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

Half of world's largest lakes losing water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fifty-three percent of the world's largest freshwater lakes are in decline, storing less water than they did three decades ago, according to a new study. The study analyzed satellite observations dating back decades to measure changes in water levels in nearly 2,000 of the world's biggest lakes and reservoirs. It found that climate change, human consumption and sedimentation are responsible.

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

Wiring up quantum circuits with light      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The number of qubits in superconducting quantum computers has risen rapidly during the last years, but further growth is limited by the need for ultra-cold operating temperatures. Connecting several smaller processors could create larger, more computationally powerful quantum computers -- however doing so poses new challenges. Researchers have now demonstrated quantum entanglement between optical and microwave photons that could lay the foundation for such a future quantum network.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
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Past climate change to blame for Antarctica's giant underwater landslides      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists found weak, biologically-rich layers of sediments hundreds of meters beneath the seafloor which crumbled as oceans warmed and ice sheets declined. The landslides were discovered in the eastern Ross Sea in 2017, by an international team of scientists during the Italian ODYSSEA expedition, and scientists revisited the area in 2018 as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 374 where they collected sediment cores to understand what caused them.

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

Climate change to push species over abrupt tipping points      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change is likely to abruptly push species over tipping points as their geographic ranges reach unforeseen temperatures, finds a new study.

Computer Science: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Mathematics: Modeling
Published

A better way to study ocean currents      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Computer scientists and oceanographers developed a machine-learning model that generates more accurate predictions about the velocities of ocean currents. The model could help make more precise weather forecasts or effectively predict how oil will spread after a spill.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: Modeling Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Curved spacetime in a quantum simulator      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The connection between quantum physics and the theory of relativity is extremely hard to study. But now, scientists have set up a model system, which can help: Quantum particles can be tuned in such a way that the results can be translated into information about other systems, which are much harder to observe. This kind of 'quantum simulator' works very well and can lead to new insights about the nature of relativity and quantum physics.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geology
Published

Physicists take the temperature of fluid flows and discover new role for turbulence      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of physicists has discovered a new role for a specific type of turbulence -- a finding that sheds light on fluid flows ranging from the Earth's liquid core to boiling water.

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

African smoke over the Amazon      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Up to two-thirds of the soot above the central Amazon rainforest originates in Africa. Researchers differentiate soot particles using their relative properties and attribute them to their respective points of origin. They found that bush fires and burning savannah in the north and south of Africa make a substantial contribution to air pollution in the central Amazon all year round, thereby playing an important role in the earth radiation budget and water cycle. This is caused by the efficient transatlantic transport of particles through the atmosphere.

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

About 13,000 years ago, the water outflow from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean was twice that of today’s      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

About 13,000 years ago, a climate crisis caused a global drop in temperatures in the northern hemisphere. This episode of intense cold, known as the Younger Dryas, also caused severe aridity across the Mediterranean basin, which had a major impact on terrestrial and marine ecosystems. But what do we know about the impact of this climate change on water circulation in the Mediterranean?

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

'Warm Ice Age' changed climate cycles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Approximately 700,000 years ago, a 'warm ice age' permanently changed the climate cycles on Earth. During this exceptionally warm and moist period, the polar glaciers greatly expanded. A research team identified this seemingly paradoxical connection. The shift in the Earth's climate represents a critical step in our planet's later climate development.

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

Out of this world control on Ice Age cycles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team, composed of climatologists and an astronomer, have used an improved computer model to reproduce the cycle of ice ages (glacial periods) 1.6 to 1.2 million years ago. The results show that the glacial cycle was driven primarily by astronomical forces in quite a different way than it works in the modern age. These results will help us to better understand the past, present, and future of ice sheets and the Earth's climate.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate
Published

Great Bas­in: His­tory of water sup­ply in one of the dri­est regions in the USA      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team has reconstructed the evolution of groundwater in the Great Basin, USA -- one of the driest regions on Earth -- up to 350,000 years into the past with unprecedented accuracy. The results shed new light on the effects of climate change on water supply and provide important insights for the sustainable use of groundwater resources.

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

Researcher uses artificial intelligence to discover new materials for advanced computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have identified novel van der Waals (vdW) magnets using cutting-edge tools in artificial intelligence (AI). In particular, the team identified transition metal halide vdW materials with large magnetic moments that are predicted to be chemically stable using semi-supervised learning. These two-dimensional (2D) vdW magnets have potential applications in data storage, spintronics, and even quantum computing.

Anthropology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Earth Science
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Scientists discover fire records embedded within sand dunes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows that sand dunes can serve as repositories of fire history and aid in expanding scientific understanding of fire regimes around the world.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Hammerhead sharks hold their breath on deep water hunts to stay warm      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scalloped hammerhead sharks hold their breath to keep their bodies warm during deep dives into cold water where they hunt prey such as deep sea squids. This discovery provides important new insights into the physiology and ecology of a species that serves as an important link between the deep and shallow water habitats.

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

Dark clouds on the horizon      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Our industrialized society releases many and various pollutants into the world. Combustion in particular produces aerosol mass including black carbon. Although this only accounts for a few percent of aerosol particles, black carbon is especially problematic due to its ability to absorb heat and impede the heat reflection capabilities of surfaces such as snow. So, it's essential to know how black carbon interacts with sunlight. Researchers have quantified the refractive index of black carbon to the most accurate degree yet which might impact climate models.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
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New study reveals boreal wetlands are a large source of reactive vapors in a warming climate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Boreal wetlands are a significant source of isoprene and terpenes, a class of highly reactive organic compounds that have a substantial impact on the Earth's climate, according to a new study.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology
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How life and geology worked together to forge Earth's nutrient rich crust      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Around 500 million years ago life in the oceans rapidly diversified. In the blink of an eye -- at least in geological terms -- life transformed from simple, soft-bodied creatures to complex multicellular organisms with shells and skeletons. Now, research has shown that the diversification of life at this time also led to a drastic change in the chemistry of Earth's crust -- the uppermost layer we walk on and, crucially, the layer which provides many of the nutrients essential to life.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Researchers discovered that various species share a similar mechanism of molecular response to nanoparticles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Living organisms are exposed to nanoparticles through different products and air pollution every day. After examining hundreds of exposures, researchers revealed how various species share a specific epigenetic molecular response to particulate matter. They have now explained the mechanism through which cells and organisms adapt to long-term exposures to nano-sized materials.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Earth's first animals had particular taste in real estate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Even without body parts that allowed for movement, new research shows -- for the first time -- that some of Earth's earliest animals managed to be picky about where they lived.