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Categories: Ecology: Research, Geoscience: Geology
Published Saturated soils could impact survival of young trees planted to address climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has looked into the potential effects of increased rainfall in regions being earmarked for expansion of temperate rainforests. Amid global calls for more trees to be planted as part of efforts to combat climate change, this study highlights the importance of factoring in soil conditions when looking at where and how to create the temperate rainforests of the future.
Published Heavy snowfall and rain may contribute to some earthquakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Episodes of heavy snowfall and rain likely contributed to a swarm of earthquakes over the past several years in northern Japan, researchers find. Their study shows climate conditions could initiate some earthquakes.
Published Rock steady: Study reveals new mechanism to explain how continents stabilized
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ancient, expansive tracts of continental crust called cratons have helped keep Earth's continents stable for billions of years, even as landmasses shift, mountains rise and oceans form. A new mechanism may explain how the cratons formed some 3 billion years ago, an enduring question in the study of Earth's history.
Published Limited adaptability makes freshwater bacteria vulnerable to climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Freshwater bacteria with small genomes frequently undergo prolonged periods of adaptive stagnation. Based on genomic analyses of samples from European lakes, researchers uncovered specific evolutionary strategies that shape these bacteria's lifestyles. Understanding the evolutionary dynamics of aquatic microbial communities is key to safeguarding ecosystem services.
Published Researchers show that slow-moving earthquakes are controlled by rock permeability
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research group explores how the makeup of rocks, specifically their permeability -- or how easily fluids can flow through them -- affects the frequency and intensity of slow slip events. Slow slips' role in the earthquake cycle may help lead to a better model to predict when earthquakes happen.
Published From fossils to fuel: Mozambique's Maniamba Basin's energy potential
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the ever-expanding search for energy resources, a new study has emerged from Mozambique's Maniamba Basin. Mozambique's Maniamba Basin could be a big source of natural gas.
Published Geologists, biologists unearth the atomic fingerprints of cancer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Earth scientists have long turned to minute differences in hydrogen atoms to explore the ancient history of our planet. A new study suggests that these same tiny atoms might also lead to new ways to track the growth of cancer.
Published Stony coral tissue loss disease is shifting the ecological balance of Caribbean reefs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study shows stony coral tissue loss disease is causing drastic changes in the Caribbean's population of corals, which is sure to disrupt the delicate balance of the ecosystem and threaten marine biodiversity and coastal economies.
Published Did a magnetic field collapse trigger the emergence of animals?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers uncovered compelling evidence that Earth's magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period -- 635 to 541 million years ago -- diversified and thrived. Their study raises the question of whether these fluctuations in Earth's ancient magnetic field led to shifts in oxygen levels that may have been crucial to the proliferation of life forms millions of years ago.
Published Human activity is causing toxic thallium to enter the Baltic sea, according to new study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Human activities account for 20% to more than 60% of toxic thallium entering the Baltic Sea over the past eight decades, according to new research. Currently, the amount of thallium, which is considered the most toxic metal for mammals, remains low in Baltic seawater. Much of the thallium in the Baltic, which is the largest human-induced hypoxic area on Earth, has been accumulated in the sediment thanks to sulfide minerals.
Published Rock solid evidence: Angola geology reveals prehistoric split between South America and Africa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team has found that ancient rocks and fossils from long-extinct marine reptiles in Angola clearly show a key part of Earth's past -- the splitting of South America and Africa and the subsequent formation of the South Atlantic Ocean.
Published Climate change could become the main driver of biodiversity decline by mid-century
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Global biodiversity has declined between 2% and 11% during the 20th century due to land-use change alone, according to a large multi-model study. Projections show climate change could become the main driver of biodiversity decline by the mid-21st century.
Published Deer are expanding north, and that's not good for caribou
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In the boreal forest of Western Canada, researchers have considered that both changing climate and increased habitat alteration have enabled deer to push farther north.
Published Unveiling the lionfish invasion in the Mediterranean Sea
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have published a comprehensive study on the invasion of lionfish in the Mediterranean Sea, highlighting a rapid spread and the potential ecological impacts. The research shows the lionfish species Pterois miles has significantly expanded its territory in the Mediterranean since the invasion began around ten years ago. The invasive species has established presence in the eastern Mediterranean, with observations now extending to colder waters previously thought to be unsuitable for the species.
Published Human activities have an intense impact on Earth's deep subsurface fluid flow
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Hydrologists predict human-induced underground fluid fluxes to rise with climate change mitigation strategies like carbon sequestration.
Published Diversity and productivity go branch-in-branch
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers found that forests with higher trait diversity not only adapt better to climate change but may also thrive. The study unveiled how tree functional trait diversity plays a pivotal role in mitigating climate warming. In the face of environmental stress, these diverse trees have been shown to maintain higher productivity levels, in contrast to monoculture forests.
Published Researchers find oldest undisputed evidence of Earth's magnetic field
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has recovered a 3.7-billion-year-old record of Earth's magnetic field, and found that it appears remarkably similar to the field surrounding Earth today.
Published Invasive species sound off about impending ecosystem changes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Anticipating changes to ecosystems is often at best an educated guess, but what if there was a way to better tune into possible changes occurring? Researchers have discovered that the silent growth of non-native invasive plants can affect the soundscape of an ecosystem. These altered soundscapes, the acoustic patterns of a landscape through space and time, may provide a key to better observing the hard-to-see physical and biological changes occurring in an ecosystem as they are beginning.
Published Lemur's lament: When one vulnerable species stalks another
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source What can be done when one threatened animal kills another? Scientists studying critically endangered lemurs in Madagascar confronted this difficult reality when they witnessed attacks on lemurs by another vulnerable species, a carnivore called a fosa.
Published The Italian central Apennines as a source of CO2
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tectonically active mountains play an important role in the natural CO2 regulation of the atmosphere. Competing processes take place here: At Earth's surface, erosion drives weathering processes that absorb or release CO2, depending on the type of rock. At depth, the heating and melting of carbonate rock leads to the outgassing of CO2 at the surface. In the central Italian Apennine Mountains, researchers have now investigated and balanced all of these processes in one region for the first time -- using, among others, analyses of the CO2 content in mountain rivers and springs.