Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Scientists uncover link between the ocean's weather and global climate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists outline the first direct evidence linking seemingly random weather systems in the ocean with climate on a global scale. The team's work creates a promising framework for better understanding the climate system.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Low economic growth can help keep climate change within the 1.5 °C threshold      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows that economic growth rates make a big difference when it comes to prospects for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, as per the Paris Agreement. A recent study shows that pursuing higher economic growth may jeopardize the Paris goals and leave no viable pathways for humanity to stabilize the climate. On the contrary, slower growth rates make it more feasible to achieve the Paris goals.  

Anthropology: Cultures Archaeology: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Fossils
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Mesopotamian bricks unveil the strength of Earth's ancient magnetic field      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ancient bricks inscribed with the names of Mesopotamian kings have yielded important insights into a mysterious anomaly in Earth's magnetic field 3,000 years ago, according to a new study.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Space: Astrophysics Space: General Space: The Solar System
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Exoplanets' climate -- it takes nothing to switch from habitable to hell      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Earth is a wonderful blue and green dot covered with oceans and life, while Venus is a yellowish sterile sphere that is not only inhospitable but also sterile. However, the difference between the two bears to only a few degrees in temperature. A team of astronomers has achieved a world's first by managing to simulate the entirety of the runaway greenhouse process which can transform the climate of a planet from idyllic and perfect for life, to a place more than harsh and hostile. The scientists have also demonstrated that from initial stages of the process, the atmospheric structure and cloud coverage undergo significant changes, leading to an almost-unstoppable and very complicated to reverse runaway greenhouse effect. On Earth, a global average temperature rise of just a few tens of degrees, subsequent to a slight rise of the Sun's luminosity, would be sufficient to initiate this phenomenon and to make our planet inhabitable.

Ecology: General Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Coral atoll islands may outpace sea-level rise with local ecological restoration, scientists say      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ecological restoration may save coral atoll islands from the rising seas of climate change, according to an international team of scientists, conservationists, and an indigenous leader.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: General
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Morocco earthquake had unusual deep slip, according to new modeling      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In their rapid characterization of the magnitude 6.8 Al Haouz earthquake in Morocco, researchers suggest that the earthquake ruptured roughly 25 kilometers deep beneath the surface.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology
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Drones capture new clues about how water shapes mountain ranges over time      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Drones flying along miles of rivers in the steep, mountainous terrain of central Taiwan and mapping the rock properties have revealed new clues about how water helps shape mountains over geological time.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
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Seals stay warm and hydrated in the Arctic with larger, more convoluted nasal passages      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Arctic seals have evolved many adaptations to cope with their frosty environment -- one that you might not immediately think of is the bones in their nasal cavity. Arctic seals have more convoluted nasal passages than seal species that live in milder environments, and researchers report that these structures help the seals more efficiently retain heat and moisture as they breathe in and out.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Move over Blitzen: Geese outpace reindeer impacts on Arctic ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team is studying how expanding populations of two local herbivores -- reindeer and geese -- on Svalbard will impact the future of the ecosystem on the islands. 

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Research Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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AI provides more accurate analysis of prehistoric and modern animals, painting picture of ancient world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study of the remains of prehistoric and modern African antelopes found that AI technology accurately identified animals more than 90% of the time compared to humans, who had much lower accuracy rates depending on the expert.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Animals Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Trees in wetter regions more sensitive to drought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

This holiday season brings surprising news about your Christmas tree. Scientists just discovered that globally, trees growing in wetter regions are more sensitive to drought. That means if your tree hails from a more humid clime, it's likely been spoiled for generations.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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How forests smell -- a risk for the climate?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plants emit odors for a variety of reasons, such as to communicate with each other, to deter herbivores or to respond to changing environmental conditions. An interdisciplinary team of researchers carried out a study to investigate how biodiversity influences the emission of these substances. For the first time, they were able to show that species-rich forests emit less of these gases into the atmosphere than monocultures. It was previously assumed that species-rich forests release more emissions. The Leipzig team has now been able to disprove this assumption experimentally.

Chemistry: General Ecology: Nature Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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The solar forest      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

What would be the most effective use of a certain plot of land in terms of the climate crisis: planting a forest, which is a natural means of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or erecting fields of solar panels, which reduce the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere? This dilemma has long been debated by decision-makers around the world. Now, for the first time -- based on findings from arid areas and on comprehensive measurements of the energy flow exchanged between the ground and the atmosphere -- we may have an answer to this question.  

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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National policy aimed at reducing U.S. greenhouse gases also would improve water quality      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A climate policy that raises the price of carbon-intensive products across the entire U.S. economy would yield a side benefit of reducing nitrate groundwater contamination throughout the Mississippi River Basin. The Gulf of Mexico, an important U.S. fishery, also would see modest benefits from the nitrate reductions.

Biology: General Ecology: Animals Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
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Why the long face? Scientists solve a major puzzle in mammal skull shape evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Horses have developed long faces simply 'because they can,' a team of evolutionary biologists say. In a major review of how mammalian heads evolve, scientists found that adaptations to feeding explain why large species of mammals often have much longer faces compared to smaller closely related species -- a pattern referred to as Craniofacial Evolutionary Allometry (CREA).

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
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New study sheds light on how much methane is produced from Arctic lakes and wetlands      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New study looked at lakes in the Arctic, including those at Alaska's Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, to shed light on how much methane is produced from Arctic lakes and wetlands. Small unmapped lakes in the Arctic are far less abundant than previously thought, greatly reducing the cumulative methane emissions they were thought to contribute to Earth's atmosphere.