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

With discovery of roundworms, Great Salt Lake's imperiled ecosystem gets more interesting      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biologists announce the discovery of numerous species of roundworm in the highly saline waters of Great Salt Lake, the vast terminal lake in northwestern Utah that supports millions of migratory birds. Previously, brine shrimp and brine flies were the only known multicellular animals living in the water column. The scientists found nematodes, belonging to a family known for inhabiting extreme environments, in the lake's microbialites, reef-like structures covering about a fifth of the lakebed.

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

Drought, soil desiccation cracking, and carbon dioxide emissions: an overlooked feedback loop exacerbating climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Soil stores 80 percent of carbon on earth, yet with increasing cycles of drought, that crucial reservoir is cracking and breaking down, releasing even more greenhouse gases creating an amplified feedback loop that could accelerate climate change.

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

Grounding zone discovery explains accelerated melting under Greenland's glaciers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have conducted the first large-scale observation and modeling study of northwest Greenland's Petermann Glacier. Their findings reveal the intrusion of warm ocean water beneath the ice as the culprit in the accelerated melting it has experienced since the turn of the century, and their computer predictions indicate that potential sea level rise will be much worse than previously estimated.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science
Published

Giant sequoias are a rapidly growing feature of the UK landscape      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Imported giant sequoia trees are well adapted to the UK, growing at rates close to their native ranges and capturing large amounts of carbon during their long lives, finds a new study.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Exploring arctic plants and lichens: An important conservation baseline for Nunavut's newest and largest territorial park      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A comprehensive study of the floristic diversity of Agguttinni Territorial Park, Nunavut's newest and largest Territorial Park, has documented 141 vascular plant, 69 bryophyte, and 93 lichen species from this unique protected area on northern Baffin Island. Through a combination of extensive fieldwork in 2021 and examination of hundreds of existing herbarium specimens, the authors have documented species newly reported for Baffin Island and have crafted a biodiversity baseline important for park management and conservation.

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

Rice paddy snake diversification was driven by geological and environmental factors in Thailand, molecular data suggests      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study of rice paddy snakes in Southeast Asia gives key details to their diversification and natural history, adding molecular evidence that the rise of the Khorat Plateau and subsequent environmental shifts in Thailand may have altered the course of the snakes' evolution some 2.5 million years ago.

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

Mars attracts: How Earth's interactions with the red planet drive deep-sea circulation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have used the geological record of the deep sea to discover a connection between the orbits of Earth and Mars, past global warming patterns and the speeding up of deep ocean circulation. The patterns they discover suggest that warming seas could produce deep whirpools in ocean currents.

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

Rainforest's next generation of trees threatened 30 years after logging      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Rainforest seedlings are more likely to survive in natural forests than in places where logging has happened -- even if tree restoration projects have taken place, new research shows.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Scientists propose new theory that explains sand ripples on Mars and on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Sand ripples are symmetrical. Yet wind -- which causes them -- is very much not. Furthermore, sand ripples can be found on Mars and on Earth. They would be even more fascinating if the same effect found on Mars could be found here on Earth as well. What if one unified theory could explain their formation on both planets?

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Geography
Published

Pronghorn population declining due to human development      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new article looked at 40 years of data collected on 40 pronghorn herds residing in the Wyoming Basin Shrub Steppe. Overall, 80% of the herds saw a decrease in productivity, and nearly 43% saw a significant decrease. After looking at a number of variables that could potentially contribute to the decline, the researchers identified the two most strongly associated: development of oil and gas resources and woody encroachment.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Study explores impacts of Arctic warming on daily weather patterns in the U.S.      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Arctic sea ice is shrinking as the world continues to warm, and a new study may provide a better understanding of how the loss of this ice may impact daily weather in the middle latitudes, like the United States.

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

A better handle on the emissions budget for the Paris climate targets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have found a new way to calculate the total carbon emissions consistent with the Paris climate targets of 1.5 degrees Celsius and 2 degrees Celsius of global warming.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity
Published

Reptile roadkill reveals new threat to endangered lizard species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The chance sighting of a dead snake beside a sandy track in remote Western Australia, and the investigation of its stomach contents, has led researchers to record the first known instance of a spotted mulga snake consuming a pygmy spiny-tailed skink, raising concerns for a similar-looking, endangered lizard species.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Interstellar signal linked to aliens was actually just a truck      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Sound waves thought to be from a 2014 meteor fireball north of Papua New Guinea were almost certainly vibrations from a truck rumbling along a nearby road, new research shows. The findings raise doubts that materials pulled last year from the ocean are alien materials from that meteor, as was widely reported.

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

Rock weathering and climate: Low-relief mountain ranges are largest carbon sinks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For many hundreds of millions of years, the average temperature at the surface of the Earth has varied by not much more than 20 degrees Celsius, facilitating life on our planet. To maintain such stable temperatures, Earth appears to have a 'thermostat' that regulates the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide over geological timescales, influencing global temperatures. The erosion and weathering of rocks are important parts of this 'thermostat.'