Showing 20 articles starting at article 101
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Geoscience: Earth Science, Space: The Solar System
Published Researchers explore the effects of stellar magnetism on potential habitability of exoplanets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study extends the definition of a habitable zone for planets to include their star's magnetic field.
Published Tropical plant species are as threatened by climate change as widely feared, study confirms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Biologists who set out to better understand the effects of climate change on plant species in tropical mountain regions found that even small variations in temperature and moisture can have massive impacts, threatening not only plants that live there, but also the ecosystems they support. A study based on labor-intensive fieldwork and analysis in tropical mountain regions shows that a warmer and drier climate will lead to massive losses of plant species.
Published Researchers enhance tool to better predict where and when wildfires will occur
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A newly enhanced database is expected to help wildfire managers and scientists better predict where and when wildfires may occur by incorporating hundreds of additional factors that impact the ignition and spread of fire.
Published Astrophysicists uncover supermassive blackhole/dark matter connection in solving the 'final parsec problem'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have found a link between some of the largest and smallest objects in the cosmos: supermassive black holes and dark matter particles. Their new calculations reveal that pairs of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) can merge into a single larger black hole because of previously overlooked behavior of dark matter particles, proposing a solution to the longstanding 'final parsec problem' in astronomy.
Published Converting captured carbon to fuel: Study assesses what's practical and what's not
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new analysis sheds light on major shortfalls of a recently proposed approach to capture CO2 from air and directly convert it to fuel using electricity. The authors also provide a new, more sustainable, alternative.
Published Agriculture: Less productive yet more stable pastures
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Climate change will have a considerable influence on the biodiversity and productivity of meadows and pastures. However, according to the results of the large-scale climate and land use experiment the extent of these changes depends on the land use. Grassland optimized for high yield responds much more sensitively to periods of drought than less intensively used meadows and pastures.
Published Deep-ocean floor produces its own oxygen
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of researchers has discovered that metallic minerals on the deep-ocean floor produce oxygen -- 13,000 feet below the surface. Discovery challenges long-held assumptions that only photosynthetic organisms generate Earth's oxygen. Minerals at the abyssal seafloor appear to act like geobatteries to produce oxygen in a process that does not require sunlight.
Published Life signs could survive near surfaces of Enceladus and Europa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Europa and Enceladus, icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn respectively, have evidence of oceans beneath their crusts. A NASA experiment suggests -- if these oceans support life -- signatures of that life in the form of organic molecules (like amino acids and nucleic acids) could survive just under the surface ice despite the harsh, ionizing radiation on these worlds. If robotic landers were to go to these moons to look for life signs, they would not have to dig very deep to find amino acids that have survived being altered or destroyed by radiation.
Published Early riser! The Sun is already starting its next solar cycle -- despite being halfway through its current one
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The first rumblings of the Sun's next 11-year solar cycle have been detected in sound waves inside our home star -- even though it is only halfway through its current one. This existing cycle is now at its peak, or 'solar maximum' -- which is when the Sun's magnetic field flips and its poles swap places -- until mid-2025.
Published New dawn for space storm alerts could help shield Earth's tech
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Space storms could soon be forecasted with greater accuracy than ever before thanks to a big leap forward in our understanding of exactly when a violent solar eruption may hit Earth. Scientists say it is now possible to predict the precise speed a coronal mass ejection (CME) is travelling at and when it will smash into our planet -- even before it has fully erupted from the Sun.
Published Exoplanet-hunting telescope to begin search for another Earth in 2026
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Europe's next big space mission -- a telescope that will hunt for Earth-like rocky planets outside of our solar system -- is on course to launch at the end of 2026. PLATO, or PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars, is being built to find nearby potentially habitable worlds around Sun-like stars that we can examine in detail.
Published Minerals play newly discovered role in Earth's phosphorus cycle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Plants and microbes are known to secrete enzymes to transform organic phosphorus into bioavailable inorganic phosphorus. Now, researchers found that iron oxide in soil performs the same transformation. Discovery is important for food security, which requires phosphorus as a crop fertilizer.
Published Although tiny, peatland microorganisms have a big impact on climate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Polyphenols are generally toxic to microorganisms. In peatlands, scientists thought microorganisms avoided this toxicity by degrading polyphenols using an oxygen-dependent enzyme, and thus that low-oxygen conditions inhibit microbes' carbon cycling. However, a new study found that Arctic peatland microorganisms used alternative enzymes, with and without oxygen, to break down polyphenols. This suggests carbon stored in these ecosystems is more at risk than previously thought.
Published Sea ice's cooling power is waning faster than its area of extent
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As sea ice disappears and grows less reflective, the Arctic has lost around a quarter of its cooling power since 1980, and the world has lost up to 15%, according to new research.
Published Diatom surprise could rewrite the global carbon cycle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When it comes to diatoms that live in the ocean, new research suggests that photosynthesis is not the only strategy for accumulating carbon. Instead, these single-celled plankton are also building biomass by feeding directly on organic carbon in wide swaths of the ocean. These new findings could lead to reduced estimates regarding how much carbon dioxide diatoms pull out of the air via photosynthesis, which in turn, could alter our understanding of the global carbon cycle, which is especially relevant given the changing climate.
Published Research tracks 66 million years of mammalian diversity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has examined the fossil record going back 66 million years and tracked changes to mammalian ecosystems and species diversity on the North American continent.
Published Astronomers spot a 'highly eccentric' planet on its way to becoming a hot Jupiter
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The newly discovered planet TIC 241249530 b has the most highly elliptical, or eccentric, orbit of any known planet. It appears to be a juvenile planet that is in the midst of becoming a hot Jupiter, and its orbit is providing some answers to how such large, scorching planets evolve.
Published Nature-based solutions to disaster risk from climate change are cost effective
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new global assessment of scientific literature finds that nature-based solutions (NbS) are an economically effective method to mitigate risks from a range of disasters -- from floods and hurricanes to heatwaves and landslides -- which are only expected to intensify as Earth continues to warm.
Published How astronomers are using pulsars to observe evidence of dark matter
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tantalizing evidence of potential dark matter objects has been detected with the help of the Universe's 'timekeepers'. These pulsars -- neutron stars which rotate and emit lighthouse-like beams of radio waves that rapidly sweep through space -- were used to identify mysterious hidden masses. Pulsars earned their nickname because they send out electromagnetic radiation at very regular intervals, ranging from milliseconds to seconds, making them extremely accurate timekeepers.
Published Microplastic pollution increases sea foam height and stability
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers examine the specific impacts of microplastics on the geophysics of sea foam formation in the critical zone where water meets air in the top layer of the ocean. They devised two simulations for their work -- a column filled with sea water injected with air and a laboratory-scale breaking wave channel to test the impacts of wave height on sea foam in the surface microlayer -- and tested their effects on sea foam formation, stability, and duration.