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Categories: Geoscience: Geography, Space: Cosmology
Published The role of jellies as a food source in the Arctic winter
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Arctic is changing rapidly due to climate change. It is not only affected by increasing surface temperatures, but also by warm water from the Atlantic, which is flowing in more and more -- changing the structures and functions of the ecosystem as it also leads to species from warmer regions, such as sea jellies (also known as jellyfish) arriving in the Arctic. Using DNA metabarcoding, researchers have now been able to demonstrate that these jellyfish serve as food for amphipods on Svalbard during the polar night and thus play a greater role in Arctic food webs than previously assumed.
Published Cold-water coral traps itself on mountains in the deep sea
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Corals searching for food in the cold and dark waters of the deep sea are building higher and higher mountains to get closer to the source of their food. But in doing so, they may find themselves trapped when the climate changes.
Published Is the Amazon forest approaching a tipping point?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Global warming may be interacting with regional rainfall and deforestation to accelerate forest loss in the Amazon, pushing it towards partial or total collapse. New research has identified the potential thresholds of these stressors, showing where their combined effects could produce a 'tipping point' -- in which the forest is so fragile that just a small disturbance could cause an abrupt shift in the state of the ecosystem.
Published Frequent marine heatwaves in the Arctic Ocean will be the norm
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Marine heatwaves will become a regular occurrence in the Arctic in the near future and are a product of higher anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions -- as shown in a new study.
Published Greenland's ice sheet is melting -- and being replaced by vegetation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An estimated 11,000 sq miles or 28,707 sq kilometers of Greenland's ice sheet and glaciers have melted over the last three decades, according to a major analysis of historic satellite records.
Published Satellites unveil the size and nature of the world's coral reefs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has shown there is more coral reef area across the globe than previously thought, with detailed satellite mapping helping to conserve these vital ecosystems.
Published Researchers studying ocean transform faults, describe a previously unknown part of the geological carbon cycle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source This study reports widespread mineral carbonation of mantle rocks in an oceanic transform fueled by magmatic degassing of CO2. The findings describe a previously unknown part of the geological carbon cycle in transform faults that represent one of the three principal plate boundaries on Earth. The confluence of tectonically exhumed mantle rocks and CO2-rich alkaline basalt formed through limited extents of melting characteristic of the St. Paul's transform faults may be a pervasive feature at oceanic transform faults in general. Because transform faults have not been accounted for in previous estimates of global geological CO2 fluxes, the mass transfer of magmatic CO2 to the altered oceanic mantle and seawater may be larger than previously thought.
Published Global deforestation leads to more mercury pollution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers find deforestation accounts for about 10 percent of global human-made mercury emissions. While it cannot be the only solution, they suggest reforestation could increase global mercury uptake by about 5 percent.
Published When the global climate has the hiccups
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Climate changes usually happens over long periods of time, but during the last glacial period, extreme fluctuations in temperature occurred within just a few years. Researchers have now been able to prove the phenomenon also occurred during the penultimate glacial period.
Published Alien invasion: Non-native earthworms threaten ecosystems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Analysis reveals imported earthworm species have colonized large swaths of North America, and represent a largely overlooked threat to native ecosystems. The researchers warn of the need to better understand and manage the invaders in our midst.
Published Industrial pollution leaves its mark in Mediterranean corals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For the first time, pollutants from burning fossil fuels have been found embedded in corals, offering scientists a potential new tool to track the history of pollution, finds a new study.
Published Foul fumes pose pollinator problems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered that nighttime air pollution -- coming primarily form car exhaust and power plant emissions -- is responsible for a major drop in nighttime pollinator activity. Nitrate radicals (NO3) in the air degrade the scent chemicals released by a common wildflower, drastically reducing the scent-based cues that its chief pollinators rely on to locate the flower. The findings show how nighttime pollution creates a chain of chemical reactions that degrades scent cues, leaving flowers undetectable by smell. The researchers also determined that pollution likely has worldwide impacts on pollination.
Published Ice cores provide first documentation of rapid Antarctic ice loss in the past
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have uncovered the first direct evidence that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet shrunk suddenly and dramatically at the end of the Last Ice Age, around eight thousand years ago. The evidence, contained within an ice core, shows that in one location the ice sheet thinned by 450 meters -- that's more than the height of the Empire State Building -- in just under 200 years.
Published Ancient rocks improve understanding of tectonic activity between earthquakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Rocks once buried deep in ancient subduction zones -- where tectonic plates collide -- could help scientists make better predictions of how these zones behave during the years between major earthquakes, according to a research team.
Published What turned Earth into a giant snowball 700 million years ago? Scientists now have an answer
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Inspired during field work in South Australia's Flinders Ranges, geoscientists have proposed that all-time low volcanic carbon dioxide emissions triggered a 57-million-year-long global 'Sturtian' ice age.
Published Replacing animal-based foods with alternative proteins would unlock land for carbon removal
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report that replacing 50% of animal products with alternative proteins by 2050 could free up enough agricultural land to generate renewable energy equivalent in volume to today's coal-generated power while simultaneously removing substantial CO2 from the atmosphere.
Published Green doesn't always mean clean: Cleaning products urgently need better regulation, researchers warn
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers say there needs to be better regulation and more guidance for consumers about how safe cleaning products really are.
Published How kelp forests persisted through the large 2014-2016 Pacific marine heatwave
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research reveals that denser, and more sheltered, kelp forests can withstand serious stressors amid warming ocean temperatures.
Published A long, long time ago in a galaxy not so far away
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Employing massive data sets collected through NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers are unearthing clues to conditions existing in the early universe. The team has catalogued the ages of stars in the Wolf--Lundmark--Melotte (WLM) galaxy, constructing the most detailed picture of it yet, according to the researchers. WLM, a neighbor of the Milky Way, is an active center of star formation that includes ancient stars formed 13 billion years ago.
Published New study points to more climate extremes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has found similarities between long-term climatic changes in South Australia and temperate agricultural areas in Argentina -- highlighting similarities across these Southern Hemisphere countries. As temperature records tumble, and the threat of bushfires and dry conditions looms large, researchers renew the urgency of calls to make more concerted efforts to prepare for climate extremes in South Australia.