Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

A lightweight wearable device helps users navigate with a tap on the wrist      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed a fabric-based wearable device that 'taps' a user's wrist with pressurized air, silently helping them navigate to their destination. The study demonstrated that users correctly interpreted which direction the device was telling them to go an average of 87% of the time. Since the wearable embeds most of its control system within the fabric itself, using air instead of electronics, it can be built lighter and more compact than existing designs.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Wildfire, soil emissions increasing air pollution in remote forests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Nitrogen dioxide levels in remote forest areas are increasing, and wildfire and soil emissions are likely the reasons why, finds a new study.

Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Broken by bison, aspen saplings having a tough time in northern Yellowstone      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In northern Yellowstone National Park, saplings of quaking aspen, an ecologically important tree in the American West, are being broken by a historically large bison herd, affecting the comeback of aspen from decades of over-browsing by elk.

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

Past abrupt changes in North Atlantic Overturning have impacted the climate system across the globe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Abrupt climate changes have affected rainfall patterns worldwide in the past, especially in the tropical monsoon region, a new study shows. An international team of scientists used dripstones from globally distributed caves together with model simulations to analyze the global impacts of rapid Northern-Hemisphere temperature increases, the widely studied Dansgaard-Oeschger events, that repeatedly occurred during the last ice age. The comparison of stalagmite and model data shows in unprecedented detail how these abrupt changes and the associated modifications of the Atlantic overturning circulation, AMOC for short, have affected global atmospheric circulation.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Due to sea-ice retreat, zooplankton could remain in the deep longer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Due to intensifying sea-ice melting in the Arctic, sunlight is now penetrating deeper and deeper into the ocean. Since marine zooplankton respond to the available light, this is also changing their behavior -- especially how the tiny organisms rise and fall within the water column. As an international team of researchers has now shown, in the future this could lead to more frequent food shortages for the zooplankton, and to negative effects for larger species including seals and whales.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Researcher finds inspiration from spider webs and beetles to harvest fresh water from thin air      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of researchers is designing novel systems to capture water vapor in the air and turn it into liquid. They have developed sponges or membranes with a large surface area that continually capture moisture from their surrounding environment.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Millions of carbon credits are generated by overestimating forest preservation, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Study analyses 18 major carbon offset projects, and compares their conservation claims with matched sites that offer a real-world benchmark for deforestation levels. Over 60 million carbon credits came from projects that barely reduced deforestation, if at all. Of a potential 89 million credits from these offset schemes, only 5.4 million (6%) were linked to additional carbon reductions through preserved forest.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science
Published

National parks support wildlife inside and outside their borders      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Fresh research suggests that national parks enhance bird diversity inside their borders. Large parks also support higher diversity of both birds and mammals in nearby unprotected areas.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Scientists solve mystery of why thousands of octopus migrate to deep-sea thermal springs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers used advanced technology to study a massive aggregation of deep-sea octopus gathered at thermal springs near an extinct underwater volcano off the coast of Central California. Warm water from hydrothermal springs accelerates development of octopus embryos, giving young octopus a better chance of survival. The Octopus Garden is the largest known aggregation of octopus on the planet -- the size of this nursery, and the abundance of other marine life that thrives in this rich community, highlight the need to understand and protect the hotspots of life on the deep seafloor from threats like climate change and seabed mining.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Ice-free preservation method holds promise to protect reefs      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An interdisciplinary team of researchers demonstrated that coral can be preserved through a new technique called isochoric vitrification. This process takes the selected coral fragments through the stages of cryopreservation and subsequent revival.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Deforestation limits nesting habitat for cavity-nesting birds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study of cavity-nesting birds in Ecuador shows the influence of deforestation on their habitat and reproductive success. Nest boxes could help.

Biology: Marine Biology: Molecular Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Researchers unearth a new process by which algae pass on nurtrients to their coral host      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have identified a new pathway by which sugar is released by symbiotic algae. This pathway involves the largely overlooked cell wall, showing that this structure not only protects the cell but plays an important role in symbiosis and carbon circulation in the ocean.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Tree mortality in the Black Forest on the rise -- climate change a key driver      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate impacts such as dry, hot summers reduce the growth and increase the mortality of trees in the Black Forest because they negatively influence the climatic water balance, i.e., the difference between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration. That is the central finding of a long-term study of the influence of climate and climate change on trees in the Black Forest.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Barnacles may help reveal location of lost Malaysia Airlines flight MH370      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Geoscientists have created a new method that can reconstruct the drift path and origin of debris from flight MH370, an aircraft that went missing over the Indian Ocean in 2014 with 239 passengers and crew. 

Anthropology: General Ecology: Extinction Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

Buffalo slaughter left lasting impact on Indigenous peoples      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The near extinction of the North American bison in the late 1800s caused a devastating, lasting economic shock to Indigenous peoples whose lives depended on the animals, an economic study finds.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Biodiversity protects against invasions of non-native tree species      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers combined human and ecological factors to analyze the global scale of non-native tree species invasions. Human activity in hotspots of global trade, such as maritime ports, is linked to an increased likelihood of non-native tree species invasions. However, a high diversity of native tree species can help to curb the intensity of such invasions.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Earth Science
Published

Vegetarian diet of corals explains age-old mystery dating back to Darwin      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has revealed why coral reefs can thrive in seemingly nutrient poor water, a phenomenon that has fascinated scientists since Charles Darwin.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Mapping methane emissions from rivers around globe reveals surprising sources      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds rivers and streams at higher latitudes contributing as much methane, a potent greenhouse gas, to the atmosphere as warmer waters in the tropics. The surrounding habitat, not temperature, is the important driver of methane emissions. The findings could improve methane estimates and models of climate change, and point to land-management changes and restoration opportunities that can reduce the amount of methane escaping into the atmosphere.

Biology: Botany Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Heat sensor protects the Venus flytrap from fire      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The sensory hairs of the Venus flytrap contain a heat sensor that warns the plant of bush fires. It reacts to rapid temperature jumps, as researchers have discovered.