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

Switch to green wastewater infrastructure could reduce emissions and provide huge savings according to new research      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have shown that a transition to green wastewater-treatment approaches in the U.S. that leverages the potential of carbon-financing could save a staggering $15.6 billion and just under 30 million tons of CO2-equivalent emissions over 40 years.

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

Tropical forests can't recover naturally without fruit-eating birds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Natural forest regeneration is hailed as a cost-effective way to restore biodiversity and sequester carbon. However, the fragmentation of tropical forests has restricted the movement of large birds limiting their capacity to disperse seeds and restore healthy forests.

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

New radar analysis method can improve winter river safety      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a way to use radar to detect open water zones and other changes in Alaska's frozen rivers in the early winter. The approach can be automated to provide current hazard maps and is applicable across the Arctic and sub-Arctic.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Developmental Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Ecology: Animals Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems
Published

How seaweed became multicellular      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A deep dive into macroalgae genetics has uncovered the genetic underpinnings that enabled macroalgae, or 'seaweed,' to evolve multicellularity. Three lineages of macroalgae developed multicellularity independently and during very different time periods by acquiring genes that enable cell adhesion, extracellular matrix formation, and cell differentiation, researchers report. Surprisingly, many of these multicellular-enabling genes had viral origins. The study, which increased the total number of sequenced macroalgal genomes from 14 to 124, is the first to investigate macroalgal evolution through the lens of genomics.

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

Retention ponds can deliver a substantial reduction in tire particle pollution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has shown that the presence of wetlands and retention ponds alongside major highways led to an average reduction of almost 75% in the mass of tire wear particles being discharged to aquatic waters. The researchers say that while the number of retention ponds and wetlands in the UK is quite small, the study has international significance as to the most effective ways to mitigate against the potential impacts of tire pollution on a global scale.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Africa's iconic flamingos threatened by rising lake levels      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It is one of the world's most spectacular sights -- huge flocks or 'flamboyances' of flamingos around East Africa's lakes -- as seen in the film Out of Africa or David Attenborough's A Perfect Planet. But new research has revealed how the lesser flamingo is at danger of being flushed out of its historic feeding grounds, with serious consequences for the future of the species.

Chemistry: Thermodynamics Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes
Published

Rock permeability, microquakes link may be a boon for geothermal energy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using machine learning, researchers have tied low-magnitude microearthquakes to the permeability of subsurface rocks beneath the Earth, a discovery that could have implications for improving geothermal energy transfer.

Ecology: Animals Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography
Published

Mapped: 33 new big game migrations across American West      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new set of maps that document the movements of ungulates was published today in the fourth volume of the Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States. The maps in this collaborative report series reveal the migration routes and critical ranges used by ungulates, or hooved mammals, in the western U.S., furthering scientists' understanding of the geography of big game migrations.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography
Published

Pacific cities much older than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New evidence of one of the first cities in the Pacific shows they were established much earlier than previously thought, according to new research. The study used aerial laser scanning to map archaeological sites on the island of Tongatapu in Tonga, showing Earth structures were being constructed in Tongatapu around AD 300.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

New report 'braids' Indigenous and Western knowledge for forest adaptation strategies against climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Forests could also be potential bulwarks against climate change. But, increasingly severe droughts and wildfires, invasive species, and large insect outbreaks -- all intensified by climate change -- are straining many national forests and surrounding lands in the United States. A report outlines a new approach to forest stewardship that 'braids together' Indigenous knowledge and Western science to conserve and restore more resilient forestlands.

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

Novel UV broadband spectrometer revolutionizes air pollutant analysis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has developed a broadband UV dual-comb spectrometer with which air pollutants can be continually measured and their reaction with the environment can be observed in real time.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography
Published

Deforestation harms biodiversity of the Amazon's perfume-loving orchid bees      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A survey of orchid bees in the Brazilian Amazon, carried out in the 1990s, is shedding new light the impact of deforestation on the scent-collecting pollinators, which some view as bellwethers of biodiversity in the neotropics.

Ecology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

New approach needed to save Australia's non-perennial rivers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An extensive review of current research incorporating geomorphology, hydrology, biogeochemistry, ecology and Indigenous knowledges identifies prevailing factors that shape water and energy flows in Australia's non-perennial rivers -- but the review also points to research deficiencies that must be addressed if these river systems are to be preserved and protected.

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

Scientist helps link climate change to Madagascar's megadrought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team reveals a clear link between human-driven climate change and the years-long drought currently gripping southern Madagascar.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

'Teacher Toads' can save native animals from toxic cane toads      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists from Macquarie University have come up with an innovative way to stop cane toads killing native wildlife by training goannas to avoid eating the deadly amphibians.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Impact of climate change on marine life much bigger than previously known      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fish and invertebrate animals are far more affected by warmer and more acidic seawater than was previously known. The big gain of the new method is that more details become known about effects of climate change on species.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography
Published

Humans converted at least 250,000 acres of estuaries to cities, farms in last 35 years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Worldwide over the past 35 years, dams and land reclamation activities converted 250,000 acres of estuary -- an area roughly 17 times the size of Manhattan -- to urban land or agricultural fields, with most land conversion and estuary loss in rapidly developing countries, a new study finds. The findings could help developing countries avoid problems faced by countries that have already lost or degraded their estuaries.