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Categories: Biology: Marine, Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published The megalodon was less mega than previously believed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study shows the Megalodon, a gigantic shark that went extinct 3.6 million years ago, was more slender than earlier studies suggested. This finding changes scientists' understanding of Megalodon behavior, ancient ocean life, and why the sharks went extinct.
Published Wobbling particles in the sky
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tiny particles such as ice crystals or ash particles tend to oscillate as they settle through the atmosphere. In their experiments, the scientists were able to track non-spherical particles of size smaller than 1 millimeter with unprecedented accuracy. Their observations gave rise to a model which can help to refine prediction on air pollutants or weather forecasts.
Published Sea otters helped prevent widespread California kelp forest declines over the past century
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The study reveals dramatic regional kelp canopy changes along the California coast over a 100-year period. During this time there was a significant increase in kelp forest canopy along the central coast, the only region of California where southern sea otters survived after being hunted nearly to extinction for their fur in the 1800s. Contrastingly, kelp canopy decreased in northern and southern regions. At the century scale, the species' favorable impact on kelp forests along the central coast nearly compensated for the kelp losses along both northern and southern California resulting in only a slight overall decline statewide during this period.
Published Climate change linked to spread of diarrheal illness
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Temperature, day length and humidity have been found to be linked to the increased spread of a diarrheal illness a new study reveals. The findings could help predict further outbreaks of the illness, potentially leading to better preparedness within health services.
Published Why animals shrink over time explained with new evolution theory
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The new theoretical research proposes that animal size over time depends on two key ecological factors.
Published Key factors in human-made earthquakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report that the roughness of pre-existing faults and associated stress heterogeneity in geological reservoirs play a key role for causing human-made earthquakes, so-called runaway events. The study combines novel fluid injection experiments under acoustic monitoring performed in GFZ's geomechanical laboratory with numerical modelling results.
Published Translating nuclear waste site data into microbial ecosystem insights
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A flagship seven-year study that explores how environmental stresses influence different ecological processes shaping the composition and structure of microbial communities in groundwater has now been published.
Published Efficiently moving urea out of polluted water is coming to reality
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a material to remove urea from water and potentially convert it into hydrogen gas. By building these materials of nickel and cobalt atoms with carefully tailored electronic structures, the group has unlocked the potential to enable these transition metal oxides and hydroxides to selectively oxidize urea in an electrochemical reaction. The team's findings could help use urea in waste streams to efficiently produce hydrogen fuel through the electrolysis process, and could be used to sequester urea from water, maintaining the long-term sustainability of ecological systems, and revolutionizing the water-energy nexus.
Published Cobalt-free batteries could power cars of the future
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new battery material could offer a more sustainable way to power electric cars. The lithium-ion battery includes a cathode based on organic materials, instead of cobalt or nickel.
Published The heat is on: Scientists discover southern Africa's temps will rise past the rhinos' tolerance
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Southern Africa contains the vast majority of the world's remaining populations of both black and white rhinoceroses (80% and 92%, respectively). The region's climate is changing rapidly as a result global warming. Traditional conservation efforts aimed at protecting rhinos have focused on poaching, but until now, there has been no analysis of the impact that climate change may have on the animals. A research team has recently reported that, though the area will be affected by both higher temperatures and changing precipitation, the rhinos are more sensitive to rising temperatures, which will quickly increase above the animals' acceptable maximum threshold.
Published Rain can spoil a wolf spider's day, too
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers found that wolf spiders can't signal others or perceive danger from predators as easily on rain-soaked leaves compared to dry ones. Even communicating with would-be mates is harder after it rains.
Published Climate change isn't producing expected increase in atmospheric moisture over dry regions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The warming climate has not lead to an expected increase in atmospheric moisture over arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The finding, which has surprised scientists, indicates that some regions may be even more vulnerable to future wildfires and extreme heat than projected.
Published Let it glow: Scientists develop new approach to detect 'forever chemicals' in water
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have created a new way to detect 'forever chemical' pollution in water, via a luminescent sensor.
Published US air pollution rates on the decline but pockets of inequities remain
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Our latest study shows there are racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in air pollution emissions reductions, particularly in the industry and energy generation sectors. The findings provide a national investigation of air pollution emission changes in the 40 years following the enactment of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Until now, studies have primarily focused on evaluating air pollution disparities at a single time point, focusing on pollutant concentrations instead of emissions. A focus on emissions, however, has more direct implications for regulations and policies. In this study, the researchers used county-level data to evaluate racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in air pollution emissions changes in the contiguous U.S. from 1970 to 2010.
Published Microplastics from natural fertilizers are blowing in the wind more often than once thought
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Though natural fertilizers made from treated sewage sludge are used to reintroduce nutrients onto agricultural fields, they bring along microplastic pollutants too. And according to a small-scale study, more plastic particles get picked up by the wind than once thought. Researchers have discovered that the microplastics are released from fields more easily than similarly sized dust particles, becoming airborne from even a slight breeze.
Published New AI makes better permafrost maps
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New insights from artificial intelligence about permafrost coverage in the Arctic may soon give policy makers and land managers the high-resolution view they need to predict climate-change-driven threats to infrastructure such as oil pipelines, roads and national security facilities.
Published Stalagmites as climate archive
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When combined with data from tree-ring records, stalagmites can open up a unique archive to study natural climate fluctuations, a research team has demonstrated. The researchers analyzed the isotopic composition of oxygen in a stalagmite formed from calcareous water in a cave in southern Germany. In conjunction with the data acquired from tree rings, they were able to reconstruct short-term climate fluctuations over centuries and correlate them with historically documented environmental events.
Published Artificial 'power plants' harness energy from wind and rain
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Fake plants are moving into the 21st century! Researchers developed literal 'power plants' -- tiny, leaf-shaped generators that create electricity from a blowing breeze or falling raindrops. The team tested the energy harvesters by incorporating them into artificial plants.
Published New technology for conducting deep-sea research on fragile organisms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have successfully demonstrated new technologies that can obtain preserved tissue and high-resolution 3D images within minutes of encountering some of the most fragile animals in the deep ocean.
Published A new, rigorous assessment of OpenET accuracy for supporting satellite-based water management
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Sustainable water management is an increasing concern in arid regions around the world, and scientists and regulators are turning to remote sensing tools like OpenET to help track and manage water resources. OpenET uses publicly available data produced by NASA and USGS Landsat and other satellite systems to calculate evapotranspiration (ET), or the amount of water lost to the atmosphere through soil evaporation and plant transpiration, at the level of individual fields. This tool has the potential to revolutionize water management, allowing for field-scale operational monitoring of water use, and a new study provides a thorough analysis of the accuracy of OpenET data for various crops and natural land cover types.