Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Climate change will bring more turbulence to flights in the Northern Hemisphere, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A type of invisible, unpredictable air turbulence is expected to occur more frequently in the Northern Hemisphere as the climate warms. Known as clear air turbulence, the phenomenon also increased in the Northern Hemisphere between 1980 and 2021.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Nitrogen emissions have a net cooling effect: But researchers warn against a climate solution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of researchers has found that nitrogen emissions from fertilizers and fossil fuels have a net cooling effect on the climate. But they warn increasing atmospheric nitrogen has further damaging effects on the environment, calling for an urgent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to halt global warming.

Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
Published

Great Salt Lake a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Newly announced research examining greenhouse gas emissions from the drying lake bed of Great Salt Lake, Utah, calculates that 4.1 million tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were released in 2020. This research suggests that drying lake beds are an overlooked but potentially significant source of greenhouse gases, which may further increase due to climate change.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

A recipe for zero-emissions fuel: Soda cans, seawater, and caffeine      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers discovered that when the aluminum in soda cans is purified and mixed with seawater, the solution produces hydrogen -- which can power an engine or fuel cell without generating carbon emissions. The reaction can be sped up by adding caffeine.

Biology: Microbiology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Seven steps to achieving the right to clean indoor air post-pandemic      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Seven lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic about ventilation's crucial role in preventing the spread of airborne pathogens has been set out in a new article.

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

How Saharan dust regulates hurricane rainfall      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research underscores the close relationship between dust plumes transported from the Sahara Desert in Africa, and rainfall from tropical cyclones along the U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida.

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

Southern Ocean absorbing more carbon dioxide than previously thought, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has found that the Southern Ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide (CO2) than previously thought. Using direct measurements of CO2 exchange, or fluxes, between the air and sea, the scientists found the ocean around Antarctica absorbs 25% more CO2 than previous indirect estimates based on shipboard data have suggested.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Study of urban moss raises concerns about lead levels in older Portland neighborhoods      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Lead levels in moss are as much as 600 times higher in older Portland, Oregon, neighborhoods where lead-sheathed telecommunications cables were once used compared to lead levels in nearby rural areas, a new study of urban moss has found.

Ecology: Endangered Species Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Whale shark tracked for record-breaking four years      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have been tracking a 26-foot endangered whale shark -- named 'Rio Lady' -- with a satellite transmitter for more than four years -- a record for whale sharks and one of the longest tracking endeavors for any species of shark.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology
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New study supports stable mantle chemistry dating back to Earth's early geologic history and over its prodigious evolution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new analysis of rocks thought to be at least 2.5 billion years old helps clarify the chemical history of Earth's mantle -- the geologic layer beneath the planet's crust. The findings hone scientists' understanding of Earth's earliest geologic processes, and they provide new evidence in a decades-long scientific debate about the geologic history of Earth. Specifically, the results provide evidence that the oxidation state of the vast majority of Earth's mantle has remained stable through geologic time and has not undergone major transitions, contrary to what has been suggested previously by other researchers.

Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Eyes for Love: Searching for light and a mate in the deep, dark sea, male dragonfishes grow larger eyes than the females they seek      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The eyes of the male dragonfish grow larger for mate seeking, a sexual dimorphism that makes the dragonfish an anomaly in vertebrate evolution, researchers report.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology
Published

Hot traces in rock      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Fluids circulating underground change rocks over the course of time. These processes must be taken into account if they are to be used as a climate archive. Researchers have used 380-million-year-old limestones from Hagen-Hohenlimburg to show in detail which climate information is still preserved in the rock.

Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science
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Tropical plant species are as threatened by climate change as widely feared, study confirms      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biologists who set out to better understand the effects of climate change on plant species in tropical mountain regions found that even small variations in temperature and moisture can have massive impacts, threatening not only plants that live there, but also the ecosystems they support. A study based on labor-intensive fieldwork and analysis in tropical mountain regions shows that a warmer and drier climate will lead to massive losses of plant species.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Researchers enhance tool to better predict where and when wildfires will occur      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A newly enhanced database is expected to help wildfire managers and scientists better predict where and when wildfires may occur by incorporating hundreds of additional factors that impact the ignition and spread of fire.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Converting captured carbon to fuel: Study assesses what's practical and what's not      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new analysis sheds light on major shortfalls of a recently proposed approach to capture CO2 from air and directly convert it to fuel using electricity. The authors also provide a new, more sustainable, alternative.

Ecology: Nature Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Agriculture: Less productive yet more stable pastures      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change will have a considerable influence on the biodiversity and productivity of meadows and pastures. However, according to the results of the large-scale climate and land use experiment the extent of these changes depends on the land use. Grassland optimized for high yield responds much more sensitively to periods of drought than less intensively used meadows and pastures.