Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Self-heating concrete is one step closer to putting snow shovels and salt out of business      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers recently reported on the science behind its special concrete, that can warm itself up when it snows, or as temperatures approach freezing.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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Virtual reality better than video for evoking fear, spurring climate action      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Depicting worst-case climate scenarios like expanding deserts and dying coral reefs may better motivate people to support environmental policies when delivered via virtual reality, according to a research team that studied how VR and message framing affect the impact of environmental advocacy communications. The study findings may help advocacy groups decide how best to frame and deliver their messages.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Oregon State researchers take deep dive into how much water is stored in snow      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

There's a new metric that provides a more holistic look at how much water is stored in snowpack, and for how long.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Energy: Fossil Fuels Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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The atlas of unburnable oil in the world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In order to limit the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 C, it is essential to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. This would mean not exploiting most of the existing coal, conventional gas and oil energy resources in regions around the world, according to new research. The study presents the atlas of unburnable oil in the world, a world map designed with environmental and social criteria that warns which oil resources should not be exploited to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Diverse habitats help salmon weather unpredictable climate changes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Restored salmon habitat should resemble financial portfolios, offering fish diverse options for feeding and survival so that they can weather various conditions as the climate changes, a new study shows.

Computer Science: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Information overload is a personal and societal danger      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

We are all aware of the dangers of pollution to our air, water, and earth. In a recently published letter, scientists are advocating for the recognition and mitigation of another type of environmental pollution that poses equivalent personal and societal dangers: information overload.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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Researchers can reveal illegal timber exports      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new method of timber analysis can confidently identify the location in which the tree was harvested. The method has been developed with the aim of combating illegal timber imports from Russia and Belarus.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Landslides Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
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Surprising insights about debris flows on Mars      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The period that liquid water was present on the surface of Mars may have been shorter than previously thought. Channel landforms called gullies, previously thought to be formed exclusively by liquid water, can also be formed by the action of evaporating CO2 ice, according to a new study.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Tropical birds could tolerate warming better than expected, study suggests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

We expect tropical animals to handle a certain degree of heat, but not wild swings in temperature. That seems to be true for tropical ectotherms, or 'cold-blooded' animals such as amphibians, reptiles, and insects. However, in a new study of 'warm-blooded' endotherms, a research team found tropical birds can handle thermal variation just fine.

Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life
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Rope entanglement cause of low breeding rates in right whales, analysis finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New findings show the severe impact of fishing gear entanglements on the survival of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, with every injury from entanglements impacting population recovery.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Drought, soil desiccation cracking, and carbon dioxide emissions: an overlooked feedback loop exacerbating climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Soil stores 80 percent of carbon on earth, yet with increasing cycles of drought, that crucial reservoir is cracking and breaking down, releasing even more greenhouse gases creating an amplified feedback loop that could accelerate climate change.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Multiple air pollutants linked to asthma symptoms in children      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Exposure to several combinations of toxic atmospheric pollutants may be triggering asthma symptoms among children, a recent analysis suggests. The study showed that 25 different combinations of air pollutants were associated with asthma symptoms among 269 elementary school children diagnosed with asthma.

Chemistry: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Sustainable plastics from agricultural waste      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed a sustainable method to make high-performance plastics from agricultural leftovers, turning them into valuable materials.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Federal housing programs protect residents from lead exposure      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Americans already living in housing supported by federal housing assistance programs have significantly lower blood lead levels than counterparts who would later join these programs, according to new research.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Curbing coal-burning emissions translates to health gains for children      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research finds a nearly 40% decline in the annual average concentration of respirable particulate matter (PM2.5) in Krakow, Poland, between 2010 and 2019 following the implementation of clean air policies. Air quality improvements translated to substantial benefits for children's outcomes, including fewer cases of asthma and better birth outcomes.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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High resolution imagery advances the ability to monitor decadal changes in emperor penguin populations      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Emperor penguin populations have been exceedingly difficult to monitor because of their remote locations, and because individuals form breeding colonies on seasonal sea ice fastened to land (known as fast ice) during the dark and cold Antarctic winter. New research that incorporates very high-resolution satellite imagery with field-based validation surveys and long-term data has provided the first multi-year time series that documents emperor penguin global population trends.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Sonic youth: Healthy reef sounds increase coral settlement      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Healthy coral reefs have rich soundscapes, full of the croaks, purrs, and grunts of various fishes and the crackling of snapping shrimp. Larval coral uses these sounds as cues to identify the best places to settle and grow. The authors found that sound could potentially be a vital tool in the effort to restore coral reefs. Broadcasting the sounds of a healthy reef to a reef that is degraded encourages coral larvae to settle there. This indicates that it's possible that 'acoustic enrichment' can be a key intervention to support imperiled reefs.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Thermodynamics Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Molecular simulations of ammonia mixtures support search for renewable fuels      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ammonia is an important molecule with many applications. The end product of the famed Haber-Bosch process, it is commonly synthesized to capture nitrogen for fertilizers, and is used for refrigeration, in cleaning products, and in the production of pharmaceuticals. Recently, this modest molecule has also attracted interest as a potential resource for addressing one of today's most pressing challenges -- the need for reliable and abundant renewable fuels.