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Categories: Geoscience: Earth Science, Geoscience: Geography

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Protecting large swaths of Earth's land can help stem the tide of biodiversity loss -- especially when those protected areas are in less disturbed landscapes and in countries with effective national governance. A new study looked at how amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds fared in protected versus unprotected areas worldwide. Vertebrate abundance decreased five times more slowly inside protected areas, offering much-needed support for the United Nations' '30 by 30' conservation initiative.

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New measurements of how boundary between onshore glacier and floating ice shelf glides back-and- forth could help predict melting.

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The mechanism facilitating the smooth movement of the oceanic lithosphere over the underlying asthenosphere (upper mantle) remains poorly understood. Recently, researchers from Japan investigated the effect of water on the seismic properties of olivine rocks, finding that water retention in the asthenosphere can induce sharp drops in shear wave velocity. This also explained other seismic changes observed at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary. These findings provide invaluable insights into the diverse seismic activities on Earth.

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Wildfires in California, exacerbated by human-driven climate change, are getting more severe. To better manage them, there's a growing need to know exactly what fuels the blazes after they ignite. Scientists now report that one of the chief fuels of wildfires in California's Sierra Nevada mountains is the decades-old remains of large trees.

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Researchers show that some glaciers have disappeared entirely, some no longer show movement, some are too small to meet the 0.01 square kilometer minimum and some are actually rock glaciers -- rocky debris with ice in the pore spaces.

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Enforcement is one of the biggest challenges to international cooperation on mitigating climate change in the Paris Agreement. The agreement has no formal enforcement mechanism; instead, it is designed to be transparent so countries that fail to meet their obligations will be named and thus shamed into changing behavior. A new study shows that this naming-and-shaming mechanism can be an effective incentive for many countries to uphold their pledges to reduce emissions.

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A new study shows unprecedented heat is likely to lead to the next mass extinction, akin to when the dinosaurs died out, eliminating nearly all mammals in some 250 million years time.

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New research represents the first combined analysis of microplastics in water, sediment and air around a major river system. It found significant quantities of microplastics trapped in riverbed sediments, and also found they were being transported through the air and the flow of the river.

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In a warming Pacific Northwest, summers are getting hotter and winters less cold, but the atmospheric patterns that influence the weather aren't necessarily expected to become stronger or more frequent by the end of the century, according to a new study.

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The Gulf Stream transport of water through the Florida Strait has slowed by 4% over the past four decades, with a 99% certainty that this weakening is more than expected from random chance, according to a new study.

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Researchers reveal rapid fluvial incision attributed to the growth of high topography in China's Yangtze River.

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Reducing CO2 levels in the atmosphere will take more than cutting emissions -- we will also need to capture and store the excessive volumes of already-emitted carbon. A team of plant scientists argue that arid lands such as deserts could be one answer to the carbon-capture problem.

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Researchers have identified the threat greenwashing poses to a 'nature positive' world, one where environmental decline halts and biodiversity outcomes improve.

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The western edge of Chicago -- including the North and South Lawndale, East Garfield Park, Archer Heights and Brighton Park neighborhoods -- experiences up to 32% higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution compared to the rest of the city.

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As renewable energy sources like wind and solar ramp up, they can be used to sustainably generate hydrogen fuel. But implementing such a strategy on a large scale requires land and water dedicated to this purpose.

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A groundbreaking study has provided new insights into the extensive impact of metal mining contamination on rivers and floodplains across the world, with an estimated 23 million people believed to be affected by potentially dangerous concentrations of toxic waste. The study used a new georeferenced global database of 185,000 metal mines compiled by the team alongside a combination of process-based modelling and empirical testing to predict the dispersal of mine waste in river systems to offer a comprehensive understanding of the environmental and health challenges associated with metal mining activities, examining both historical and active mining operations. With the rapid growth of metal mining crucial to the world making the transition to green energy, the study provides governments, mining companies, environmental regulators, and communities impacted by mining operations with a tool to understand the impacts of environmental impact of mining. Ultimately it is hoped that this will make it easier to mitigate the environmental effects of historical and present mining and help to minimise the impacts of future mining development on communities, while also protecting food and water security.

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Multiyear La Niña events have become more common over the last 100 years, according to a new study. Five out of six La Nina events since 1998 have lasted more than one year, including an unprecedented triple-year event.

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New research shows that mussels are pretty crafty sea creatures: able to withstand marine heatwaves by adjusting their heart rate and other physiological functions, boding well for their survival in future decades as the world heats up.

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In the 'weather kitchen,' the interplay between the Azores High and Icelandic Low has a substantial effect on how much warm water the Atlantic transports to the Arctic along the Norwegian coast. But this rhythm can be thrown off for years at a time. Experts finally have an explanation for why: Due to unusual atmospheric pressure conditions over the North Atlantic, low-pressure areas are diverted from their usual track, which disrupts the coupling between the Azores High, the Icelandic Low and the winds off the Norwegian coast. This finding is an important step toward refining climate models and more accurately predicting the fate of Arctic sea ice in the face of progressing climate change.

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A new study suggests patches of fertile soil in the Amazon, known as dark earth, were intentionally produced by ancient Amazonians as a way to improve the soil and sustain large and complex societies.