Biology: Zoology Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water
Published

How an African bird might inspire a better water bottle      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An extreme closeup of feathers from a bird with an uncanny ability to hold water while it flies could inspire the next generation of absorbent materials.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Stopping storms from creating dangerous urban geysers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers develop a computational model of stormwater piping to study storm geysers. They used this model to understand why storm geysers form, what conditions tend to make them worse, and what city planners can do to prevent them from occurring. The authors say the best cure for a storm geyser is bigger pipes; however, that advice is little help to cities with existing pipeline infrastructure. In these systems, the focus must be on minimizing the potential damage by reducing the height of the geysers, the volume of expelled water, or the resulting damage to the pipeline.

Archaeology: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Volcanoes Paleontology: Climate
Published

Study re-evaluates hazards and climate impacts of massive underwater volcanic eruptions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Material left on the seafloor by bronze-age underwater volcanic eruptions is helping researchers better understand the size, hazards and climate impact of their parent eruptions, according to new research.

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

Temperature is stronger than light and flow as driver of oxygen in US rivers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The amount of dissolved oxygen in a river is a matter of life or death for the plants and animals living within it, but this oxygen concentration varies drastically from one river to another, depending on their unique temperature, light and flow. To better understand which factor has the greatest impact on the concentration of dissolved oxygen, researchers used a deep learning model to analyze data from hundreds of rivers across the United States.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Warm liquid spewing from Oregon seafloor comes from Cascadia fault, could offer clues to earthquake hazards      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Oceanographers discovered warm, chemically distinct liquid shooting up from the seafloor about 50 miles off Newport. They named the unique underwater spring 'Pythia's Oasis.' Observations suggest the spring is sourced from water 2.5 miles beneath the seafloor at the plate boundary, regulating stress on the offshore subduction zone fault.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Rooting out how plants control nitrogen use      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Nitrogen is such a crucial nutrient for plants that vast quantities of nitrogen-containing fertilizers are spread on farmlands worldwide. However, excess nitrogen in the soil and in drainage run-off into lakes and rivers causes serious ecological imbalances. A recent study has uncovered the regulatory mechanisms at work when plants utilize nitrogenous fertilizers in their roots, a positive step in the quest to generate crops that require less fertilizer while still producing the yields needed to feed the world.

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

Scientists discover a way Earth's atmosphere cleans itself      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Human activities emit many kinds of pollutants into the air, and without a molecule called hydroxide (OH), many of these pollutants would keep aggregating in the atmosphere.

Computer Science: General Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Fully recyclable printed electronics ditch toxic chemicals for water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have produced fully recyclable printed electronics that replace the use of chemicals with water in the fabrication process. By bypassing the need for hazardous chemicals, the demonstration points down a path industry could follow to reduce its environmental footprint and human health risks.

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

New pesticide exposure test developed to protect inexperienced cannabis farmers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists created a more reliable, robust and efficient way to monitor pesticide exposure and help protect the health and safety of agricultural workers, especially for emerging sectors like the cannabis industry.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Underground water could be the solution to green heating and cooling      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

About 12% of the total global energy demand comes from heating and cooling homes and businesses. A new study suggests that using underground water to maintain comfortable temperatures could reduce consumption of natural gas and electricity in this sector by 40% in the United States. The approach, called aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES), could also help prevent blackouts caused by high power demand during extreme weather events.

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

Civil engineers use public satellite images to study why the Jagersfontein dam failed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Study by civil engineers finds that the history of the Jagersfontein dam deviates from best engineering practice.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Preventing urban flooding in the face of climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Planners have come up with many innovative ways to prevent flooding caused by heavy downpours -- from planting rain gardens to installing green roofs. But in many cases, nothing works quite as well as a simple hole in the ground -- a detention basin.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography
Published

Ocean warming intensifies viral outbreaks within corals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A groundbreaking three-year study in the South Pacific has found evidence that ocean warming can trigger outbreaks of 'dinoflagellate-infecting RNA viruses' that attack symbiotic algae inside corals. Coral reef viruses have gained greater attention since being implicated in 2021 as a possible cause of stony coral tissue loss disease that has decimated Florida and Caribbean reefs for almost a decade.

Chemistry: General Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Path to net-zero carbon capture and storage may lead to ocean      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engineering researchers have developed a novel way to capture carbon dioxide from the air and store it in the 'infinite sink' of the ocean. The approach uses an innovative copper-containing polymeric filter and essentially converts CO2 into sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda) that can be released harmlessly into the ocean. This new hybrid material, or filter, is called DeCarbonHIX (i.e., decarbonization through hybrid ion exchange material). The research has demonstrated a 300 percent increase in the amount of carbon captured compared with existing direct air capture methods.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Mimicking biological enzymes may be key to hydrogen fuel production      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An ancient biological enzyme known as nickel-iron hydrogenase may play a key role in producing hydrogen for a renewables-based energy economy, researchers said. Careful study of the enzyme has led chemists to design a synthetic molecule that mimics the hydrogen gas-producing chemical reaction performed by the enzyme.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Detecting coral biodiversity in seawater samples      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a method to measure coral biodiversity through extracting the environmental DNA (or eDNA) from a liter of surface seawater collected from above a reef. The method has been confirmed to work through observations made by scientific divers in the same areas of ocean. This has paved the way for large-scale comprehensive surveys of reef-building coral to take place and removes the reliance of direct observations made through scientific scuba diving or snorkeling.

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

Fermented coffee's fruity aromas demystified      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Fermented coffee could bring a fruity taste to your morning cup of joe. This new kind of beverage has a raspberry-like taste and aroma, but what causes these sensations has been a mystery. Scientists now report six compounds that contribute to the fermented coffee experience.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
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Pulsing ultrasound waves could someday remove microplastics from waterways      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Colorful particles of plastic drift along under the surface of most waterways. These barely visible microplastics -- less than 5 mm wide -- are potentially harmful to aquatic animals and plants, as well as humans. Now, a team reports a two-stage device made with steel tubes and pulsing sound waves that removes most of the plastic particles from real water samples.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

SMART warnings could protect communities at risk from flooding      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engaging communities in developing a real-time early warning system could help to reduce the often-devastating impact of flooding on people and property -- particularly in mountainous regions where extreme water events are a 'wicked' problem, a new study reveals.