuels, reached an average of 1.14°C for the most recent decade (2013 to 2022) above pre-industrial levels. This is up from 1.07°C between 2010 and 2019. Human-induced warming is now increasing at a pace of over 0.2°C per decade. The analysis also found that greenhouse gas emissions were 'at an all-time high', with human activity resulting in the equivalent of 54 (+/-5.3) gigatonnes (or billion metric tonnes) of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere on average every year over the last decade (2012-2021). Given the speed at which the global climate system is changing, the scientists argue that policymakers, climate negotiators and civil society groups need to have access to up-to-date and robust scientific evidence on which to base decisions.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Volcanoes Paleontology: Fossils
Published

South Africa, India and Australia shared similar volcanic activity 3.5 billion years ago      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Daitari greenstone belt shares a similar geologic make-up when compared to the greenstones exposed in the Barberton and Nondweni areas of South Africa and those from the Pilbara Craton of north-western Australia.

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

Schrödinger's cat makes better qubits      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Drawing from Schrodinger's cat thought experiment, scientists have built a 'critical cat code' qubit that uses bosons to store and process information in a way that is more reliable and resistant to errors than previous qubit designs.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology
Published

Bubble, bubble, more earthquake trouble? Geoscientists study Alaska's Denali fault      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Geochemists report findings from collected and analyzed helium and carbon isotopic data from springs along a nearly 250-mile segment of Alaska's Denali Fault. The fault's mantle fluid flow rates, they report, fall in the range observed for the world's other major and active strike-slip faults that form plate boundaries.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Energy: Technology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

New superconducting diode could improve performance of quantum computers and artificial intelligence      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team has developed a more energy-efficient, tunable superconducting diode -- a promising component for future electronic devices -- that could help scale up quantum computers for industry and improve artificial intelligence systems.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Microbes key to sequestering carbon in soil      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Microbes are by far the most important factor in determining how much carbon is stored in the soil, according to a new study with implications for mitigating climate change and improving soil health for agriculture and food production.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Air quality stations have collected vast stores of DNA by accident, a potentially 'game-changing' discovery for tracking global biodiversity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The accelerating loss of biodiversity and increasing rate of species extinction is a major threat to ecosystems around the globe. And yet, quantifying those losses at a large scale hasn't been possible, in large part due to a lack of the required infrastructure. But a new study shows that a major source for such information already exists in the form of environmental DNA (eDNA), which has been inadvertently collected in filters by thousands of ambient air quality monitoring stations in countries around the world for decades.

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

Quantum computers are better at guessing, new study demonstrates      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have demonstrated a quantum speedup over the most efficient classical computer algorithm possible for what is believed to be the first time.  The accomplishment was performed on an IBM Montreal Quantum Falcon r4 27-qubit device.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology
Published

Below the surface: Researchers uncover reasons to rethink how mountains are built      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study suggests that the answers to how and why mountains form are buried deeper than once thought. Clues in the landscape of southern Italy allowed researchers to produce a long-term, continuous record of rock uplift, the longest and most complete record of its kind.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology
Published

Researchers cultivate archaea that break down crude oil in novel ways      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The seafloor is home to around one-third of all the microorganisms on the Earth and is inhabited even at a depth of several kilometers. Only when it becomes too hot does the abundance of microorganisms appear to decline. But how, and from what, do microorganisms in the deep seafloor live? How do their metabolic cycles work and how do the individual members of these buried communities interact? Researchers have now been able to demonstrate in laboratory cultures how small, liquid components of crude oil are broken down through a new mechanism by a group of microorganisms called archaea.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Petit-spot volcanoes involve the deepest known submarine hydrothermal activity, possibly release CO2 and methane      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Underwater volcanism and its hydrothermal activity play an important role in marine biogeochemical cycles, especially the carbon cycle. But the nature of hydrothermal activity at 'petit-spot' volcanoes have not been revealed at all. Now, scientists reveal that petit-spot hydrothermal activity occurs on the deepest seafloor known to date and could release carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane, which may have implications for the global carbon cycle.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

The 'breath' between atoms -- a new building block for quantum technology      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered they can detect atomic 'breathing,' or the mechanical vibration between two layers of atoms, by observing the type of light those atoms emitted when stimulated by a laser. The sound of this atomic 'breath' could help researchers encode and transmit quantum information.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing
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Understanding the tantalizing benefits of tantalum for improved quantum processors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers working to improve the performance of superconducting qubits, the foundation of quantum computers, have been experimenting using different base materials in an effort to increase the coherent lifetimes of qubits. The coherence time is a measure of how long a qubit retains quantum information, and thus a primary measure of performance. Recently, scientists discovered that using tantalum in superconducting qubits makes them perform better, but no one has been able to determine why -- until now.

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

Thermal energy stored by land masses has increased significantly      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There are many effects of climate change. Perhaps the most broadly known is global warming, which is caused by heat building up in various parts of the Earth system, such as the atmosphere, the ocean, the cryosphere and the land. 89 percent of this excess heat is stored in the oceans, with the rest in ice and glaciers, the atmosphere and land masses (including inland water bodies). An international research team has now studied the quantity of heat stored on land, showing the distribution of land heat among the continental ground, permafrost soils, and inland water bodies. The calculations show that more than 20 times as much heat has been stored there since the 1960s, with the largest increase being in the ground.

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

Ground beneath Thwaites Glacier mapped      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The ground beneath Antarctica's most vulnerable glacier has now been mapped, helping scientists to better understand how it is being affected by climate change. Analysis of the geology below the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica shows there is less sedimentary rock than expected -- a finding that could affect how the ice slides and melts in the coming decades.

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

Mitigating climate change through restoration of coastal ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are proposing a novel pathway through which coastal ecosystem restoration can permanently capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Seagrass and mangroves -- known as blue carbon ecosystems -- naturally capture carbon through photosynthesis, which converts carbon dioxide into living tissue.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Robot centipedes go for a walk      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers show how their multilegged walking robot can be steered by inducing a dynamic instability. By making the couplings between segments more flexible, the robot changes from walking straight to moving in a curved path. This work can lead to more energy-efficient and reliable robotic navigation of terrain.