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Categories: Environmental: Ecosystems, Environmental: Water
Published The waxy surface protecting plants might hold the key to developing stronger crops
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered that the waxy protective barrier around plants might play a role in sending chemical signals to other plants and insects.
Published how far can the wind can carry a plant's seeds? New model
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Playing an essential foundational role in an ecosystem, plants contribute to the well-being of human health by helping create resources like food and medicine. Therefore, to better understand how plants can maintain resiliency in the face of challenges like climate change, researchers recently developed an innovative mathematical model that can provide fast and reliable predictions of how far wind can carry a plant's seeds.
Published Small marine creatures swimming in plastic chemicals not reproducing
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Plastic waste in the water might be stopping -- or interrupting -- some shrimp-like creatures from reproducing. In a unique study, the ability of 'shrimp like' creatures to reproduce successfully was found to be compromised by chemicals found in everyday plastics.
Published Durable plastic pollution easily, cleanly degrades with new catalyst
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Found in fishing nets, carpet, clothing, Nylon-6 is a major contributor to plastic pollution, including ocean pollution. Now, chemists have developed a new catalyst that quickly, cleanly and completely breaks down Nylon-6 in a matter of minutes -- without generating harmful byproducts. Even better: The process does not require toxic solvents, expensive materials or extreme conditions, making it practical for everyday applications. In experiments, the new process recovered 99% of the polymer's building blocks, which can then be upcycled into higher-value products.
Published A new bacterial species from a hydrothermal vent throws light on their evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new bacterial species discovered at the deep-sea hydrothermal vent site 'Crab Spa' provides a deeper understanding of bacterial evolution.
Published 600 years of tree rings reveal climate risks in California
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The San Joaquin Valley in California has experienced vast variability in climate extremes, with droughts and floods that were more severe and lasted longer than what has been seen in the modern record, according to a new study of 600 years of tree rings from the valley.
Published Blasts to clear World War II munitions could contaminate the ocean
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source World War II concluded decades ago, but live mines lurking on the ocean floor still pose threats, potentially spewing unexpected geysers or releasing contaminants into the water. Experts conduct controlled explosions to clear underwater munitions, but concerns have arisen over the environmental impacts from these blasts. New results show that the contamination produced by detonation depends on the blast type, with weaker explosions leaving behind more potentially toxic residues.
Published Greener solution powers new method for lithium-ion battery recycling
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Used lithium-ion batteries from cell phones, laptops and a growing number of electric vehicles are piling up, but options for recycling them remain limited mostly to burning or chemically dissolving shredded batteries. Researchers have improved on approaches that dissolve the battery in a liquid solution in order to reduce the amount of hazardous chemicals used in the process. This simple, efficient and environmentally-friendly solution overcomes the main obstacles presented by previous approaches.
Published A single Bitcoin transaction could cost as much water as a backyard swimming pool
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Cryptocurrency mining uses a significant amount of water amid the global water crisis, and its water demand may grow further. Researchers provides the first comprehensive estimate of Bitcoin's water use. He warns that its sheer scale could impact drinking water if it continues to operate without constraints, especially in countries that are already battling water scarcity, including the U.S.
Published Antarctic glacier retreating rapidly
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists are warning that apparently stable glaciers in the Antarctic can 'switch very rapidly' and lose large quantities of ice as a result of warmer oceans. Their finding comes after glaciologists used satellites to track the Cadman Glacier, which drains into Beascochea Bay, on the west Antarctic peninsula.
Published Slash-and-burn agriculture can increase forest biodiversity, researchers find
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The slash-and-burn agriculture practiced by many Indigenous societies across the world can actually have a positive impact on forests, according to a new study done in Belize. Researchers found that in areas of the rainforest in which Indigenous farmers using slash-and-burn techniques created intermediate-sized farm patches -- neither too small nor too large -- there were increases in forest plant diversity.
Published Giant sea salt aerosols play major role in Hawai'i's coastal clouds, rain
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study from atmospheric scientists revealed that the coastline can produce up to five times the concentration of giant sea salt aerosols compared to the open ocean and that coastal clouds may contain more of these particles than clouds over the open ocean -- affecting cloud formation and rain around the Hawaiian Islands.
Published Recycled phosphorus fertilizer reduces nutrient leaching, maintains yield
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A promising new form of ammonium phosphate fertilizer has been field-tested. The fertilizer, struvite, offers a triple win for sustainability and crop production, as it recycles nutrients from wastewater streams, reduces leaching of phosphorus and nitrogen in agricultural soils, and maintains or improves soybean yield compared to conventional phosphorus fertilizers.
Published Scientists find both potential threats and promising resources in the thriving colonies of bacteria and fungi on ocean plastic trash
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have found both potential threats and promising resources in the thriving colonies of bacteria and fungi on plastic trash washed up on shores.
Published Promising salt for heat storage
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Salt batteries can store summer heat to be used in winter, but which salt works best for the purpose?
Published Future floods: Global warming intensifies heavy rain -- even more than expected
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The intensity and frequency of extreme rainfall increases exponentially with global warming, a new study finds. The analysis shows that state-of-the-art climate models significantly underestimate how much extreme rainfall increases under global warming -- meaning that extreme rainfall could increase quicker than climate models suggest.
Published Deoxygenation levels similar to today's played a major role in marine extinctions during major past climate change event
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have made a surprising discovery that sheds new light on the role that oceanic deoxygenation (anoxia) played in one of the most devastating extinction events in Earth's history. Their finding has implications for current day ecosystems -- and serves as a warning that marine environments are likely more fragile than apparent. New research, published today in leading international journal Nature Geosciences, suggests that oceanic anoxia played an important role in ecosystem disruption and extinctions in marine environments during the Triassic--Jurassic mass extinction, a major extinction event that occurred around 200 million years ago. Surprisingly however, the study shows that the global extent of euxinia (an extreme form of de-oxygenated conditions) was similar to the present day.
Published Was 'witchcraft' in the Devil's Church in Koli based on acoustic resonance? The crevice cave has a unique soundscape
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The national park of Koli in eastern Finland is home to a famous, 34-metre-long crevice cave known as Pirunkirkko, or Devil's Church in English. A new study investigates the acoustics of the Devil's Church and explores whether the acoustic properties of the cave could explain the beliefs associated with it, and why it was chosen as a place for activities and rituals involving sound.
Published Separating out signals recorded at the seafloor
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research shows that variations in pyrite sulfur isotopes may not represent the global processes that have made them such popular targets of analysis and interpretation. A new microanalysis approach helps to separate out signals that reveal the relative influence of microbes and that of local climate.
Published 'Dolomite Problem': 200-year-old geology mystery resolved
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source For 200 years, scientists have failed to grow a common mineral in the laboratory under the conditions believed to have formed it naturally. Now, researchers have finally pulled it off, thanks to a new theory developed from atomic simulations. Their success resolves a long-standing geology mystery called the 'Dolomite Problem.' Dolomite -- a key mineral in the Dolomite mountains in Italy, Niagara Falls, the White Cliffs of Dover and Utah's Hoodoos -- is very abundant in rocks older than 100 million years, but nearly absent in younger formations. The lessons learned from the Dolomite Problem can help engineers manufacture higher-quality materials for semiconductors, solar panels, batteries and other tech.