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Categories: Geoscience: Geochemistry, Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published Driving on sunshine: Clean, usable liquid fuels made from solar power
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a solar-powered technology that converts carbon dioxide and water into liquid fuels that can be added directly to a car's engine as drop-in fuel.
Published Watch these cells rapidly create protrusions for exploration and movement
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In order to move, cells must be able to rapidly change shape. A team of researchers show that cells achieve this by storing extra 'skin' in folds and bumps on their surface. This cell surface excess can be rapidly deployed to cover temporary protrusions and then folded away for next time.
Published A better way to study ocean currents
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Computer scientists and oceanographers developed a machine-learning model that generates more accurate predictions about the velocities of ocean currents. The model could help make more precise weather forecasts or effectively predict how oil will spread after a spill.
Published Is it an ant? Is it a plant? No, it's a spider!
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A species of tiny, colorful jumping spider employs two lines of defense to avoid being eaten: camouflaging with plants and walking like an ant. Researchers report that this combination of camouflage and movement mimicry helps the spiders evade spider-eating spiders but does not deter hungry praying mantises.
Published African smoke over the Amazon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Up to two-thirds of the soot above the central Amazon rainforest originates in Africa. Researchers differentiate soot particles using their relative properties and attribute them to their respective points of origin. They found that bush fires and burning savannah in the north and south of Africa make a substantial contribution to air pollution in the central Amazon all year round, thereby playing an important role in the earth radiation budget and water cycle. This is caused by the efficient transatlantic transport of particles through the atmosphere.
Published Scientists reveal breakthrough that could lead to cleaner hydrogen energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Chemists have taken a big step toward splitting hydrogen and oxygen molecules to make pure hydrogen -- without using fossil fuels. Results from pulse radiolysis experiments have laid bare the complete reaction mechanism for an important group of 'water-splitting' catalysts. The work means scientists are closer to making pure hydrogen from renewable energy, an energy source that could contribute to a greener future for the nation and world.
Published Out of this world control on Ice Age cycles
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team, composed of climatologists and an astronomer, have used an improved computer model to reproduce the cycle of ice ages (glacial periods) 1.6 to 1.2 million years ago. The results show that the glacial cycle was driven primarily by astronomical forces in quite a different way than it works in the modern age. These results will help us to better understand the past, present, and future of ice sheets and the Earth's climate.
Published Heat-loving marine bacteria can help detoxify asbestos
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have shown that extremophilic bacteria from high temperature marine environments can be used to reduce asbestos' toxicity.
Published Porous crystals made from plant extracts purify water from pharmaceutical pollutants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed porous crystals made from pomegranate extract to capture and degrade pharmaceutical molecules found in local municipal wastewater.
Published With formic acid towards CO2 neutrality
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers develop a new method for the sustainable use of carbon dioxide.
Published Land use linked to water quality and quantity
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers recently published a study that focuses on the Sudbury-Assabet and Concord watershed in eastern Massachusetts, and which links hydrological changes, including floods, drought and runoff, to changing patterns of land use.
Published Bacteria: Radioactive elements replace essential rare earth metals
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Bacteria can use certain radioactive elements to sustain their metabolism.
Published Paper refutes assertion that effects of bottom trawling on blue carbon can be compared to that of global air travel
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new paper refutes previous findings on the amount of CO2 released from the seabed by bottom trawling. The previous paper made significant headlines around the world on release in 2021, as it equated the carbon released by bottom trawling to be of a similar magnitude to the CO2 created by the global airline industry.
Published Dark clouds on the horizon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Our industrialized society releases many and various pollutants into the world. Combustion in particular produces aerosol mass including black carbon. Although this only accounts for a few percent of aerosol particles, black carbon is especially problematic due to its ability to absorb heat and impede the heat reflection capabilities of surfaces such as snow. So, it's essential to know how black carbon interacts with sunlight. Researchers have quantified the refractive index of black carbon to the most accurate degree yet which might impact climate models.
Published New study reveals boreal wetlands are a large source of reactive vapors in a warming climate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Boreal wetlands are a significant source of isoprene and terpenes, a class of highly reactive organic compounds that have a substantial impact on the Earth's climate, according to a new study.
Published Nature favors creatures in largest and smallest sizes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Surveying the body sizes of Earth's living organisms, researchers found that the planet's biomass -- the material that makes up all living organisms -- is concentrated in organisms at either end of the size spectrum.
Published A jumping conclusion: Fossil insect ID'd as new genus, species of prodigious leaper, the froghopper
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A fossil arthropod entombed in 100-million-year-old Burmese amber has been identified as a new genus and species of froghopper, known today as an insect with prodigious leaping ability in adulthood following a nymphal stage spent covered in a frothy fluid.
Published How life and geology worked together to forge Earth's nutrient rich crust
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Around 500 million years ago life in the oceans rapidly diversified. In the blink of an eye -- at least in geological terms -- life transformed from simple, soft-bodied creatures to complex multicellular organisms with shells and skeletons. Now, research has shown that the diversification of life at this time also led to a drastic change in the chemistry of Earth's crust -- the uppermost layer we walk on and, crucially, the layer which provides many of the nutrients essential to life.
Published Unlocking the power of photosynthesis for clean energy production
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are embarking on a groundbreaking project to mimic the natural process of photosynthesis using bacteria to deliver electrons to a nanocrystal semiconductor photocatalyst. By leveraging the unique properties of microorganisms and nanomaterials, the system has the potential to replace current approaches that derive hydrogen from fossil fuels, revolutionizing the way hydrogen fuel is produced and unlocking a powerful source of renewable energy.
Published Kangaroo Island ants 'play dead' to avoid predators
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source They're well known for their industrious work, but now a species of ant on Kangaroo Island is also showing that it is skilled at 'playing dead', a behavior that researchers believe is a recorded world first.