Environmental: General Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Shoreline model predicts long-term future of storm protection and sea-level rise      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have created a coastal evolution model to analyze how coastal management activities on barrier islands, meant to adapt to sea-level rise, can disrupt natural processes that are keeping the barrier islands above water. Replenishing beaches and clearing over-washed roads may not be the best long term strategy.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Physics: Optics
Published

High-resolution lidar sees birth zone of cloud droplets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists demonstrated the first-ever remote observations of the fine-scale structure at the base of clouds. The results show that the air-cloud interface is a transition zone where aerosol particles suspended in Earth's atmosphere give rise to the droplets that ultimately form clouds. The research will enable scientists to gain insight into how changes in atmospheric aerosol levels could affect clouds and climate.

Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Frog species evolved rapidly in response to road salts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When we think of evolution, we think of a process that happens over hundreds or thousands of years. In research recently published, a species of frog that has evolved over the course of merely 25 years. The adaptation was spurred on by something many assume is innocuous: salt.

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

Asian monsoon lofts ozone-depleting substances to stratosphere      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Powerful monsoon winds, strengthened by a warming climate, are lofting unexpectedly large quantities of ozone-depleting substances high into the atmosphere over East Asia, according to new research. The study found that the East Asian Monsoon delivers more than twice the concentration of very short-lived ozone-depleting substances into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere than previously reported.

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

Warming climate is putting more metals into Colorado's mountain streams      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Warming temperatures are causing a steady rise in copper, zinc and sulfate in the waters of Colorado mountain streams affected by acid rock drainage. Concentrations of these metals have roughly doubled in these alpine streams over the past 30 years, presenting a concern for ecosystems, downstream water quality and mining remediation, according to a new study. Natural chemical weathering of bedrock is the source of the rising acidity and metals, but the ultimate driver of the trend is climate change, the report found, and the results point to lower stream volumes and exposure of rock once sealed away by ice as the likely causes.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Marginalized communities developed 'disaster subculture' when living through extreme climate events      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An assistant professor conducted a study in which he lived among one of the poorest, most marginalized communities in Seoul, South Korea. In the ethnographic study, he asked residents how they dealt with extreme heat. He found they tended to accept the conditions, stating there was not much that could be done. That shows people accepted extreme climate events, despite evidence showing this should not be normal, which bodes the argument social work as a field has much to do to help address climate emergencies.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

'Sunny day flooding' increases fecal contamination of coastal waters      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds that 'sunny day flooding,' which occurs during high tides, increases the levels of fecal bacteria in coastal waters. While the elevated bacteria levels in the coastal waters tend to dissipate quickly, the findings suggest policymakers and public health officials should be aware of potential risks associated with tidal flooding.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Physics: General Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Toward unification of turbulence framework -- weak-to-strong transition discovered in turbulence      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astrophysicists have made a significant step toward solving the last puzzle in magnetohydrodynamic turbulence theory by observing the weak to strong transition in the space plasma turbulence surrounding Earth with newly developed multi-spacecraft analysis methods.

Chemistry: General Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: Optics
Published

Laser-treated cork absorbs oil for carbon-neutral ocean cleanup      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers use laser treatments to transform ordinary cork into a powerful tool for treating oil spills. They tested variations of a fast-pulsing laser treatment, closely examining the nanoscopic structural changes and measuring the ratio of oxygen and carbon in the material, changes in the angles with which water and oil contact the surface, and the material's light wave absorption, reflection, and emission across the spectrum to determine its durability after multiple cycles of warming and cooling. The laser treatments not only help to better absorb oil, but also work to keep water out.

Biology: Biochemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

No bull: How creating less-gassy cows could help fight climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has revealed breeding less-flatulent cows and restoring agricultural land could significantly reduce rising methane emission levels, which play a considerable role in climate change.

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

World's oases threatened by desertification, even as humans expand them      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Oases are important habitats and water sources for dryland regions, sustaining 10% of the world's population despite taking up about 1.5% of land area. But in many places, climate change and anthropogenic activities threaten oases' fragile existence. New research shows how the world's oases have grown and shrunk over the past 25 years as water availability patterns changed and desertification encroaches on these wet refuges.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Invasive species sound off about impending ecosystem changes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Anticipating changes to ecosystems is often at best an educated guess, but what if there was a way to better tune into possible changes occurring? Researchers have discovered that the silent growth of non-native invasive plants can affect the soundscape of an ecosystem. These altered soundscapes, the acoustic patterns of a landscape through space and time, may provide a key to better observing the hard-to-see physical and biological changes occurring in an ecosystem as they are beginning.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

'Itinerant breeding' in East Coast shorebird species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study has found direct evidence of a species -- the American woodcock, a migratory shorebird from eastern and central North America -- that overlaps periods of migration and reproduction, a rare breeding strategy known as 'itinerant breeding.'

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Lemur's lament: When one vulnerable species stalks another      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What can be done when one threatened animal kills another? Scientists studying critically endangered lemurs in Madagascar confronted this difficult reality when they witnessed attacks on lemurs by another vulnerable species, a carnivore called a fosa.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Weather prediction models can also forecast satellite displacements      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have found that modern weather models can accurately predict the energy that Earth emits and reflects into space, which directly affects the movements of low Earth-orbiting (LEO) satellites. By leveraging these models, the researchers gained insights into how LEO satellites respond to weather events below, such as tropical cyclones with tall and reflective clouds.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Climate change will increase value of residential rooftop solar panels across US, study shows      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change will increase the future value of residential rooftop solar panels across the United States by up to 19% by the end of the century, according to a new study.

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

Warming of Antarctic deep-sea waters contribute to sea level rise in North Atlantic, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Analysis of mooring observations and hydrographic data suggest the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation deep water limb in the North Atlantic has weakened. Two decades of continual observations provide a greater understanding of the Earth's climate regulating system.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing
Published

Energy scientists unravel the mystery of gold's glow      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

EPFL researchers have developed the first comprehensive model of the quantum-mechanical effects behind photoluminescence in thin gold films; a discovery that could drive the development of solar fuels and batteries.