Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Porous crystals made from plant extracts purify water from pharmaceutical pollutants      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed porous crystals made from pomegranate extract to capture and degrade pharmaceutical molecules found in local municipal wastewater.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Land use linked to water quality and quantity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers recently published a study that focuses on the Sudbury-Assabet and Concord watershed in eastern Massachusetts, and which links hydrological changes, including floods, drought and runoff, to changing patterns of land use.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Metal-filtering sponge removes lead from water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a new sponge that can remove metals -- including toxic heavy metals like lead and critical metals like cobalt -- from contaminated water, leaving safe, drinkable water behind. In proof-of-concept experiments, the researchers tested their new sponge on a highly contaminated sample of tap water, containing more than 1 part per million of lead. With one use, the sponge filtered lead to below detectable levels.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate
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Great Bas­in: His­tory of water sup­ply in one of the dri­est regions in the USA      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team has reconstructed the evolution of groundwater in the Great Basin, USA -- one of the driest regions on Earth -- up to 350,000 years into the past with unprecedented accuracy. The results shed new light on the effects of climate change on water supply and provide important insights for the sustainable use of groundwater resources.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Global warming puts whales in the Southern Ocean on a diet      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In the autumn, when right whales swim towards the coasts of South Africa, they ought to be fat and stuffed full. But in recent years, they have become thinner because their food is disappearing with the melting sea ice.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Hammerhead sharks hold their breath on deep water hunts to stay warm      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scalloped hammerhead sharks hold their breath to keep their bodies warm during deep dives into cold water where they hunt prey such as deep sea squids. This discovery provides important new insights into the physiology and ecology of a species that serves as an important link between the deep and shallow water habitats.

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

Dark clouds on the horizon      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Our industrialized society releases many and various pollutants into the world. Combustion in particular produces aerosol mass including black carbon. Although this only accounts for a few percent of aerosol particles, black carbon is especially problematic due to its ability to absorb heat and impede the heat reflection capabilities of surfaces such as snow. So, it's essential to know how black carbon interacts with sunlight. Researchers have quantified the refractive index of black carbon to the most accurate degree yet which might impact climate models.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Fossil Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: Optics
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Unlocking the power of photosynthesis for clean energy production      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers are embarking on a groundbreaking project to mimic the natural process of photosynthesis using bacteria to deliver electrons to a nanocrystal semiconductor photocatalyst. By leveraging the unique properties of microorganisms and nanomaterials, the system has the potential to replace current approaches that derive hydrogen from fossil fuels, revolutionizing the way hydrogen fuel is produced and unlocking a powerful source of renewable energy.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Cleanup of inactive Gulf of Mexico wells estimated at $30 billion      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new article examines the cost to plug 14,000 wells that are inactive, have not produced for five years and are unlikely to be reactivated in the Gulf of Mexico region, which is the epicenter of U.S. offshore oil and gas operations.

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

Researchers discover a cause of rapid ice melting in Greenland      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

While conducting a study of Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland, researchers uncovered a previously unseen way in which the ice and ocean interact. The glaciologists said their findings could mean that the climate community has been vastly underestimating the magnitude of future sea level rise caused by polar ice deterioration.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Plastic can drift far away from its starting point as it sinks into the sea      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Discarded or drifting in the ocean, plastic debris can accumulate on the water's surface, forming floating islands of garbage. Although it's harder to spot, researchers suspect a significant amount also sinks. In a new study in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, one team used computer modeling to study how far bits of lightweight plastic travel when falling into the Mediterranean Sea. Their results suggest these particles can drift farther underwater than previously thought.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

First observational evidence of beaufort gyre stabilization, which could be precursor to huge freshwater release      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study provides the first observational evidence of the stabilization of the anti-cyclonic Beaufort Gyre, which is the dominant circulation of the Canada Basin and the largest freshwater reservoir in the Arctic Ocean.

Engineering: Robotics Research Environmental: General Environmental: Water Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Quantum lidar prototype acquires real-time 3D images while fully submerged underwater      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have demonstrated a prototype lidar system that uses quantum detection technology to acquire 3D images while submerged underwater. The high sensitivity of this system could allow it to capture detailed information even in extremely low-light conditions found underwater.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography
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How seaweed has been misleading scientists about reef health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For decades, scientists have used the amount of seaweed at the ocean's surface as a proxy for the health of coral reefs below. However, a new global study of more than 1,200 marine locations over a 16-year period reveals that this approach has been misleading -- and may even have hidden signs of reef stress.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Vanishing glaciers threaten alpine biodiversity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With glaciers melting at unprecedented rates due to climate change, invertebrates that live in the cold meltwater rivers of the European Alps will face widespread habitat loss, warn researchers. Many of the species are likely to become restricted to cold habitats that will only persist higher in the mountains, and these areas are also likely to see pressures from the skiing and tourism industries or from the development of hydroelectric plants.

Biology: Microbiology Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Marine seagrass meadows show resilience to 'bounce back' after die-offs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study in Florida Bay, one of the largest global contiguous seagrass systems, examined if a phytotoxin that accumulates as seagrass ecosystems become more enriched in nutrients prevents a marine seagrass, turtlegrass, from recruiting into open bare sediment following die-off events. While they do 'bounce back,' long-term monitoring indicates the timeframe for recovery after major die-off events is at least a decade. Turtlegrass can successfully recruit into open bare sediment following die-off events due to biomass partitioning.

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

Researchers capture elusive missing step in the final act of photosynthesis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Photosynthesis plays a crucial role in shaping and sustaining life on Earth, yet many aspects of the process remain a mystery. One such mystery is how Photosystem II, a protein complex in plants, algae and cyanobacteria, harvests energy from sunlight and uses it to split water, producing the oxygen we breathe. Now researchers have succeeded in cracking a key secret of Photosystem II.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

A stormy, active sun may have kickstarted life on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The first building blocks of life on Earth may have formed thanks to eruptions from our Sun, a new study finds. A series of chemical experiments show how solar particles, colliding with gases in Earth's early atmosphere, can form amino acids and carboxylic acids, the basic building blocks of proteins and organic life.

Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Researchers discover that the ice cap is teeming with microorganisms      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Greenlandic ice is teeming with life, both on the surface and underneath. There are microscopic organisms that until recently science had no idea existed. There is even evidence to suggest that the tiny creatures color the ice and make it melt faster.