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

Adapting to hypoxia: Zooplankton influence the efficiency of the biological carbon pump in the Humboldt Current off Peru      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Marine organisms play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. Phytoplankton absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequester it in organic matter that sinks to the deep ocean where it can be stored for long periods of time. Until now, this process -- the biological carbon pump -- was thought to be particularly efficient in oxygen-poor areas. A new study suggests that the influence of certain zooplankton species on the biological carbon pump has been underestimated.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Nature Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Molecular fossils shed light on ancient life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Paleontologists are getting a glimpse at life over a billion years in the past based on chemical traces in ancient rocks and the genetics of living animals. New research combines geology and genetics, showing how changes in the early Earth prompted a shift in how animals eat.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

How ChatGPT could help first responders during natural disasters      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers train AI to accurately recognize addresses and other location descriptions in Hurricane Harvey social media posts.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Geoscientists map changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide over past 66 million years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international consortium of geoscientists has reconstructed atmosphereric levels of carbon dioxide going back 66 million years using proxies in the geoloogical record. Today's concenteration, 420 parts per million, is higher than it's ever been in 14 million years.

Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Greenhouse gases in oceans are altered by climate change impact on microbes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The ocean is a global life-support system, and climate change causes such as ocean warming, acidification, deoxygenation, and nitrogen-deposition alter the delicate microbial population in oceans. The marine microbial community plays an important role in the production of greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide and methane. Scientists have explored the climate change impact on marine microbes. Their research helps raise awareness about climate change severity and the importance of ocean resources.

Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

The ocean may be storing more carbon than estimated in earlier studies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The ocean's capacity to store atmospheric carbon dioxide is some 20% greater than the estimates contained in the latest IPCC report. Scientists looked at the role played by plankton in the natural transport of carbon from surface waters down to the seabed. Plankton gobble up carbon dioxide and, as they grow, convert it into organic tissue via photosynthesis.

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Top 10 climate science insights unveiled      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new report equips policymakers with the latest and most pivotal climate science research from the previous 18 months, synthesized to help inform negotiations at COP28 and policy implementation through 2024 and beyond.

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

Wildfires have erased two decades' worth of air quality gains in western United States      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study concludes that wildfires originating in the western United States and Canada have erased air quality gains over the past two decades and caused an increase of premature deaths in fire-prone areas and downwind regions, primarily in the western U.S.

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

Fossil CO2 emissions at record high in 2023      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have risen again in 2023 -- reaching record levels, according to new research.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

New study identifies the greatest threat to wildlife across North America and Canada: people      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A biology student studied more than 600,000 wildlife rehabilitation center records to look at the human impact on wild animals, from lead poisonings to window strikes to vehicle collisions.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Artificial light is luring birds to cities and sometimes to their deaths      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists used weather radar data to map bird stopover density in the United States and found that artificial light is a top indicator of where birds will land. City lights lure birds into what can be an ecological trap -- with buildings that lead to collisions, less habitat, scarcer food, and more people and cats. The study provides the first continent-wide maps of migration stopover hotspots in the contiguous United States, and knowing these broadscale layover patterns can help in the development of conservation plans. 

Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: General
Published

More than a meteorite: New clues about the demise of dinosaurs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What wiped out the dinosaurs? A meteorite plummeting to Earth is only part of the story, a new study suggests. Climate change triggered by massive volcanic eruptions may have ultimately set the stage for the dinosaur extinction, challenging the traditional narrative that a meteorite alone delivered the final blow to the ancient giants.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Geoscience: Severe Weather Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Space Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

One of the largest magnetic storms in history quantified: Aurorae covered much of the night sky from the Tropics to the Polar Regions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international multidisciplinary team consisting of solar physicists, geophysicists, and historians from nine countries analysed observations of an extreme solar-terrestrial storm reported in historical records from February 1872. Their findings confirm that a moderate sunspot group triggered one of the largest magnetic storms ever recorded, almost covering the entire night sky with colourful aurorae in both hemispheres. If such an extreme storm occurred today, it would severely disrupt modern technological infrastructure. Their study emphasizes the importance of looking at historical records in light of modern scientific knowledge.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Antarctica's ancient ice sheets foreshadow dynamic changes in Earth's future      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Identifying how and why Antarctica's major ice sheets behaved the way they did in the early Miocene could help inform understanding of the sheets' behavior under a warming climate. Together, the ice sheets lock a volume of water equivalent to more than 50 meters of sea level rise and influence ocean currents that affect marine food webs and regional climates. Their fate has profound consequences for life nearly everywhere on Earth.  

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Decoding past climates through dripstones      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent study demonstrates how dripstones can be crucial for reconstructing past climates. The new approach can provide a detailed picture of the climate around early human occupations in South Africa.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

how far can the wind can carry a plant's seeds? New model      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Playing an essential foundational role in an ecosystem, plants contribute to the well-being of human health by helping create resources like food and medicine. Therefore, to better understand how plants can maintain resiliency in the face of challenges like climate change, researchers recently developed an innovative mathematical model that can provide fast and reliable predictions of how far wind can carry a plant's seeds.

Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Being prepared for storm surges on the Baltic Sea coast      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The record storm surge in October 2023 caused severe damage to the German Baltic coast. Effective adaptation scenarios to rising sea levels are therefore becoming increasingly urgent. In two recent studies, researchers have modeled both the flooding extent along the Baltic Sea coastal areas and two possible upgrades for current dike lines in high resolution. They modeled various storm surge and sea level rise scenarios.

Biology: Biochemistry Ecology: Trees Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate
Published

600 years of tree rings reveal climate risks in California      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The San Joaquin Valley in California has experienced vast variability in climate extremes, with droughts and floods that were more severe and lasted longer than what has been seen in the modern record, according to a new study of 600 years of tree rings from the valley.