Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Land-sea relationship is major driver of coral reef health outcomes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research indicates that mitigating both local land and sea-based human impacts, especially in terms of pollutants and over-fishing, provides coral reef ecosystems with the best opportunity to persist under climate change. Along some highly populated areas on the shorelines of Hawai'i, wastewater pollution and urban runoff combine with fishing pressures to put immense stress on coral reefs.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Telecommunications cable used to track sea ice extent in the Arctic      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A telecommunications fiber optic cable deployed offshore of Oliktok Point, Alaska recorded ambient seismic noise that can be used to finely track the formation and retreat of sea ice in the area, researchers report.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

An early warning system for joint heat and ozone extremes in China      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have identified large-scale climate patterns that could be used to predict the co-occurrence of extreme heat and ozone days in China months before they occur. Like predictions for hurricane and wildfire seasons, the forecasts could help the government prepare resources and implement policies to mitigate the severity of the season.

Biology: Developmental Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

The 'unknome': A database of human genes we know almost nothing about      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers hope that a new, publicly available database they have created will shrink, not grow, over time. That's because it is a compendium of the thousands of understudied proteins encoded by genes in the human genome, whose existence is known but whose functions are mostly not.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: Computers and Math Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Quantum material exhibits 'non-local' behavior that mimics brain function      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research shows that electrical stimuli passed between neighboring electrodes can also affect non-neighboring electrodes. Known as non-locality, this discovery is a crucial milestone toward creating brain-like computers with minimal energy requirements.

Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

New Antarctic extremes 'virtually certain' as world warms      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Extreme events in Antarctica such as ocean heatwaves and ice loss will almost certainly become more common and more severe, researchers say.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Self-supervised AI learns physics to reconstruct microscopic images from holograms      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have unveiled an artificial intelligence-based model for computational imaging and microscopy without training with experimental objects or real data. The team introduced a self-supervised AI model nicknamed GedankenNet that learns from physics laws and thought experiments. Informed only by the laws of physics that universally govern the propagation of electromagnetic waves in space, the researchers taught their AI model to reconstruct microscopic images using only random artificial holograms -- synthesized solely from 'imagination' without relying on any real-world experiments, actual sample resemblances or real data.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Nitrogen fixation hotspots in Atlantic seaweed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study examined nitrogen fixation among diazotrophs--microorganisms that can convert nitrogen into usable form for other plants and animals -- living among sargassum. Sargassum, a brown macroalgae in the seaweed family, floats on the surface of the open ocean and provides habitat for a colorful array of marine life such as small fish, brine shrimp and other microorganisms. Previous studies have overlooked diazotrophs associated with sargassum, which could mean a historical underestimation of nitrogen fixation in the Atlantic nitrogen budget. The study found that nitrogen fixation in sargassum communities was significant.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Invasion of the Arctic Ocean by Atlantic plankton species reveals a seasonally ice-free ocean during the last interglacial      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A subpolar species associated with Atlantic water expanded far into the Arctic Ocean during the Last Interglacial, analysis of microfossil content of sediment cores reveals. This implies that summers in the Arctic were ice free during this period.

Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Winter storms over Labrador Sea influence Gulf Stream system      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Gulf Stream system plays an important role in climate. The weakening of this system that has been observed over the last two decades is therefore a cause for concern and much debate. The question is whether the measurable changes are already due to human-induced climate change -- model simulations predict such an influence with high probability for the future. A new study concludes that the currently observed weakening can be interpreted, at least in part, as a natural fluctuation following some extremely cold winters in the Labrador Sea in the 1990s.

Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Past climate warming driven by hydrothermal vents      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international drilling expedition off the Norwegian coast confirms the theory that methane emissions from hydrothermal vents were responsible for global warming about 55 million years ago. The study shows that the vents were active in very shallow water depth or even above sea level, which would have allowed much larger amounts of methane to enter the atmosphere.

Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Study highlights importance of mineral iron in ocean ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has revealed the importance of mineral forms of iron in regulating the cycling of this bio-essential nutrient in the ocean. The findings pave the way for new work on the relationship between the iron and carbon cycles and how changing ocean oxygen levels may interact.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Sea urchins are struggling to 'get a grip' as climate change alters ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As global climate change causes weather extremes ranging from heat waves and droughts to heavy rains and flooding, the large amounts of freshwater pouring into nearshore ecosystems are altering habitats. A team of biologists studied the impacts of low salinity and how it alters sea urchins' ability to grip and move within their habitat.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Nature's kitchen: how a chemical reaction used by cooks helped create life on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A chemical process used in the browning of food to give it its distinct smell and taste is probably happening deep in the oceans, where it helped create the conditions necessary for life. Known as the Maillard reaction after the French scientist who discovered it, the process converts small molecules of organic carbon into bigger molecules known as polymers. In the kitchen, it is used to create flavors and aromas out of sugars. But a research team argues that on the sea floor, the process has had a more fundamental effect, where it has helped to raise oxygen and reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, to create the conditions for complex life forms to emerge and thrive on Earth.

Biology: Marine Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Study analyzes nearshore California marine heatwaves and cold spells amid changing climate conditions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Human-caused climate change has also caused extreme ocean temperatures and conditions with detrimental impacts on marine ecosystems and ocean-related ecology.  A new study explores ocean temperature data along California's Coast, finding that certain environmental conditions and the state of the ocean led to an enhanced risk for marine heatwaves and cold spells, conditions that scientists and environmental managers will need to monitor to preserve and protect vital ecosystems critical to the California ocean economy, known as the Blue Economy.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Sea level rise shifts habitat for endangered Florida Keys species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A newly published study describes the response to sea level rise by the silver rice rat, an endangered species only found in the Florida Keys.

Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate
Published

North Atlantic Oscillation contributes to 'cold blob' in Atlantic Ocean      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A patch of ocean in the North Atlantic is stubbornly cooling while much of the planet warms. This anomaly -- dubbed the 'cold blob' -- has been linked to changes in ocean circulation, but a new study found changes in large-scale atmospheric patterns may play an equally important role, according to an international research team.

Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

California's winter waves may be increasing under climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study uses nearly a century of data to show that the average heights of winter waves along the California coast have increased as climate change has heated up the planet.