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Categories: Ecology: Invasive Species, Geoscience: Geology
Published Extinct offshore volcano could store gigatons of carbon dioxide
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study concludes that an extinct volcano off the shore of Portugal could store as much as 1.2-8.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of ~24-125 years of the country's industrial emissions. For context, in 2022 a total of 42.6 megatons (0.0426 gigatons) of carbon dioxide was removed from the atmosphere by international carbon capture and storage efforts, according to the Global CCS Institute. The new study suggests that carbon capture and storage in offshore underwater volcanoes could be a promising new direction for removal and storage of much larger volumes of the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.
Published Prescribed burns encourage foul-smelling invaders
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Though prescribed burns reduce wildfire threats and even improve habitat for some animals, new research shows these fires also spread stinknet, an aptly named weed currently invading superblooms across the Southwestern U.S.
Published How a drought affects trees depends on what's been holding them back
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Droughts can be good for trees. Certain trees, that is. Contrary to expectation, sometimes a record-breaking drought can increase tree growth. Why and where this happens is the subject of a new article.
Published Identifying the bee's knees of bumble bee diets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has identified the bee's knees of bumble bee dietary options in Ohio and the Upper Midwest. By viewing almost 23,000 bumble bee-flower interactions over two years, researchers found that these bees don't always settle for the most abundant flowers in their foraging area -- suggesting they have more discerning dietary preferences than one might expect.
Published Eruption of Tonga underwater volcano found to disrupt satellite signals halfway around the world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers found that the Hunga-Tonga eruption was associated with the formation of an equatorial plasma bubble in the ionosphere, a phenomenon associated with disruption of satellite-based communications. Their findings also suggest that a long-held atmospheric model should be revised.
Published Past climate change to blame for Antarctica's giant underwater landslides
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists found weak, biologically-rich layers of sediments hundreds of meters beneath the seafloor which crumbled as oceans warmed and ice sheets declined. The landslides were discovered in the eastern Ross Sea in 2017, by an international team of scientists during the Italian ODYSSEA expedition, and scientists revisited the area in 2018 as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 374 where they collected sediment cores to understand what caused them.
Published Is it an ant? Is it a plant? No, it's a spider!
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A species of tiny, colorful jumping spider employs two lines of defense to avoid being eaten: camouflaging with plants and walking like an ant. Researchers report that this combination of camouflage and movement mimicry helps the spiders evade spider-eating spiders but does not deter hungry praying mantises.
Published Physicists take the temperature of fluid flows and discover new role for turbulence
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of physicists has discovered a new role for a specific type of turbulence -- a finding that sheds light on fluid flows ranging from the Earth's liquid core to boiling water.
Published Rare tropical plant gains appetite for meat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Under certain circumstances, a rare tropical plant develops into a carnivore. A research team has now deciphered the mechanism responsible for this.
Published 'Warm Ice Age' changed climate cycles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Approximately 700,000 years ago, a 'warm ice age' permanently changed the climate cycles on Earth. During this exceptionally warm and moist period, the polar glaciers greatly expanded. A research team identified this seemingly paradoxical connection. The shift in the Earth's climate represents a critical step in our planet's later climate development.
Published Joro spiders aren't scary: They're shy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Despite their intimidating appearance, the giant yellow and blue-black spiders spreading across the Southeastern U.S. owe their survival to a surprising trait: They're rather timid. The Joro spider may be the shyest spider ever documented.
Published Out of this world control on Ice Age cycles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team, composed of climatologists and an astronomer, have used an improved computer model to reproduce the cycle of ice ages (glacial periods) 1.6 to 1.2 million years ago. The results show that the glacial cycle was driven primarily by astronomical forces in quite a different way than it works in the modern age. These results will help us to better understand the past, present, and future of ice sheets and the Earth's climate.
Published We now know exactly what happens in nature when we fell forests
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Deforestation is the biggest threat to the planet's ecosystems, and new research has now mapped out exactly what happens when agriculture replaces forestry.
Published Great Basin: History of water supply in one of the driest regions in the USA
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team has reconstructed the evolution of groundwater in the Great Basin, USA -- one of the driest regions on Earth -- up to 350,000 years into the past with unprecedented accuracy. The results shed new light on the effects of climate change on water supply and provide important insights for the sustainable use of groundwater resources.
Published Invading insect could transform Antarctic soils
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A tiny flightless midge which has colonized Antarctica's Signy Island is driving fundamental changes to the island's soil ecosystem, a study shows.
Published How life and geology worked together to forge Earth's nutrient rich crust
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Around 500 million years ago life in the oceans rapidly diversified. In the blink of an eye -- at least in geological terms -- life transformed from simple, soft-bodied creatures to complex multicellular organisms with shells and skeletons. Now, research has shown that the diversification of life at this time also led to a drastic change in the chemistry of Earth's crust -- the uppermost layer we walk on and, crucially, the layer which provides many of the nutrients essential to life.
Published Water warming study shows unexpected impact on fish size
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The theory that water-breathing animals such as fish will shrink due to global warming has been called into question by a new study.
Published Beetles and their biodiversity in dead wood
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Which energy type promotes the biodiversity of beetles living in dead wood in the forest? That depends entirely on where the beetles are in the food chain.
Published New clues about the rise of Earth's continents
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research deepens the understanding of Earth's crust by testing and ultimately eliminating one popular hypothesis about why continental crust is lower in iron and more oxidized compared to oceanic crust. The iron-poor composition of continental crust is a major reason why vast portions of the Earth's surface stand above sea level as dry land, making terrestrial life possible today. The study uses laboratory experiments to show that the iron-depleted, oxidized chemistry typical of Earth's continental crust likely did not come from crystallization of the mineral garnet, as a popular explanation proposed in 2018.
Published Vanishing glaciers threaten alpine biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source With glaciers melting at unprecedented rates due to climate change, invertebrates that live in the cold meltwater rivers of the European Alps will face widespread habitat loss, warn researchers. Many of the species are likely to become restricted to cold habitats that will only persist higher in the mountains, and these areas are also likely to see pressures from the skiing and tourism industries or from the development of hydroelectric plants.