Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

New study sheds light on how much methane is produced from Arctic lakes and wetlands      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New study looked at lakes in the Arctic, including those at Alaska's Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, to shed light on how much methane is produced from Arctic lakes and wetlands. Small unmapped lakes in the Arctic are far less abundant than previously thought, greatly reducing the cumulative methane emissions they were thought to contribute to Earth's atmosphere.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Eco-friendly technologies for plastic production and biodegradation?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new article covering an overview and trends of plastic production and degradation technology using microorganisms has been published. Eco-friendly and sustainable plastic production and degradation technology using microorganisms as a core technology to achieve a plastic circular economy was presented.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology
Published

New geophysical technique enhances imaging of fluid-filled rocks finding connections with microearthquakes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have recently introduced a new method called ambient noise differential adjoint tomography, which allows researchers to visualise rocks with fluids better, leading to potential advancements in the discovery of water and oil resources, as well as applications in urban geologic hazard and early warning systems for tsunamis and the understanding of the water cycle.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Polyethylene waste could be a thing of the past      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Experts have developed a way of using polyethylene waste (PE) as a feedstock and converted it into valuable chemicals, via light-driven photocatalysis. PE is the most widely used plastic in the world including for daily food packaging, shopping bags and reagent bottles, and the researchers say that while recycling of PE is still in early development, it could be an untapped resource for re-use.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

When is an aurora not an aurora?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While auroras occur at high latitude, the associated phenomena Steve and the picket fence occur farther south and at lower altitude. Their emissions also differ from aurora. A physics graduate student has proposed a physical mechanism behind these emissions, and a rocket launch to test the theory. She argues that an electric field in the upper atmosphere parallel to Earth's magnetic field could explain the green picket fence spectrum and perhaps Steve and the enhanced aurora.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Adapting to hypoxia: Zooplankton influence the efficiency of the biological carbon pump in the Humboldt Current off Peru      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Marine organisms play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. Phytoplankton absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequester it in organic matter that sinks to the deep ocean where it can be stored for long periods of time. Until now, this process -- the biological carbon pump -- was thought to be particularly efficient in oxygen-poor areas. A new study suggests that the influence of certain zooplankton species on the biological carbon pump has been underestimated.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Molecular fossils shed light on ancient life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Paleontologists are getting a glimpse at life over a billion years in the past based on chemical traces in ancient rocks and the genetics of living animals. New research combines geology and genetics, showing how changes in the early Earth prompted a shift in how animals eat.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Three proposals from researchers to meet EU climate goals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The ability to meet EU climate goals is enhanced by investing in new technologies that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Although it is currently unprofitable for both companies and countries to do so, there are solutions to make it financially viable.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General
Published

Urbanization increases seasonal differences in plant-pollinator networks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Increasing urbanization worldwide is a growing threat to biodiversity. At the same time, flowering plants are often more diverse in cities than in the countryside. This is due to flowering plants and agricultural crops, which are increasingly being grown in cities. A recent study shows that the interactions between plants and pollinators, which are important for agricultural production, are surprisingly dynamic. For example, the plant and bee species involved in pollination vary greatly between the seasons.

Biology: Botany Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

It turns out, this fossil 'plant' is really a fossil baby turtle      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers re-examined a plant fossil found decades ago in Colombia and realized that it wasn't a plant at all: it's a fossilized baby turtle. It's a rare find, because juvenile turtles' shells are soft and often don't fossilize well.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Geoscientists map changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide over past 66 million years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international consortium of geoscientists has reconstructed atmosphereric levels of carbon dioxide going back 66 million years using proxies in the geoloogical record. Today's concenteration, 420 parts per million, is higher than it's ever been in 14 million years.

Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

The ocean may be storing more carbon than estimated in earlier studies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The ocean's capacity to store atmospheric carbon dioxide is some 20% greater than the estimates contained in the latest IPCC report. Scientists looked at the role played by plankton in the natural transport of carbon from surface waters down to the seabed. Plankton gobble up carbon dioxide and, as they grow, convert it into organic tissue via photosynthesis.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Plant nurseries are exacerbating the climate-driven spread of 80% of invasive species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have provided detailed maps of how 144 common invasive plants species will react to 2° Celsius of climate change in the eastern U.S., as well as the role that garden centers currently play in seeding future invasions.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Using AI to find microplastics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An interdisciplinary research team is using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify microplastics faster and more accurately than ever before.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Molecular Ecology: Endangered Species
Published

Sugar permeation discovered in plant aquaporins      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Aquaporins, which move water through membranes of plant cells, were not thought to be able to permeate sugar molecules, but researchers have observed sucrose transport in plant aquaporins for the first time, challenging this theory.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Wildfires have erased two decades' worth of air quality gains in western United States      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study concludes that wildfires originating in the western United States and Canada have erased air quality gains over the past two decades and caused an increase of premature deaths in fire-prone areas and downwind regions, primarily in the western U.S.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Fossil CO2 emissions at record high in 2023      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have risen again in 2023 -- reaching record levels, according to new research.

Chemistry: General Engineering: Graphene Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Recycling concrete using carbon can reduce emissions and waste      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Amid the rubble of large-sale earthquake, war or other disaster -- and as ageing buildings and infrastructure are replaced -- mountains of concrete are often taken to landfill or pounded into rubble for roads. For a more sustainable approach, experts are developing a 'value add' for old broken concrete to 'upcycling' coarse aggregate to produce a strong, durable and workable concrete using a small amount of a secret ingredient -- graphene.