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Categories: Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry, Geoscience: Geography
Published Gray whales experience major population swings as a result of Arctic conditions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Dynamic and changing Arctic Ocean conditions have likely caused three major mortality events in the eastern North Pacific gray whale population since the 1980s.
Published Coffee and cocoa plants at risk from pollinator loss
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tropical crops such as coffee, cocoa, watermelon and mango may be at risk due to the loss of insect pollinators, finds a new study.
Published Plastic production via advanced recycling lowers GHG emissions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research reveals that recycling post-use plastic through pyrolysis can reduce GHG emissions by 18-23%. Approach can potentially enhance sustainability by minimizing waste and fossil resource reliance.
Published Large swings in past ocean oxygen revealed
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As the climate warms, there is major concern that Earth's ocean will lose oxygen. A study has revealed that locked in ancient deep-sea sediments is evidence for oxygen loss in the world's ocean during past glacial periods, indicating that widespread oxygen loss with current climate change may not be permanent.
Published Close connectivity within the North Atlantic Current system identified
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have compared long-term data on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation from two different latitudes and discovered a statistical correlation. Their aim was to investigate how the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has developed over a period of 25 years, based on moored observation stations. These data will help to refine climate models in the future.
Published Surprising discovery shows electron beam radiation can repair nanostructures
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a surprising new study, researchers have found that the electron beam radiation that they previously thought degraded crystals can actually repair cracks in these nanostructures. The groundbreaking discovery provides a new pathway to create more perfect crystal nanostructures, a process that is critical to improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of materials that are used in virtually all electronic devices we use every day.
Published Killer whales' diet more important than location for pollutant exposure
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Both elegant and fierce, killer whales are some of the oceans' top predators, but even they can be exposed to environmental pollution. Now, in the largest study to date on North Atlantic killer whales, researchers report the levels of legacy and emerging pollutants in 162 individuals' blubber. The animals' diet, rather than location, greatly impacted contaminant levels and potential health risks -- information that's helpful to conservation efforts.
Published Metal-organic frameworks could someday deliver antibacterial nitric oxide
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Because metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) — highly porous metal complexes — are so structurally and chemically diverse, they could be used for many applications, such as drug delivery and environmental clean-up. But researchers still need to get a better understanding of how they function, especially when embedded in polymers. Researchers have now developed and characterized nitric oxide (NO)-storing MOFs embedded in a thin film with novel antibacterial potential.
Published Remains of artificial turf is an important source of pollution of the aquatic environment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Every year, around 1,200 and 1,400 artificial turf sports fields are installed in the European Union. These fields are made up of synthetic fibers, mainly plastics, that mimic the appearance of natural grass. Recently, scientists conducted a study that characterizes and quantifies the presence of artificial turf fibers in samples collected from surface waters of the Catalan coast and the Guadalquivir River. The findings indicate that artificial turfs can be an important source of pollution in the aquatic environment, accounting for up to 15% of the plastics larger than 5 mm in length that are found floating in the aquatic environment.
Published Study clearly identifies nutrients as a driver of the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Under normal conditions, the floating macroalgae Sargassum spp. provide habitat for hundreds of types of organisms. However, the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt (GASB) that emerged in 2011 has since then caused unprecedented inundations of this brown seaweed on Caribbean coastlines, with harmful effects on ecosystems while posing challenges to regional economies and tourism, and concerns for respiratory and other human health issues.
Published Evolutionary secrets of 'Old Tom' and the killer whales of Eden revealed by genetic study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Evolutionary biologists have for the first time decoded the genetic lineage of a famous killer whale and a pod that once worked alongside whale hunters off the coast of Australia. In the Australian tradition of claiming New Zealand's celebrities as its own, Old Tom, the leader of a pod of killer whales that famously helped whalers hunt baleen whales in the 20th century, has ancestral links to modern-day killer whales in New Zealand, according to new DNA research. Old Tom also shared a common ancestor with killer whales from Australasia, the North Pacific, and North Atlantic Oceans, but is most similar to modern New Zealand killer whales. However, most of Tom's DNA code is not found in other killer whales globally suggesting that the killer whales of Eden may have become extinct locally.
Published Bringing out the color in zinc
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have synthesized a zinc complex based on two zinc centers that absorbs visible light. They demonstrated that this capability depends on the proximity of the zinc ions, where the complex responds to visible light when the zinc atoms are closer. This new property is expected to expand the utility of zinc, which already offers advantages including biological relevance, cost effectiveness, and low toxicity.
Published Paleoclimatologists use ancient sediment to explore future climate in Africa
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source With global warming apparently here to stay, a team of paleoclimatologists are studying an ancient source to determine future rainfall and drought patterns: fossilized plants that lived on Earth millions of years ago.
Published Ecotoxicity testing of micro- and nano-plastics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of researchers has published the first harmonized exposure protocol for ecotoxicity testing of microplastics and nanoplastics.
Published Ionic crystal generates molecular ions upon positron irradiation, finds new study
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The interaction between solid matter and positron (the antiparticle of electron) has provided important insights across a variety of disciplines, including atomic physics, materials science, elementary particle physics, and medicine. However, the experimental generation of positronic compounds by bombardment of positrons onto surfaces has proved challenging. In a new study, researchers detect molecular ion desorption from the surface of an ionic crystal when bombarded with positrons and propose a model based on positronic compound generation to explain their results.
Published The changing climate creates more noise in the oceans
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Due to the changing climate, the underwater world is getting ever noisier.
Published Discovery of invisible nutrient discharge on Great Barrier Reef raises concerns
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists using natural tracers off Queensland’s coast have discovered the source of previously unquantified nitrogen and phosphorus having a profound environmental impact on the Great Barrier Reef. Groundwater discharge accounted for approximately one-third of new nitrogen and two-thirds of phosphorus inputs, indicating that nearly twice the amount of nitrogen enters the Reef from groundwater compared to river waters.
Published Researchers identify largest ever solar storm in ancient 14,300-year-old tree rings
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international team of scientists have discovered a huge spike in radiocarbon levels 14,300 years ago by analyzing ancient tree-rings found in the French Alps. The radiocarbon spike was caused by a massive solar storm, the biggest ever identified. A similar solar storm today would be catastrophic for modern technological society – potentially wiping out telecommunications and satellite systems, causing massive electricity grid blackouts, and costing us billions. The academics are warning of the importance of understanding such storms to protect our global communications and energy infrastructure for the future.
Published Plate tectonic surprise: Geologist unexpectedly finds remnants of a lost mega-plate
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Geologists have reconstructed a massive and previously unknown tectonic plate that was once one-quarter the size of the Pacific Ocean. The team had predicted its existence over 10 years ago based on fragments of old tectonic plates found deep in the Earth’s mantle. To the lead researchers surprise, she found that oceanic remnants on northern Borneo must have belonged to the long-suspected plate, which scientists have named Pontus. She has now reconstructed the entire plate in its full glory.
Published The Gulf Stream is warming and shifting closer to shore
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Gulf Stream is intrinsic to the global climate system, bringing warm waters from the Caribbean up the East Coast of the United States. As it flows along the coast and then across the Atlantic Ocean, this powerful ocean current influences weather patterns and storms, and it carries heat from the tropics to higher latitudes as part of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. A new study now documents that over the past 20 years, the Gulf Stream has warmed faster than the global ocean as a whole and has shifted towards the coast. The study relies on over 25,000 temperature and salinity profiles collected between 2001 and 2023.