Showing 20 articles starting at article 661

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Geoscience: Environmental Issues, Offbeat: Space

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The link between massive flood basalt volcanism and the end-Triassic (201 million years ago) mass-extinction is commonly accepted. However, exactly how volcanism led to the collapse of ecosystems and the extinction of entire families of organisms is difficult to establish. Extreme climate change from the release of carbon dioxide, degradation of the ozone layer due to the injection of damaging chemicals, and the emissions of toxic pollutants, are all seen as contributing factors. One toxic element stands out: mercury.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured the sharpest infrared images to date of a zoomed-in portion of one of the most distinctive objects in our skies, the Horsehead Nebula. These observations show the top of the 'horse's mane' or edge of this iconic nebula in a whole new light, capturing the region's complexity with unprecedented spatial resolution.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers has investigated the motivation and potential incentives for and challenges of low-intensity grazing among farmers and land users in Europe.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a chemical process using plasma that could create sustainable jet fuel from methane gas emitted from landfills, potentially creating a low-carbon aviation industry.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study that looked at nearly 40 million flights in 2019 calculated the greenhouse gas emissions from air travel for essentially every country on the planet. At 911 million tons, the total emissions from aviation are 50 per cent higher than the 604 million tons reported to the United Nations for that year.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have successfully used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to map the weather on the hot gas-giant exoplanet WASP-43 b.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An estimated 168 billion gallons of wastewater -- or produced water -- is generated annually by the Permian Basin fracking industry, according to a 2022 report. The major waste stream has proved both difficult and costly to treat because of the chemical complexity of the water.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in understanding how genetic drivers influence the evolution of a specific photosynthesis mechanism in Tillandsia (air plants). This sheds light on the complex actions that cause plant adaptation and ecological diversity.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Electric bicycle rebates have exploded in popularity in North America as transportation planners try to get people out of their cars and into healthier, more climate-friendly alternatives. However, questions remain: Are new cycling habits sustainable? Who benefits most from these incentives? And are they worth the cost? Researchers now have some answers.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have applied a data-driven approach to understanding firefly population dynamics on a continental scale. Key findings from this new study indicate that fireflies, part of the beetle order, are sensitive to various environmental factors, from short-term weather conditions to longer climatic trends, including the number of growing-degree days related to temperature accumulations.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have confirmed that differences in binary stars' composition can originate from chemical variations in the cloud of stellar material from which they formed. The results help explain why stars born from the same molecular cloud can possess different chemical composition and host different planetary systems, as well as pose challenges to current stellar and planet formation models.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Europe's forests have already been severely affected by climate change. Thousands of hectares of trees have already died due to drought and bark beetles. Scientists have now investigated which trees can be used for reforestation. Their findings: only a few tree species are fit for the future, such as English oak in the UK. However, mixed forests are important for the survival of forests, otherwise the forest ecosystem as a whole could be weakened.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Greening the way we eat needn't mean going vegetarian. A healthy, more realistic solution is to adopt a flexitarian diet where seafoods add umami to 'boring' vegetables. A gastrophysicist puts mathematical equations to work in calculating the umami potential of everything from seaweed and shrimp paste to mussels and mackerel.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Samples reveal evidence of changes experienced by the surface of asteroid Ryugu, some probably due to micrometeoroid bombardment.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When did you last go anywhere without your cell phone? From maps and weather apps to social media platforms, we give consent for our phones to trace our footsteps and behavior. These curated mobility data are often used for personalized advertisements. Scientists now argue mobility data can offer so much more -- it is key to understanding human-wildlife interactions for guiding policy decisions on sustainability-related issues and should be free and accessible for research.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have shed light on a new, transformative approach that could help resolve a dispute over the Nile river's water resources.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In unincorporated communities in the United States-Mexico borderlands, historically and socially marginalized populations become invisible to the healthcare system, showing that geography acts as a structural determinant of health for low-income populations.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using environmental DNA analysis, an international team of researchers identified a collection of plants used in ceremonial rituals in the ancient Maya city of Yaxnohcah in Mexico. The plants, known for their religious associations and medicinal properties, were discovered beneath a plaza floor where a ballcourt was built.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have for the first time recorded X-rays being produced at the beginning of upward positive lightning flashes; an observation that gives important insight into the origins of this rare -- and particularly dangerous -- form of lightning.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fungal disease Fusarium head blight (FHB) is on the rise due to increasingly humid conditions induced by climate change during the wheat growing season, but a fundamental discovery could help reduce its economic harm.