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Categories: Geoscience: Geochemistry, Offbeat: Earth and Climate

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Burrowed into streambeds and rarely moving for their decades-long lifespans, freshwater mussels are biomonitors, meaning they indicate how clean their environment is, according to researchers. As the bivalves feed on organic matter and filter the water around them, their inner tissues and hard shells begin to reflect whatever is in their environment -- including radioactive particles.

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The fjords on Sweden's west coast act as effective carbon traps regardless of whether the bottom water is oxygen-rich or not.

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Research has led to a new tool for forecasting coral disease that could help conservationists step in at the right times with key interventions. Ecological forecasts are critical tools for conserving and managing marine ecosystems, but few forecasting systems can account for the wide range of ecological complexities in near-real-time.

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Humans may be accelerating the rate at which organic matter decomposes in rivers and streams on a global scale, according to a new study. That could pose a threat to biodiversity in waterways around the world and increase the amount of carbon in Earth's atmosphere, potentially exacerbating climate change. The study is the first to combine a global experiment and predictive modeling to illustrate how human impacts to waterways may contribute to the global climate crisis.

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Engineers have helped design a new method to make hydrogen gas from water using only solar power and agricultural waste such as manure or husks. The method reduces the energy needed to extract hydrogen from water by 600%, creating new opportunities for sustainable, climate-friendly chemical production.

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A whaler's forgotten aerial photos from 1937 have given researchers the most detailed picture of the ice evolution in East Antarctica to date. The results show that the ice has remained stable and even grown slightly over almost a century, though scientists observe early signs of weakening. The research offers new insights that enhance predictions of ice changes and sea level rise.

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Antibiotics prevent snails from forming new memories by disrupting their gut microbiome -- the community of beneficial bacteria found in their guts.

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Research work on symbiosis -- a mutually beneficial relationship between living organisms -- is pushing back against the newer theory of a 'single-origin' of root nodule symbiosis (RNS) -- that all symbiosis between plant root nodules and nitrogen-fixing bacteria stems from one point--instead suggesting a 'multiple-origin' theory of sybiosis which opens a better understanding for genetically engineering crops.

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Advances in electrochromic coatings may bring us closer to environmentally friendly ways to keep inside spaces cool. Like eyeglasses that darken to provide sun protection, the optical properties of these transparent films can be tuned with electricity to block out solar heat and light. Now, researchers report demonstrating a new electrochromic film design based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that quickly and reliably switch from transparent to glare-diminishing green to thermal-insulating red.

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Orchid plants nurture their seedlings via an underground fungal network, new research has revealed.

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Scientists have discovered that mycelium composites, biobased materials made from fungi and agricultural residues, can have a greater environmental impact than conventional fossil-fuel-based materials due to the high amount of electricity involved in their production.

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Most native species avoid more urbanized areas of Los Angeles, but slugs and snails may actually prefer these environments, according to a new study.

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Corals play an essential role in ocean ecosystems, and like many organisms, they are under threat from climate change and other human activities. To better protect coral, it's first necessary to understand them, in particular their reproductive life cycle, which only happens once a year. For the first time, researchers have produced a model for coral spawning, based on various environmental factors. They achieved this by tapping an often overlooked source of aquatic knowledge, an aquarium.

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New research looked at commonly available teabags made using three different compositions of polylactic acid (PLA), which is derived from sources such as corn starch or sugar cane. The teabags were buried in soil for seven months, and a range of techniques were then used to assess whether -- and to what extent -- they had deteriorated. The results showed that teabags made solely from PLA remained completely intact. However, the two types of teabags made from a combination of cellulose and PLA broke down into smaller pieces, losing between 60% and 80% of their overall mass and with the PLA component remaining.

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The African turquoise killifish lives in ephemeral ponds in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. To survive the annual dry season, the fish's embryos enter a state of extreme suspended animation or 'diapause' for approximately 8 months. Now, researchers have uncovered the mechanisms that enabled the killifish to evolve this extreme survival state.

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While most organisms have biological clocks synchronized with the day-night cycle (circadian rhythms), marine animals in tidal areas have also developed circatidal rhythms to align with the tidal cycle. Comparing the activity and genetic expression of snails from tidal and non-tidal areas, researchers demonstrate that circatidal rhythms develop as snails adapt to tidal environments. These findings highlight the flexibility of biological clocks, enabling organisms to adjust their rhythms according to the environment.

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Entomologists have solved the 250-year-old origin puzzle of the most prevalent indoor urban pest insect on the planet: the German cockroach. The team's research findings, representing the genomic analyses of over 280 specimens from 17 countries and six continents, show that this species evolved some 2,100 years ago from an outdoor-living species in Asia.

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Researchers have outlined a way to manipulate water molecules to make CO2R more efficient, with the ultimate goal of creating a clean energy loop. Through their new method, the team was able to perform CO2R with nearly 100% efficiency under mildly acidic conditions, using either gold or zinc as catalysts.

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Researchers have managed to analyze, simultaneously, several families of antibiotics in vegetables and earthworms. Sampling carried out in various locations has yielded data on the existence of antimicrobial agents and their derivatives in vegetables. In this respect, Vergara stresses the need for further research to address the problem of contamination by this type of medication in the environment.

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From soil to sequestration, researchers have modeled what a supply chain for second-generation biofuels might look like in the midwestern United States.