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Categories: Ecology: Research, Geoscience: Geography
Published Deciphering the intensity of past ocean currents



Ocean currents determine the structure of the deep-sea ocean floor and the transport of sediments, organic carbon, nutrients and pollutants. In flume-tank experiments, researchers have simulated how currents shape the seafloor and control sediment deposition. This will help in reconstructions of past marine conditions.
Published Climate change brings earlier arrival of intense hurricanes



New research has revealed that since the 1980s, Category 4 and 5 hurricanes (maximum wind speed greater than 131 miles per hour) have been arriving three to four days earlier with each passing decade of climate change.
Published Bewick's swans choose wintering areas based on the weather



Bewick’s swans fly less far during their autumn migration when the weather is warm. Climate change has therefore led to a shift in their common wintering areas. Now, for the first time, bird researchers have been able to use long-term GPS data to pinpoint the specific choices that individual swans make.
Published Climate intervention technologies may create winners and losers in world food supply



A technology being studied to curb climate change – one that could be put in place in one or two decades if work on the technology began now – would affect food productivity in parts of planet Earth in dramatically different ways, benefiting some areas, and adversely affecting others, according to new projections.
Published Study identifies jet-stream pattern that locks in extreme winter cold, wet spells



Winter is coming—eventually. And while the earth is warming, a new study suggests that the atmosphere is being pushed around in ways that cause long bouts of extreme winter cold or wet in some regions. The study’s authors say they have identified giant meanders in the global jet stream that bring polar air southward, locking in frigid or wet conditions concurrently over much of North America and Europe, often for weeks at a time. Such weather waves, they say, have doubled in frequency since the 1960s. In just the last few years, they have killed hundreds of people and paralyzed energy and transport systems.
Published Early human migrants followed lush corridor-route out of Africa



Scientists have found early human migrants left Africa for Eurasia, across the Sinai peninsula and on through Jordan, over 80-thousand years ago. Researchers have proved there was a 'well-watered corridor' which funneled hunter-gatherers through The Levant towards western Asia and northern Arabia via Jordan.
Published Ancient carbon in rocks releases as much carbon dioxide as the world's volcanoes



New research has overturned the traditional view that natural rock weathering acts as a carbon sink that removes CO2 from the atmosphere. Instead, this can also act as a large CO2 source, rivaling that of volcanoes.
Published Invertebrate biodiversity is improving in England's rivers, long-term trends show



Rivers across England have seen a significant improvement in river invertebrate biodiversity since 1989, shows a new study.
Published Birders and AI push bird conservation to the next level



Big data and artificial intelligence (AI) are being used to model hidden patterns in nature, not just for one bird species, but for entire ecological communities across continents. And the models follow each species’ full annual life cycle, from breeding to fall migration to non-breeding grounds, and back north again during spring migration.
Published Discovery of massive undersea water reservoir could explain New Zealand's mysterious slow earthquakes



Researchers working to image New Zealand's Hikurangi earthquake fault have uncovered a sea's worth of water buried in the Earth's crust. The water was carried down by eroding volcanic rocks and is believed to be dampening the earthquake fault, allowing it to release most of the pent-up tectonic stress through harmless slow slip earthquakes.
Published Carbon-capture tree plantations threaten tropical biodiversity for little gain, ecologists say



The increasingly urgent climate crisis has led to a boom in commercial tree plantations in an attempt to offset excess carbon emissions. However, authors argue that these carbon-offset plantations might come with costs for biodiversity and other ecosystem functions. Instead, the authors say we should prioritize conserving and restoring intact ecosystems.
Published Improved mangrove conservation could yield cash, carbon, coastal benefits



A shift in the way we think about the benefits mangroves provide to coastal regions could yield significant economic and biodiversity gains and protect millions from flooding, research has revealed.
Published Viruses dynamic and changing after dry soils are watered



Viruses in soil may not be as destructive to bacteria as once thought and could instead act like lawnmowers, culling older cells and giving space for new growth, according to research.
Published Study on mysterious Amazon porcupine can help its protection



A recent study sheds new light on the elusive Roosmalens' dwarf porcupine, a poorly understood neotropical species. After 22 years of relative obscurity, this research uncovers vital information about its distribution, phylogenetics, and potential conservation threats, not only revealing its endemic presence in the Madeira biogeographical province but also expanding its known range in the southern Amazon.
Published Sustainable protection of rapidly subsiding coastlines with mangroves



Along the Asian coast lines there are many areas where rural communities experience alarming rates of sea level rises due to land subsidence up to 10 cm per year. This causes tremendous challenges on how to live there and protect these coasts. Scientists have now investigated the potential and limitation of mangrove restoration as a cost-effective and sustainable solution for coastal protection in rapidly subsiding areas.
Published Ancient plant wax reveals how global warming affects methane in Arctic lakes



In a new study, researchers examined the waxy coatings of leaves preserved as organic molecules within sediment from the early-to-middle Holocene, a period of intense warming that occurred due to slow changes in Earth's orbit 11,700 to 4,200 years ago. They found that warming potentially could lead to a previously under-appreciated flux in methane emissions from lakes.
Published Polyps as pixels: Innovative technique maps biochemistry of coral reefs



Using an innovative new approach to sampling corals, researchers are now able to create maps of coral biochemistry that reveal with unprecedented detail the distribution of compounds that are integral to the healthy functioning of reefs.
Published A turtle time capsule: DNA found in ancient shell



Paleontologists discover possible DNA remains in fossil turtle that lived 6 million years ago in Panama, where continents collide.
Published Plastic cloud: New study analyzes airborne microplastics in clouds



Plastic waste that accumulates on land eventually ends up in the ocean as microplastics. However, it is now speculated that microplastics are also present in the atmosphere, contained in clouds. In a new study, researchers analyzed cloud water samples from high-altitude mountains in Japan to ascertain the amount of microplastics in them. They also shed light on how these airborne particles influence cloud formation and their negative impact on the climate.
Published Atlantic walrus more vulnerable than ever to Arctic warming



Past cycles of climate change, along with human exploitation, have led to only small and isolated stocks of Atlantic walrus remaining. The current population is at high risk of the same issues affecting them severely, according to a new study.