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

Past climate change to blame for Antarctica's giant underwater landslides      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists found weak, biologically-rich layers of sediments hundreds of meters beneath the seafloor which crumbled as oceans warmed and ice sheets declined. The landslides were discovered in the eastern Ross Sea in 2017, by an international team of scientists during the Italian ODYSSEA expedition, and scientists revisited the area in 2018 as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 374 where they collected sediment cores to understand what caused them.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Perfect 'pathogen' storm: Vibrio bacteria, Sargassum and plastic marine debris      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Little is known about the ecological relationship of Vibrio bacteria with Sargassum. Evidence also is sparse as to whether vibrios colonizing plastic marine debris and Sargassum could potentially infect humans. As summer kicks off and efforts are underway to find solutions to repurpose Sargassum, could these substrates pose a triple threat to public health? Results of a study representing the first Vibrio spp. genome assembled from plastic finds Vibrio pathogens have the unique ability to 'stick' to microplastics, harboring potent opportunistic pathogens.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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New use for A.I.: Correctly estimating fish stocks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A newly published artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm is allowing researchers to quickly and accurately estimate coastal fish stocks without ever entering the water.

Ecology: General Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Climate change to push species over abrupt tipping points      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate change is likely to abruptly push species over tipping points as their geographic ranges reach unforeseen temperatures, finds a new study.

Computer Science: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Mathematics: Modeling
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.

Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: General
Published

Impact of ancient earthquake revealed      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

By combining the scientific powerhouses of genetics and geology, researchers have identified a new area of coastal uplift, which had been hiding in plain sight.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Mathematics: Modeling Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
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Curved spacetime in a quantum simulator      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The connection between quantum physics and the theory of relativity is extremely hard to study. But now, scientists have set up a model system, which can help: Quantum particles can be tuned in such a way that the results can be translated into information about other systems, which are much harder to observe. This kind of 'quantum simulator' works very well and can lead to new insights about the nature of relativity and quantum physics.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Extremely hot days are warming twice as fast as average summer days in North-West Europe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New study analyzed data on near-surface air temperatures recorded for North-West Europe over the past 60 years. The findings show that the maximum temperature of the hottest days is increasing at twice the rate of the maximum temperature of average summer days. The results highlight the need for urgent action by policy makers to adapt essential infrastructure to the impacts of climate change.

Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

The number of the world's farms to halve by 2100      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research shows the number of farms globally will shrink from 616 million in 2020 to 272 million in 2100, posing significant risks to the world's food systems.

Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography
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.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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About 13,000 years ago, the water outflow from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean was twice that of today’s      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

About 13,000 years ago, a climate crisis caused a global drop in temperatures in the northern hemisphere. This episode of intense cold, known as the Younger Dryas, also caused severe aridity across the Mediterranean basin, which had a major impact on terrestrial and marine ecosystems. But what do we know about the impact of this climate change on water circulation in the Mediterranean?

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate
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'Warm Ice Age' changed climate cycles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Approximately 700,000 years ago, a 'warm ice age' permanently changed the climate cycles on Earth. During this exceptionally warm and moist period, the polar glaciers greatly expanded. A research team identified this seemingly paradoxical connection. The shift in the Earth's climate represents a critical step in our planet's later climate development.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Geochemistry
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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.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

New priming method improves battery life, efficiency      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a readily scalable method to optimize a silicon anode priming method that increases lithium-ion battery performance by 22% to 44%.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Ecology: Nature Geoscience: Geography Paleontology: General
Published

Butterfly tree of life reveals an origin in North America      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered where butterflies originated and which plants the first butterflies relied on for food. To reach these conclusions, researchers created the world's largest butterfly tree of life, which they used as a guide to trace trace the evolution of butterflies through time in a four-dimensional puzzle that led back to North and Central America.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Metal-filtering sponge removes lead from water      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a new sponge that can remove metals -- including toxic heavy metals like lead and critical metals like cobalt -- from contaminated water, leaving safe, drinkable water behind. In proof-of-concept experiments, the researchers tested their new sponge on a highly contaminated sample of tap water, containing more than 1 part per million of lead. With one use, the sponge filtered lead to below detectable levels.

Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Global warming puts whales in the Southern Ocean on a diet      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In the autumn, when right whales swim towards the coasts of South Africa, they ought to be fat and stuffed full. But in recent years, they have become thinner because their food is disappearing with the melting sea ice.

Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Robotics Research
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Milk reaction inspires new way to make highly conductive gel films      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has developed what they call a 'dip-and-peel' strategy for simple and rapid fabrication of two-dimensional ionogel membranes. By dipping sustainable biomass materials in certain solvents, molecules naturally respond by arranging themselves into functional thin films at the edge of the material that can easily be removed using nothing more than a simple set of tweezers.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Hammerhead sharks hold their breath on deep water hunts to stay warm      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scalloped hammerhead sharks hold their breath to keep their bodies warm during deep dives into cold water where they hunt prey such as deep sea squids. This discovery provides important new insights into the physiology and ecology of a species that serves as an important link between the deep and shallow water habitats.