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Categories: Ecology: Animals, Environmental: Water
Published Land under water: What causes extreme flooding?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source If rivers overflow their banks, the consequences can be devastating -- just like the catastrophic floods in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate of 2021 showed. In order to limit flood damage and optimize flood risk assessment, we need to better understand what factors can lead to extreme forms of flooding and to what extent. Using methods of explainable machine learning, researchers have shown that floods are more extreme when several factors are involved in their development.
Published A solar cell you can bend and soak in water
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed an organic photovoltaic film that is both waterproof and flexible, allowing a solar cell to be put onto clothes and still function correctly after being rained on or even washed.
Published Combination of the climate crisis and continued deforestation may result in significant damage to the animal world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study states that the combination of global warming and extreme heat events, alongside the continued expansion of deforestation in the world, may be devastating for many species of animals, especially those that know how to climb trees. As part of the study, the researchers focused on lizards and showed that following the effects of climate change, they will seek refuge from the hot ground by spending a lot of time on trees. However, due to human-related activities, such as deforestation, urbanization and the expansion of agricultural lands at the expense of natural lands, the availability of trees in the areas where the lizards live will decrease, and this may lead to the collapse of many populations.
Published What if the heavy rain would have fallen 50 kilometers away?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Floods affect more people worldwide than any other natural hazard, causing enormous damage that is expected to increase in a warming world. However, people and decision-makers in vulnerable regions are often unwilling to prepare for exceptionally severe events because they are difficult to imagine and beyond their experience.
Published Biologists uncover new species of tiger beetle: Eunota houstoniana
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Evolutionary biologists have unearthed a new species of tiger beetle, deemed Eunota houstoniana, honoring the Houston region where it predominantly resides.
Published Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica's ice sheets. An international research team has now used sediments taken from the South Pacific to reconstruct the flow speed in the last 5.3 million years. Their data show that during glacial periods, the current slowed; during interglacials, it accelerated. Consequently, if the current global warming intensifies in the future, it could mean that the Southern Ocean stores less CO2 and that more heat reaches Antarctica.
Published Researchers find energy development and tree encroachment impact Wyoming pronghorn
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source While Wyoming is home to some of North America's most abundant populations of pronghorn that have largely been stable in recent years, a new analysis shows that many herds are experiencing long-term declines in fawn production.
Published In paleontology, correct names are keys to accurate study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When the skeletal remains of a giant ground sloth were first unearthed in 1796, the discovery marked one of the earliest paleontological finds in American history.
Published New roadmap to prevent pandemics centers on protecting biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of 25 scientists has proposed a roadmap for how to prevent the next pandemic by conserving natural areas and promoting biodiversity, thereby providing animals with enough food, safe havens and distance to limit contact and the transfer of pathogens to humans.
Published Climate change will see Australia's soil emit CO2 and add to global warming
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has shown the warming climate will turn Australia's soil into a net emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2), unless action is taken. Soil helps to keep the planet cool by absorbing carbon, however as the climate gets warmer its ability to retain carbon decreases -- and in some instances can start to release some carbon back into the air. A global research team has predicted the changes in the amount of carbon in Australia's soil between now and the year 2100.
Published Two coral snakes recorded battling for prey in a scientific first
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Two red-tailed coral snakes have been observed competing over a caecilian in the first documented wild case of kleptoparasitism within the family Elapidae.
Published Research lights up process for turning CO2 into sustainable fuel
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have successfully transformed CO2 into methanol by shining sunlight on single atoms of copper deposited on a light-activated material, a discovery that paves the way for creating new green fuels.
Published Global study of coastal seas as carbon dioxide reservoirs
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Coastal seas form a complex transition zone between the two largest CO2 sinks in the global carbon cycle: land and ocean. Ocean researchers have now succeeded for the first time in investigating the role of the coastal ocean in a seamless model representation.
Published Citizen scientists contribute vital information about 35 seahorse species
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Thanks to diligent observers, seahorses, those enigmatic and charismatic fish, are not only being discovered in new habitats and expanded geographic ranges, they are also being found at new ocean depths. While their capacity for male pregnancy has long fascinated people, new information on sex ratio and pregnancy seasonality has been discovered.
Published Small changes can yield big savings in agricultural water use
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source While Hollywood and Silicon Valley love the limelight, California is an agricultural powerhouse, too. Agricultural products sold in the Golden State totaled $59 billion in 2022. But rising temperatures, declining precipitation and decades of over pumping may require drastic changes to farming. Legislation to address the problem could even see fields taken out of cultivation.
Published Humans pass more viruses to other animals than we catch from them
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Humans pass on more viruses to domestic and wild animals than we catch from them, according to a major new analysis of viral genomes.
Published Better phosphorus use can ensure its stocks last more than 500 years and boost global food production
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source More efficient use of phosphorus could see limited stocks of the important fertilizer last more than 500 years and boost global food production to feed growing populations. But these benefits will only happen if countries are less wasteful with how they use phosphorus, a study shows. Around 30-40 per cent of farm soils have over-applications of phosphorus, with European and North American countries over-applying the most.
Published Wild bird gestures 'after you'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A small-bird species, the Japanese tit (Parus minor), uses wing movements as a gesture to convey the message 'after you,' according to new research. When a mating pair arrives at their nest box with food, they will wait outside on perches. One will then often flutter its wings toward the other, apparently indicating for the latter to enter first. The researchers say that this discovery challenges the previous belief that gestural communication is prominent only in humans and great apes, significantly advancing our understanding of visual communication in birds.
Published Major environmental benefits recycling gold with biodiesel
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed an environmentally friendly method for recycling and purifying metals. Using gold earrings from a pawnshop in Gothenburg and biodiesel from the nearest filling station, the discovery could change an industry that is currently dependent on large amounts of fossil oil.
Published Enormous ice loss from Greenland glacier
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ground-based measuring devices and aircraft radar operated in the far northeast of Greenland show how much ice the 79 N-Glacier is losing. According to recent measurements, the thickness of the glacier has decreased by more than 160 meters since 1998. Warm ocean water flowing under the glacier tongue is melting the ice from below. High air temperatures cause lakes to form on the surface, whose water flows through huge channels in the ice into the ocean. One channel reached a height of 500 meters, while the ice above was only 190 meters thick.