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Categories: Biology: Zoology, Geoscience: Earth Science
Published Eruption of Tonga underwater volcano found to disrupt satellite signals halfway around the world



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 Earlier snowpack melt in Western US could bring summer water scarcity



Mountain snowpack, typically seen as the water tower of the Western United States and Canada, is in decline, according to a new study. Researchers created the Snow Storage Index to assess snow water storage from 1950-2013 and found that storage has significantly declined in more than 25% of the Mountain West, in part because more snow is melting during winter and spring.
Published Microorganisms' climate adaptation can slow down global warming



A new study shows that the ability of microorganisms to adapt to climate warming will slow down global warming by storing carbon in soil.
Published Earliest evidence of wine consumption in the Americas found in Caribbean



Scientists have found what they believe to be the earliest known evidence of wine drinking in the Americas, inside ceramic artefacts recovered from a small Caribbean island.
Published Limiting global warming to 1.5°C would save billions from dangerously hot climate



Current climate policies will leave more than a fifth of humanity exposed to dangerously hot temperatures by 2100, new research suggests.
Published Ancient climate change solves mystery of vanished South African lakes



New evidence for the presence of ancient lakes in some of the most arid regions of South Africa suggests that Stone Age humans may have been more widespread across the continent than previously thought.
Published Perfection: The Enemy of Evolution



Evolution is a sequence of design changes happening on their own in a discernible direction; it never weds itself to a single point on a drawing board. An evolving system or animal is free to simply go with what works. Not so much that its performance suffers greatly, but enough that it opens access to other options near the so-called optimal design. With scientists often looking to nature for clues to solve challenges, they should also free to miss the optimal mark and open a wider design space over time.
Published Half of world's largest lakes losing water



Fifty-three percent of the world's largest freshwater lakes are in decline, storing less water than they did three decades ago, according to a new study. The study analyzed satellite observations dating back decades to measure changes in water levels in nearly 2,000 of the world's biggest lakes and reservoirs. It found that climate change, human consumption and sedimentation are responsible.
Published Fossil of mosasaur with bizarre 'screwdriver teeth' found in Morocco



Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, a sea-dwelling lizard from the age of the dinosaurs, with strange, ridged teeth unlike those of any known reptile. Along with other recent finds from Africa, it suggests that mosasaurs and other marine reptiles were evolving rapidly up until 66 million years ago, when they were wiped out by an asteroid along with the dinosaurs and around 90% of all species on Earth.
Published Past climate change to blame for Antarctica's giant underwater landslides



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 Perfect 'pathogen' storm: Vibrio bacteria, Sargassum and plastic marine debris



Little is known about the ecological relationship of Vibrio bacteria with Sargassum. Evidence also is sparse as to whether vibrios colonizing plastic marine debris and Sargassum could potentially infect humans. As summer kicks off and efforts are underway to find solutions to repurpose Sargassum, could these substrates pose a triple threat to public health? Results of a study representing the first Vibrio spp. genome assembled from plastic finds Vibrio pathogens have the unique ability to 'stick' to microplastics, harboring potent opportunistic pathogens.
Published New use for A.I.: Correctly estimating fish stocks



A newly published artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm is allowing researchers to quickly and accurately estimate coastal fish stocks without ever entering the water.
Published Climate change to push species over abrupt tipping points



Climate change is likely to abruptly push species over tipping points as their geographic ranges reach unforeseen temperatures, finds a new study.
Published A better way to study ocean currents



Computer scientists and oceanographers developed a machine-learning model that generates more accurate predictions about the velocities of ocean currents. The model could help make more precise weather forecasts or effectively predict how oil will spread after a spill.
Published Pet owners with hoarding tendencies may take toll on health of themselves, animals in care, study finds



Animal lovers who strive to care for many pets -- and have personal hoarding tendencies -- may risk the quality of their own wellbeing and that of those under their care, a recent collaborative study finds.
Published Assessing emotions in wild animals



A new study examines indicators of mental wellbeing in wild animals to improve conservation efforts.
Published What did the earliest animals look like?



Surprisingly, genome comparisons have failed to resolve a major question in animal evolution: Which living animals are the descendants of the earliest animals to evolve in the world's oceans? Scientists performed a detailed chromosomal analysis that comes down definitively in favor of comb jellies, or ctenophores, as the most recent common ancestor of all animals, or the sister taxa to all animals. Sponges evolved later.
Published Butterflies on the decline



Research shows that the numbers of butterflies in meadows and pastures of Europe are in a continuous decline. Grassland butterflies will soon play an even greater role in EU nature conservation legislation. Based on the occurrences and population trends of butterflies, the member states are supposed to document the progress they have made in implementing the planned 'Nature Restoration Law'.
Published Physicists take the temperature of fluid flows and discover new role for turbulence



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 African smoke over the Amazon



Up to two-thirds of the soot above the central Amazon rainforest originates in Africa. Researchers differentiate soot particles using their relative properties and attribute them to their respective points of origin. They found that bush fires and burning savannah in the north and south of Africa make a substantial contribution to air pollution in the central Amazon all year round, thereby playing an important role in the earth radiation budget and water cycle. This is caused by the efficient transatlantic transport of particles through the atmosphere.