Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Turning old maps into 3D digital models of lost neighborhoods      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Imagine strapping on a virtual reality headset and 'walking' through a long-gone neighborhood in your city -- seeing the streets and buildings as they appeared decades ago. That's a very real possibility now that researchers have developed a method to create 3D digital models of historic neighborhoods using machine learning and historic Sanborn Fire Insurance maps.

Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

Squash bugs are attracted to and eat each other's poop to stock their microbiome      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Squash bugs, a common and difficult-to-control agricultural pest, need healthy bacteria in their gut to grow and stay alive. However, they do not acquire any bacteria from their parents when they are first born, leaving them vulnerable until their microbiome can be stocked. Researchers report that, to acquire these healthy bacteria, young bugs innately seek out and eat the poop from older squash bugs.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

How urea may have been the gateway to life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Urea reacts extremely quickly under the conditions that existed when our planet was newly formed. This new insight furthers our understanding of how life on Earth might have begun.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

There may be good news about the oceans in a globally warmed world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An analysis of oxygen levels in Earth's oceans may provide some rare, good news about the health of the seas in a future, globally warmed world. A study analyzing ocean sediment shows that ocean oxygen levels in a key area were higher during the Miocene warm period, some 16 million years ago when the Earth's temperature was hotter than it is today.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Research in a place where geological processes happen before your eyes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Taiwan experiences some of the world's fastest rates of mountain building -- they are growing at a faster rate than our fingernails grow in a year. The mountains also see frequent and significant earthquakes, the region experiences about four typhoons per year on average, and in some places, it receives upwards of several meters of rain annually.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Physics: General
Published

Don't wait, desalinate: A new approach to water purification      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A water purification system separates out salt and other unnecessary particles with an electrified version of dialysis. Successfully applied to wastewater with planned expansion into rivers and seas, the method saves money and saps 90% less energy than its counterparts.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Act now to prevent uncontrolled rise in carbon footprint of computational science      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have set out principles for how computational science -- which powers discoveries from unveiling the mysteries of the universe to developing treatments to fight cancer to improving our understanding of the human genome, but can have a substantial carbon footprint -- can be made more environmentally sustainable.

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

Study of Earth's stratosphere reduces uncertainty in future climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research reduces uncertainty in future climate change linked to the stratosphere, with important implications for life on Earth. A significant source of uncertainty relates to future changes to water vapor in the stratosphere, an extremely dry region of the atmosphere 15--50 km above the Earth's surface. Future increases in water vapor here risk amplifying climate change and slowing down the recovery of the ozone layer, which protects life on Earth from harmful solar ultraviolet radiation.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Study of deep-sea corals reveals ocean currents have not fuelled rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Pioneering analysis of deep-sea corals has overturned the idea that ocean currents contributed to increasing global levels of carbon dioxide in the air over the past 11,000 years.

Biology: Biochemistry Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Investing in nature improves equity, boosts economy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study shows that current trends in environmental degradation will lead to large economic losses in the coming decades, hitting the poorest countries hardest. But there is hope: investing in nature can turn those losses into gains.

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

Effect of volcanic eruptions significantly underestimated in climate projections      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have found that the cooling effect that volcanic eruptions have on Earth's surface temperature is likely underestimated by a factor of two, and potentially as much as a factor of four, in standard climate projections.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Are viruses keeping sea lice at bay in wild salmon?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

More than 30 previously unknown RNA viruses in sea lice have been identified. Sea lice are parasitic copepods (small crustaceans) found in many fresh and saltwater habitats, and have been implicated in the decline of wild salmon populations. The research sheds greater light on the types of viruses being carried by sea lice, and how the viruses and host are interacting.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Environmental: Water Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Do hummingbirds drink alcohol? More often than you think      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Animals that eat fruit or sip nectar often ingest alcohol because naturally occurring yeasts turning sugar into ethanol. But how do animals feel about that? A new study details an experiment to determine whether hummingbirds are turned off by alcohol in sugar water. At 1% by volume, no. At 2% by volume, they consume much less. The implication is that hummingbirds have adjusted to small amounts of alcohol likely present in flowers and backyard feeders.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Will engineered carbon removal solve the climate crisis?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study explored fairness and feasibility in deep mitigation pathways with novel carbon dioxide removal, taking into account institutional capacity to implement mitigation measures.

Biology: Biochemistry Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Rain gardens could save salmon from toxic tire chemicals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Specially designed gardens could reduce the amount of a toxic chemical associated with tires entering our waterways by more than 90 per cent, new research shows.

Biology: Biochemistry Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Smart farming platform improves crop yields, minimizes pollution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new farming system aims to solve one of the biggest problems in modern agriculture: the overuse of fertilizers to improve crop yields and the resulting chemical runoff that pollutes the world's air and water.

Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

PFAS found in blood of dogs, horses living near Fayetteville, NC      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers detected elevated PFAS levels in the blood of pet dogs and horses from Gray's Creek, N.C. -- including dogs that only drank bottled water.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Scientists unearth 20 million years of 'hot spot' magmatism under Cocos plate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of scientists has observed past episodic intraplate magmatism and corroborated the existence of a partial melt channel at the base of the Cocos Plate. Situated 60 kilometers beneath the Pacific Ocean floor, the magma channel covers more than 100,000 square kilometers, and originated from the Galápagos Plume more than 20 million years ago, supplying melt for multiple magmatic events -- and persisting today.

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

New study reveals irrigation's mixed effects around the world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Trajectory of irrigation water use in many regions is unsustainable, but practice is vital in managing climate change and future agricultural development, researchers conclude.