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

Microplastic pollution increases sea foam height and stability      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers examine the specific impacts of microplastics on the geophysics of sea foam formation in the critical zone where water meets air in the top layer of the ocean. They devised two simulations for their work -- a column filled with sea water injected with air and a laboratory-scale breaking wave channel to test the impacts of wave height on sea foam in the surface microlayer -- and tested their effects on sea foam formation, stability, and duration.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Weather experts discover new effect of storm -- in a teacup      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reveals that Storm Ciaran cut an invisible path of mayhem across southern Britain last autumn, destroying any possibility that 20 million people could have a proper cup of tea at breakfast. The storm's record-breaking low pressure meant the boiling point of water was below the crucial 100 degrees Celsius required for a decent cuppa.

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

High and low tide cause low and high methane fluxes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Methane, a strong greenhouse gas that naturally escapes from the bottom of the North Sea, is affected by the pressure of high or low tide. Methane emissions from the seafloor can be just easily three times as much or as little, depending on the tide, according to a new study.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Scientists create computer program that 'paints' the structure of molecules in the style of Piet Mondrian      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have created a computer program that 'paints' the structure of molecules in the style of famous Dutch artist, Piet Mondrian. Researchers are opening eyes and minds to the beauty of molecular structure, as well as posing new questions about the form and function of the molecules themselves.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Scientists call for 'major initiative' to study whether geoengineering should be used on glaciers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have released a landmark report on glacial geoengineering -- an emerging field studying whether technology could halt the melting of glaciers and ice sheets as climate change progresses.

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

Lion with nine lives breaks record with longest swim in predator-infested waters      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A record-breaking swim by two lion brothers across a predator-infested African river has been documented in a new study. The researchers say the 1km swim is another example of iconic wildlife species having to make tough decisions to find homes and mates in a human-dominated world.

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

The Gulf Stream is wind-powered and could weaken from climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New evidence of changes to the Gulf Stream during the last ice age could indicate additional sensitivity to future climatic changes, finds a new study.

Biology: Marine Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Whale remains tracked to highlight sustainable disposal benefits      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study highlights the sustainable, cultural and ecosystem benefits of offshore removal or decomposition of whale remains. The study tracked the remains of a humpback whale that was intercepted before washing up on the shoreline, then repositioned 30km offshore and fitted with a satellite tag that tracked its position as it drifted with the wind and currents for 6 days before falling to the seabed.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Groundbreaking study reveals oceanic seabirds chase tropical cyclones      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reveals that the rare Desertas Petrels (Pterodroma deserta), a wide-ranging seabird in the North Atlantic, exhibit unique foraging behaviors during hurricane season. Contrary to other pelagic seabirds, these petrels do not avoid intense tropical cyclones but instead exploit the dynamic conditions for their benefit, providing new insights into the impact of cyclones on open ocean marine life.

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

Weaker ocean circulation could enhance carbon dioxide buildup in the atmosphere, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists may have to rethink the relationship between the ocean's circulation and its long-term capacity to store carbon, new research suggests. As the ocean gets weaker, it could release more carbon from the deep ocean into the atmosphere -- rather than less, as some have predicted.

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

The dawn of the Antarctic ice sheets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In recent years global warming has left its mark on the Antarctic ice sheets. The 'eternal' ice in Antarctica is melting faster than previously assumed, particularly in West Antarctica more than East Antarctica. The root for this could lie in its formation, as an international research team has now discovered: sediment samples from drill cores combined with complex climate and ice-sheet modelling show that permanent glaciation of Antarctica began around 34 million years ago -- but did not encompass the entire continent as previously assumed, but rather was confined to the eastern region of the continent (East Antarctica).

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Retreating glaciers: Fungi enhance carbon storage in young Arctic soils      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Melting Arctic glaciers are in rapid recession, and microscopic pioneers colonize the new exposed landscapes. Researchers revealed that yeasts play an important role in soil formation in the Arctic.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Organic material from Mars reveals the likely origin of life's building blocks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two samples from Mars together deliver clear evidence of the origin of Martian organic material. The study presents solid evidence for a prediction made over a decade ago that could be key to understanding how organic molecules, the foundation of life, were first formed here on Earth.

Biology: Biochemistry Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Everybody needs good neighbors: Resident quolls help newcomers settle in at Mulligans Flat      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

GPS tracking collars have revealed how newly reintroduced eastern quolls are settling in at Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary in Canberra, with quolls who were born at the sanctuary accepting their new neighbors with open paws.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Climate
Published

Investigating newly discovered hydrothermal vents at depths of 3,000 meters off Svalbard      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Hydrothermal vents can be found around the world at the junctions of drifting tectonic plates. But there are many hydrothermal fields still to be discovered. During a 2022 expedition of the MARIA S. MERIAN, the first field of hydrothermal vents on the 500-kilometer-long Knipovich Ridge off the coast of Svalbard was discovered.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Climate change to shift tropical rains northward      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Atmospheric scientists predict that unchecked carbon emissions will force tropical rains to shift northward in the coming decades, which would profoundly impact agriculture and economies near the Earth's equator. The northward rain shift would be spurred by carbon emissions that influence the formation of the intertropical convergence zones that are essentially atmospheric engines that drive about a third of the world's precipitation.