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Categories: Geoscience: Severe Weather, Paleontology: Dinosaurs
Published Increased droughts are disrupting carbon-capturing soil microbes, concerning ecologists
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Soil stores more carbon than plants and the atmosphere combined, and soil microbes are largely responsible for putting it there. However, the increasing frequency and severity of drought, such as those that have been impacting California, could disrupt this delicate ecosystem. Microbial ecologists warn that soil health and future greenhouse gas levels could be impacted if soil microbes adapt to drought faster than plants do.
Published Stopping storms from creating dangerous urban geysers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers develop a computational model of stormwater piping to study storm geysers. They used this model to understand why storm geysers form, what conditions tend to make them worse, and what city planners can do to prevent them from occurring. The authors say the best cure for a storm geyser is bigger pipes; however, that advice is little help to cities with existing pipeline infrastructure. In these systems, the focus must be on minimizing the potential damage by reducing the height of the geysers, the volume of expelled water, or the resulting damage to the pipeline.
Published Lightning strike creates phosphorus material
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A lightning strike in New Port Richey, Florida, led to a chemical reaction creating a new material that is transitional between space minerals and minerals found on Earth. High-energy events, such as lightning, can cause unique chemical reactions. In this instance, the result is a new material -- one that is transitional between space minerals and minerals found on Earth.
Published Trees in areas prone to hurricanes have strong ability to survive even after severe damage
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The island of Dominica took a direct hit from Category 5 Hurricane Maria. Nine months afterward, researchers found that while 89% percent of trees located in nine previously documented forest stands were damaged, but only 10 percent had immediately died. The most common damage was stem snapping and major branch damage. The damage with the highest rates of mortality were uprooting and being crushed by a neighboring tree. Large individual trees and species with lower wood density were susceptible to snapping, uprooting and mortality. Those on steeper slopes were more prone to being crushed by neighboring trees.
Published Cities will need more resilient electricity networks to cope with extreme weather
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Dense urban areas amplify the effects of higher temperatures, due to the phenomenon of heat islands in cities. This makes cities more vulnerable to extreme climate events. Large investments in the electricity network will be necessary to cool us down during heatwaves and keep us warm during cold snaps, according to a new study.
Published Gone for good? California's beetle-killed, carbon-storing pine forests may not come back
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Ponderosa pine forests in the Sierra Nevada that were wiped out by western pine beetles during the 2012-2015 megadrought won't recover to pre-drought densities, reducing an important storehouse for atmospheric carbon.
Published Underground water could be the solution to green heating and cooling
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source About 12% of the total global energy demand comes from heating and cooling homes and businesses. A new study suggests that using underground water to maintain comfortable temperatures could reduce consumption of natural gas and electricity in this sector by 40% in the United States. The approach, called aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES), could also help prevent blackouts caused by high power demand during extreme weather events.
Published Coral skeletons influence reef recovery after bleaching
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Natural disasters can devastate a region, abruptly killing the species that form an ecosystem's structure. But how this transpires can influence recovery. While fires scorch the landscape to the ground, a heatwave leaves an army of wooden staves in its wake. Storm surges and coral bleaching do something similar underwater.
Published Researchers correlate Arctic warming to extreme winter weather in midlatitude and its future
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A warmer Arctic has been linked to extreme winter weather in the midlatitude regions. But, it is not clear how global warming affects this link. In a new study, researchers show, using weather data and climate models, that while the 'Warm Arctic-Cold Continent' pattern will continue as the climate continues to warm, Arctic warming will become a less reliable predictor of extreme winter weather in the future.
Published Preventing urban flooding in the face of climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Planners have come up with many innovative ways to prevent flooding caused by heavy downpours -- from planting rain gardens to installing green roofs. But in many cases, nothing works quite as well as a simple hole in the ground -- a detention basin.
Published Analysis of dinosaur eggshells: Bird-like Troodon laid 4 to 6 eggs in a communal nest
(via sciencedaily.com) An international research team has determined that Troodon, a dinosaur very close to modern birds, was a warm-blooded animal (an endotherm), but had a reproductive system similar to that of modern reptiles. The scientists applied a new method which allowed for accurate determination of the temperature when the egg's carbonate shell was formed. Furthermore, the researchers showed that Troodon laid 4 to 6 eggs per clutch. As nests with up to 24 Troodon eggs had been found, the scientists conclude that several Troodon females laid their eggs in communal nests.
Published Hope for salamanders? Study recalibrates climate change effects
(via sciencedaily.com) For tiny salamanders squirming skin-to-soil, big-picture weather patterns may seem as far away as outer space. But for decades, scientists have mostly relied on free-air temperature data at large spatial scales to predict future salamander distributions under climate change. The outlook was dire for the mini ecosystem engineers, suggesting near elimination of habitat in crucial areas.
Published Why are forests turning brown in summer?
(via sciencedaily.com) European forests are increasingly turning brown in the course of hot, dry summers. In the scorching summer of 2022, Europe experienced more trees turning brown than ever, with 37% of temperate and Mediterranean forest regions affected. In the three-year meteorological history of low-?greenness events, characteristic weather signals can be found as precursors of the events.
Published Predatory dinosaurs such as T. rex sported lizard-like lips
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study suggests that predatory dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, did not have permanently exposed teeth as depicted in films such as Jurassic Park, but instead had scaly, lizard-like lips covering and sealing their mouths.
Published AI could set a new bar for designing hurricane-resistant buildings
(via sciencedaily.com) Being able to withstand hurricane-force winds is the key to a long life for many buildings on the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast of the U.S. Determining the right level of winds to design for is tricky business, but support from artificial intelligence may offer a simple solution.
Published Machine learning model helps forecasters improve confidence in storm prediction
(via sciencedaily.com) When severe weather is brewing and life-threatening hazards like heavy rain, hail or tornadoes are possible, advance warning and accurate predictions are of utmost importance. Weather researchers have given storm forecasters a powerful new tool to improve confidence in their forecasts and potentially save lives. Over the last several years, Russ Schumacher, professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science and Colorado State Climatologist, has led a team developing a sophisticated machine learning model for advancing skillful prediction of hazardous weather across the continental United States. First trained on historical records of excessive rainfall, the model is now smart enough to make accurate predictions of events like tornadoes and hail four to eight days in advance -- the crucial sweet spot for forecasters to get information out to the public so they can prepare. The model is called CSU-MLP, or Colorado State University-Machine Learning Probabilities.
Published SMART warnings could protect communities at risk from flooding
(via sciencedaily.com) Engaging communities in developing a real-time early warning system could help to reduce the often-devastating impact of flooding on people and property -- particularly in mountainous regions where extreme water events are a 'wicked' problem, a new study reveals.
Published The global economics of climate action
(via sciencedaily.com) Climate change has serious consequences for the environment and people and is a major threat to economic stability. A new assessment reviews innovative, integrated research that underpins the economic case for strong near-term climate action.
Published Genome of a drought-tolerant plant: Many genes are involved in 'resurrection'
(via sciencedaily.com) Some plants can survive months without water, only to turn green again after a brief downpour. A recent study shows that this is not due to a 'miracle gene.' Rather, this ability is a consequence of a whole network of genes, almost all of which are also present in more vulnerable varieties.
Published Drought, heat waves worsen West Coast air pollution inequality
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study found drought and heat waves could make air pollution worse for communities that already have a high pollution burden in California, and deepen pollution inequalities along racial and ethnic lines. The study also found financial penalties for power plants can significantly reduce people's pollution exposure, except during severe heat waves.