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Categories: Geoscience: Geology, Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published Protecting polar bears: New and improved radar technology
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research testing new technology to more effectively locate polar bear dens across the Arctic is showing promising results. Researchers hope that improving detection tools to locate dens -- which are nearly invisible and buried under snow -- will help efforts to protect mother polar bears and their cubs.
Published As surging threats teeter electrical power grids, scientists offer insights to make them more resilient
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Power grids -- the web of electrical networks that sprawl across countries and continents -- are under stress. Extreme weather events and volatile energy demands often push the system to the brink. Although these high-impact events can be very damaging, often overlooked is the impact of minor disruptions that trigger a domino effect throughout the system, according to a study analyzing European power blackouts. The findings showed that recovering power within 13 hours can reduce up to 52% of the power loss stemming from cascading events.
Published Climate network analysis helps pinpoint regions at higher risk of extreme weather
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Climate change and the rapid increase in frequency of extreme weather events around the globe reinforces the reality that these events are interconnected. Researchers now describe a climate network analysis method to explore the intensity, distribution, and evolution of this interlinked climate behavior, or teleconnections. The analysis combines the directions and distribution patterns of teleconnections to evaluate their intensity and to identify sensitive regions using global daily surface air temperature data. The method relies on advanced data processing and mathematical algorithms to find meaningful insights.
Published Ice sheet surface melt is accelerating in Greenland and slowing in Antarctica
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Surface ice in Greenland has been melting at an increasing rate in recent decades, while the trend in Antarctica has moved in the opposite direction, according to researchers.
Published Rising seas will tighten vise on Miami even for people who are not flooded, says study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study that examines both the physical and socioeconomic effects of sea-level rise on Florida's Miami-Dade County area finds that in coming decades, four out of five residents may face disruption or displacement, whether they live in flood zones or not. As inundation spreads, the effects will be felt predominantly by lower-income people as habitable areas shrink and housing prices rise, says the study. Only a small number of affluent residents will be able relocate from low-lying or waterfront properties, while many others without sufficient means may be trapped there, it says.
Published New study confirms presence of flesh-eating and illness-causing bacteria in Florida's coastal waters following Hurricane Ian
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When Hurricane Ian struck southwest Florida in September 2022, it unleashed a variety of Vibrio bacteria that can cause illness and death in humans, according to a new study.
Published Management zone maps of little use to corn growers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A multiyear analysis tested whether management zone maps based on soil conditions, topography or other landscape features can reliably predict which parts of a cornfield will respond best to higher rates of seeding or nitrogen application. The study found that -- contrary to common assumptions -- crop-plot responses to the same inputs vary significantly from year to year. The most unpredictable factor -- the weather -- seemed to have the biggest impact on how the crops responded to these inputs.
Published How weather phenomena affect ocean circulation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has investigated how future changes in weather patterns could affect the tropical Pacific Ocean and its ecosystems. The research, based on complex computer models, has shown that these changes will have far-reaching consequences for ocean circulation. The authors stress the need to take this more into account in future climate models.
Published Experts warn of risk of civil unrest in UK due to food shortages
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Food shortages caused by extreme weather could lead to civil unrest in the UK, according to a new study which has surveyed some of the country’s leading food experts.
Published Rivers may not recover from drought for years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Lack of rainfall is not the only measure of drought. New research shows that despite a series of storms, the impact of drought can persist in streams and rivers for up to 3.5 years.
Published Warm summers and wet winters yield better wine vintages
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Wine quality is notorious for varying from year to year, but what makes for a 'good year?' Researchers show that weather plays an important role in determining wine quality. By analyzing 50 years’ worth of wine critic scores from the Bordeaux wine region in relation to that year’s weather, the researchers showed that higher quality wine is made in years with warmer temperatures, higher winter rainfall, and earlier, shorter growing seasons—conditions that climate change is predicted to make more frequent.
Published Experiencing record-breaking heat days affects perception of weather trends
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research finds that experiencing days in which the temperature exceeds previous highs for that time of year affects people’s perception of weather trends.
Published Paleoclimatologists use ancient sediment to explore future climate in Africa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source With global warming apparently here to stay, a team of paleoclimatologists are studying an ancient source to determine future rainfall and drought patterns: fossilized plants that lived on Earth millions of years ago.
Published Researchers identify largest ever solar storm in ancient 14,300-year-old tree rings
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of scientists have discovered a huge spike in radiocarbon levels 14,300 years ago by analyzing ancient tree-rings found in the French Alps. The radiocarbon spike was caused by a massive solar storm, the biggest ever identified. A similar solar storm today would be catastrophic for modern technological society – potentially wiping out telecommunications and satellite systems, causing massive electricity grid blackouts, and costing us billions. The academics are warning of the importance of understanding such storms to protect our global communications and energy infrastructure for the future.
Published Plate tectonic surprise: Geologist unexpectedly finds remnants of a lost mega-plate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Geologists have reconstructed a massive and previously unknown tectonic plate that was once one-quarter the size of the Pacific Ocean. The team had predicted its existence over 10 years ago based on fragments of old tectonic plates found deep in the Earth’s mantle. To the lead researchers surprise, she found that oceanic remnants on northern Borneo must have belonged to the long-suspected plate, which scientists have named Pontus. She has now reconstructed the entire plate in its full glory.
Published The Gulf Stream is warming and shifting closer to shore
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Gulf Stream is intrinsic to the global climate system, bringing warm waters from the Caribbean up the East Coast of the United States. As it flows along the coast and then across the Atlantic Ocean, this powerful ocean current influences weather patterns and storms, and it carries heat from the tropics to higher latitudes as part of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. A new study now documents that over the past 20 years, the Gulf Stream has warmed faster than the global ocean as a whole and has shifted towards the coast. The study relies on over 25,000 temperature and salinity profiles collected between 2001 and 2023.
Published Climate-driven extreme heat may make parts of Earth too hot for humans
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source If global temperatures increase by 1 degree Celsius (C) or more than current levels, each year billions of people will be exposed to heat and humidity so extreme they will be unable to naturally cool themselves, according to interdisciplinary research. Results indicated that warming of the planet beyond 1.5 C above preindustrial levels will be increasingly devastating for human health across the planet.
Published Climate change brings earlier arrival of intense hurricanes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research has revealed that since the 1980s, Category 4 and 5 hurricanes (maximum wind speed greater than 131 miles per hour) have been arriving three to four days earlier with each passing decade of climate change.
Published Comfort with a smaller carbon footprint
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a data-driven AI algorithm for controlling the heating and cooling of an office building. The system does not require ambient sensors or specific knowledge of the building's rooms. During heating operations, the system was able to achieve energy savings of up to 30%, which can represent significant reductions to cost and environmental impact.
Published Two-dimensional compounds can capture carbon from the air
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Some of the thinnest materials known to humankind -- MXene and MBene compounds -- may provide solutions to scientists in their quest to curb the effects of global warming. These substances are only a few atoms thick, making them two-dimensional. Because of their large surface area, the materials have the potential to absorb carbon dioxide molecules from the atmosphere, which could help reduce the harmful effects of climate change by safely sequestering carbon dioxide, according to a review study.