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Categories: Geoscience: Earth Science, Geoscience: Geography
Published 8 in 10 lizards could be at risk due to deforestation



These reptiles move around tree trunks to seek warmth or shade. With trees disappearing, they would have trouble controlling their body temperature, a new study shows.
Published Less ice in the Arctic Ocean has complex effects on marine ecosystems and ocean productivity



Most of the sunlight reaching the Arctic Ocean is reflected to space by sea ice, effectively shielding ocean ecosystems from sunlight. As the Arctic sea ice continues its downward trend, larger areas of the ocean become exposed to sunlight for longer periods, potentially allowing more primary production on the seafloor. However, according to a new study, this anticipated increase in primary production does not seem to be occurring uniformly across the Arctic Ocean.
Published Antarctica's coasts are becoming less icy



Scientists found unexpected evidence the area of polynyas around Antarctica is increasing dramatically, and it follows an intriguing cycle, growing and shrinking roughly every 16 years.
Published Humans have driven the Earth's freshwater cycle out of its stable state



New analysis shows that the global freshwater cycle has shifted far beyond pre-industrial conditions.
Published Geologists explore the hidden history of Colorado's Spanish Peaks



A team has collected dozens of samples from across southeastern Colorado, and their results could help to answer an enduring mystery: What made Colorado's High Plains so high?
Published 2020 extreme weather event that brought fires and snow to western US



The same weather system that led to the spread of the devastating Labor Day wildfires in 2020 brought record-breaking cold and early-season snowfall to parts of the Rocky Mountains. Now, new research is shedding light on the meteorology behind what happened and the impacts of such an extreme weather event.
Published Researchers use GPS-tracked icebergs in novel study to improve climate models



Research unearthed new information to help scientists better understand circulation patterns of ocean water around glaciers. In the summers of 2014 and 2019, a group of pioneers in glacial research attached GPS devices to 13 icebergs and tracked hourly changes in their positions as they passed through Greenland's Ilulissat Icefjord toward the ocean. Study results showed circulation in the primary fjord is greatly affected by freshwater flow from connecting tributary fjords, which is critically important to consider in circulation models.
Published Convergent evolution of algal CO2-fixing organelles



Researchers identified the proteins of a CO2-fixing organelle, namely, 'pyrenoid,' in the marine algal group Chlorarachniophyta and revealed various pyrenoid-associated proteins among algal groups, suggesting the independent evolution of pyrenoids in different algal groups.
Published Glacier shrinkage is causing a 'green transition'



Glacier-fed streams are undergoing a process of profound change, according to scientists. This conclusion is based on the expeditions to the world's major mountain ranges by members of the Vanishing Glaciers project.
Published Mercury rising: Study sheds new light on ancient volcanoes' environmental impact



Massive volcanic events in Earth's history that released large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere frequently correlate with periods of severe environmental change and mass extinctions. A new method to estimate how much and how rapidly carbon was released by the volcanoes could improve our understanding of the climate response, according to an international team.
Published Climate change disrupts seasonal flow of rivers



Climate change is disrupting the seasonal flow of rivers in the far northern latitudes of America, Russia and Europe and is posing a threat to water security and ecosystems, according to new research.
Published Microbial viruses act as secret drivers of climate change



Scientists have discovered that viruses that infect microbes contribute to climate change by playing a key role in cycling methane, a potent greenhouse gas, through the environment.
Published Building bionic jellyfish for ocean exploration



Researchers show how biohybrid robots based on jellyfish could be used to gather climate science data from deep in the Earth's oceans.
Published How climate change risks increase at a national scale as the level of global warming increases



Researchers have quantified how climate change risks to human and natural systems increase at a national scale as the level of global warming increases. A collection of eight studies -- all focusing on Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana and India -- shows that the risks of drought, flooding, declines in crop yields, and loss of biodiversity and natural capital greatly increase for each additional degree of global warming. The overarching picture for the accrual of climate risk across these countries as global warming increases from 1.5 C to 4 C above pre-industrial levels is presented.
Published Lake ecosystems: Nitrogen has been underestimated



An ecological imbalance in a lake can usually be attributed to increased nutrient inputs. The result: increased phytoplankton growth, oxygen deficiency, toxic cyanobacterial blooms and fish kills. Until now, controls in lake management have focused primarily on phosphorus inputs to counteract this effect. Now, this dogma is shaken by a study showing that nitrogen is also a critical driver for phytoplankton growth in lakes worldwide.
Published Surprising methane discovery in Yukon glaciers: 'Much more widespread than we thought'



Global melting is prying the lid off methane stocks, the extent of which we do not know. A researcher has now discovered high concentrations of the powerful greenhouse gas in meltwater from three Canadian mountain glaciers, where it was not thought to exist -- adding new unknowns to the understanding of methane emissions from Earth's glaciated regions.
Published How first cells could have formed on Earth



New phospholipid discovery brings researchers closer to understanding how primordial cells emerged during origin of life.
Published Emergency atmospheric geoengineering wouldn't save the oceans



Climate change is heating the oceans, altering currents and circulation patterns responsible for regulating climate on a global scale. If temperatures dropped, some of that damage could theoretically be undone. But employing 'emergency' atmospheric geoengineering later this century in the face of continuous high carbon emissions would not be able to reverse changes to ocean currents, a new study finds. This would critically curtail the intervention's potential effectiveness on human-relevant timescales.
Published 80 mph speed record for glacier fracture helps reveal the physics of ice sheet collapse



New research documents the fastest-known large-scale breakage along an Antarctic ice shelf. A 6.5-mile crack formed in 2012 over 5-and-a-half minutes, showing that ice shelves can effectively shatter -- though the speed is limited by seawater rushing in. The results help inform large-scale ice sheet models and projections of future sea level rise.
Published Climate change threatens thousands of archaeological sites in coastal Georgia



Thousands of historic and archaeological sites in Georgia are at risk from tropical storm surges, and that number will increase with climate change, according to a new study.