Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Warming climate intensifies flash droughts worldwide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Sudden, severe dry spells known as flash droughts are rising in intensity around the world, with a notable exception in mountainous Central Asia, where flash drought extent is shrinking, according to new research. Heat and changes to precipitation patterns caused by a warming climate are driving these trends, the study found.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

The impacts of climate change on food production      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows that climate change has led to decreased pollen production from plants and less pollen diversity than previously thought, which could have a significant impact on food production.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

U.S. drought-monitoring system outpaced by climate changes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reports that the U.S. Drought Monitor's weekly maps of nationwide drought conditions -- which help direct emergency federal aid -- have captured the steady march of climate change, but the Drought Monitor has itself failed to adapt to that reality. Areas of the country are spending more and more time in severe drought conditions the Drought Monitor still considers to be rare occurrences. The consequences could be that swaths of the country -- particularly in the West -- may not receive aid in keeping with the enhanced risk of drought as periodic emergencies become persistent new realities.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Record low Antarctic sea ice 'extremely unlikely' without climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have found that the record-low levels of sea ice around Antarctica in 2023 were extremely unlikely to happen without the influence of climate change. This low was a one-in-a-2000-year event without climate change and four times more likely under its effects.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Climate change likely to aggravate brain conditions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change, and its effects on weather patterns and adverse weather events, is likely to negatively affect the health of people with brain conditions, argue a team of researchers.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

90% of Floridians believe climate change is happening      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The latest 'Florida Climate Resilience Survey' found that 90% of Floridians believe that climate change is happening. Belief in human-caused climate change has surged among Florida Independents while slipping among Republicans in the state since last fall. But despite these changes, the survey found enduring support among Floridians for increased government action to address the consequences of a warming planet. The survey found 68% of all respondents want state government to do more and 69% want the federal government to do more to address climate change.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

2023 was the hottest summer in two thousand years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have found that 2023 was the hottest summer in the Northern Hemisphere in the past two thousand years, almost four degrees warmer than the coldest summer during the same period.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Take cover! Survey shows tornado warnings widely misunderstood      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study showed that about half of those surveyed in the mid-South could not accurately identify a tornado warning.

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

Improved wildfire smoke model identifies areas for public health intervention      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Canadian wildfires of June 2023 exposed a large portion of the Northeastern United States to unprecedented levels of smoke. A new model that combines wildfire smoke forecasts and data from ground-based sensors may help public health officials plan targeted interventions in areas most at risk for the negative health effects of unexpected smoke events and air pollution, according to scientists.

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Turbid waters keep the coast healthy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

To preserve the important intertidal areas and salt marshes off our coasts for the future, we need more turbid water. That is one of the striking conclusions from a new study.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

AI to make crop production more sustainable      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Drones monitoring fields for weeds and robots targeting and treating crop diseases may sound like science fiction but is actually happening already, at least on some experimental farms. Researchers are working on driving forward the smart digitalization of agriculture and have now published a list of the research questions that will need to be tackled as a priority in the future.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Sister cities can help communities better navigate the climate crisis      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Anthropologists suggest in a new study that establishing networks of 'sister cities' dedicated to addressing the impact of natural disasters can mitigate the devastation wrought by climate change.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Climate change amplifies severity of combined wind-rain extremes over the UK and Ireland      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change will cause an increase in extreme winter storms combining strong winds and heavy rainfall over the UK and Ireland, new research has shown.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Wildfires in wet African forests have doubled in recent decades      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change and human activities like deforestation are causing more fires in central and west Africa's wet, tropical forests, according to the first-ever comprehensive survey there. The fires have long been overlooked.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

75,000-year-old female Neanderthal from cave where species buried their dead      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new documentary has recreated the face of a 75,000-year-old female Neanderthal whose flattened skull was discovered and rebuilt from hundreds of bone fragments by a team of archaeologists and conservators.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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Revised dating of the Liujiang skeleton renews understanding of human occupation of China      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have provided new age estimates and revised provenance information for the Liujiang human fossils, shedding light on the presence of Homo sapiens in the region. Using advanced dating techniques including U-series dating on human fossils, and radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating on fossil-bearing sediments, the study revealed new ages ranging from approximately 33,000 to 23,000 years ago. Previously, studies had reported ages of up to 227,000 years of age for the skeleton.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General
Published

How evolving landscapes impacted First Peoples' early migration patterns into Australia      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have applied a dynamic model of the landscape to patterns of human migration into Sahul, the combined continent of Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Cell Biology Ecology: Animals
Published

More plants on the menu of ancient hunter-gatherers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It has long been thought that meat played an important role in the diet of hunter-gatherers before the Neolithic transition. However, due to the scarcity of well-preserved human remains from Paleolithic sites, little information exists about the dietary habits of pre-agricultural human groups. A new study challenges this notion by presenting compelling isotopic evidence of a strong preference for plants among 15,000-year-old hunter-gatherers from Morocco. This is the first time a significant amount of plant consumption has been measured for a pre-agricultural population, shedding new light on the dietary practices of ancient human societies.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Details of hurricane Ian's aftermath captured with new remote sensing method      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using aerial imagery data and LiDAR, a study remotely identified the hardest-hit areas of Southwest Florida's Estero Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Researchers estimated the extent of structural damage and compared pre- and post-storm beach structural changes. They identified 2,427 structures that were impacted. The value of the heavily damaged structures was estimated at more than $200 million. The study has applied an advanced multi-faceted approach that links damage assessment to post-storm change in the structure of barrier islands.