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Categories: Anthropology: Early Humans, Environmental: General
Published Fossil CO2 emissions at record high in 2023



Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have risen again in 2023 -- reaching record levels, according to new research.
Published In hotter regions, mammals seek forests, avoid human habitats



As the climate warms, preserving forest cover will be increasingly important for wildlife conservation, finds a study of North American mammals.
Published New study identifies the greatest threat to wildlife across North America and Canada: people



A biology student studied more than 600,000 wildlife rehabilitation center records to look at the human impact on wild animals, from lead poisonings to window strikes to vehicle collisions.
Published 1.5°C pathways can still be achieved, combining fairness and global climate protection



Global warming can still be limited to 1.5°C by 2100 while ensuring that the poor are not hit hardest by climate policies and climate impacts. This is achieved by immediately introducing broad carbon pricing together with re-distributive policies using carbon pricing revenues and further measures to reduce energy consumption, accelerate technological transitions, and transform the land sector.
Published How mountains affect El Niño-induced winter precipitation



A consideration of how mountains influence El Niño and La Niña-induced precipitation change in western North America may be the ticket to more informed water conservation planning along the Colorado River, new research suggests.
Published Snail-inspired robot could scoop ocean microplastics



Inspired by a small and slow snail, scientists have developed a robot protype that may one day scoop up microplastics from the surfaces of oceans, seas and lakes.
Published Artificial light is luring birds to cities and sometimes to their deaths



Scientists used weather radar data to map bird stopover density in the United States and found that artificial light is a top indicator of where birds will land. City lights lure birds into what can be an ecological trap -- with buildings that lead to collisions, less habitat, scarcer food, and more people and cats. The study provides the first continent-wide maps of migration stopover hotspots in the contiguous United States, and knowing these broadscale layover patterns can help in the development of conservation plans.
Published More than a meteorite: New clues about the demise of dinosaurs



What wiped out the dinosaurs? A meteorite plummeting to Earth is only part of the story, a new study suggests. Climate change triggered by massive volcanic eruptions may have ultimately set the stage for the dinosaur extinction, challenging the traditional narrative that a meteorite alone delivered the final blow to the ancient giants.
Published Researchers decode aqueous amino acid's potential for direct air capture of CO2



Scientists have made a significant stride toward understanding a viable process for direct air capture, or DAC, of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This DAC process is in early development with the aim of achieving negative emissions, where the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the envelope of gases surrounding Earth exceeds the amount emitted.
Published Himalayan glaciers react, blow cold winds down their slopes



Himalayan Glaciers fight back to preserve themselves, but for how long? An international team of researchers explains a stunning phenomenon: rising global temperatures have led Himalayan glaciers to increasingly cool the air in contact with the ice surface. The ensuing cold winds might help cool the glaciers and preserve the surrounding ecosystems. The results were found across the Himalayan range.
Published Consensus needed on when global warming reaches 1.5°C



A team of scientists has emphasized that -- surprisingly -- there is currently no formally agreed way of defining the current level of global warming relevant to the Paris Agreement.
Published Paleolithic humans may have understood the properties of rocks for making stone tools



Research suggests that Paleolithic humans in the Middle East selected flint for their cutting tools based on differences in the mechanical properties of the rock. They seem to have purposefully selected the most suitable rocks for fashioning into tools, even being able to distinguish rocks that were unsuitable.
Published Harvesting more solar energy with supercrystals



Hydrogen is a building block for the energy transition. To obtain it with the help of solar energy, researchers have developed new high-performance nanostructures. The material holds a world record for green hydrogen production with sunlight.
Published Ash can fertilize the oceans



Flames roared through Santa Barbara County in late 2017. UC Santa Barbara canceled classes, and the administration recommended donning an N95, long before the COVID pandemic made the mask a household item. Smoke and ash choked the air, but the Thomas Fire's effects weren't restricted to the land and sky. Huge amounts of ash settled into the oceans, leaving researchers to wonder what effect it might have on marine life.
Published Study identifies key algae species helping soft corals survive warming oceans



During a two-year survey of soft corals in the Florida Keys, scientists identified three species of octocorals that have survived heat waves. While the coral animal itself may be heat tolerant, scientists concluded that the symbiotic algae inside the coral serve as a protector of sorts.
Published Smart microgrids can restore power more efficiently and reliably in an outage



A new AI model that optimizes the use of renewables and other energy sources outperforms traditional power restoration techniques for islanded microgrids, a new paper shows.
Published A mixed origin made maize successful



Maize is one of the world's most widely grown crops. It is used for both human and animal foods and holds great cultural significance, especially for indigenous peoples in the Americas. Yet despite its importance, the origins of the grain have been hotly debated for more than a century. Now new research shows that all modern maize descends from a hybrid created just over 5000 years ago in central Mexico, thousands of years after the plant was first domesticated.
Published Phasing out fossil fuels could save millions of lives



Scientists provide new evidence to motivate rapid fossil fuel phaseout. The science team determined exposure to ambient air pollution and its health impacts using an updated atmospheric composition model, a newly developed relative risk model and recent satellite-based fine particle data. They estimated all-cause and disease-specific mortality and attributed them to emission categories. They show that phasing out fossil fuels is a remarkably effective health-improving and life-saving intervention. About 5 million excess deaths per year globally could potentially be avoided.
Published Decoding past climates through dripstones



A recent study demonstrates how dripstones can be crucial for reconstructing past climates. The new approach can provide a detailed picture of the climate around early human occupations in South Africa.
Published Money to burn: Wealthy, white neighborhoods losing their heat shields



White, wealthy neighborhoods in the LA area -- and likely around the world -- are about to start feeling the same heat that has plagued poorer, Hispanic neighborhoods for generations. A new study shows the protective effect of income has largely eroded over the past 40 years, as landscape plants can't keep up with the pace of climate warming.