Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
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Engineers harvest abundant clean energy from thin air, 24/7      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of engineers has recently shown that nearly any material can be turned into a device that continuously harvests electricity from humidity in the air. Researchers describe the 'generic Air-gen effect'-- nearly any material can be engineered with nanopores to harvest, cost effective, scalable, interruption-free electricity. The secret lies in being able to pepper the material with nanopores less than 100 nanometers in diameter.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Severe Weather Mathematics: Modeling
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New method predicts extreme events more accurately      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has used global storm-resolving simulations and machine learning to create an algorithm that can deal separately with two different scales of cloud organization: those resolved by a climate model, and those that cannot be resolved as they are too small. This new approach addresses the missing piece of information in traditional climate model parameterizations and provides a way to predict precipitation intensity and variability more precisely.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Microplastics are harming gut health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have found evidence that microplastics in the digestive tract of seabirds altered the microbiome of the gut -- increasing the presence of pathogens and antibiotic-resistant microbes, while decreasing the beneficial bacteria found in the intestines.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Consistent link between the seaside and better health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Seaside residents and holidaymakers have felt it for centuries, but scientists have only recently started to investigate possible health benefits of the coast. Using data from 15 countries, new research confirms public intuition: Living near, but especially visiting, the seaside is associated with better health regardless of country or personal income.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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'Sustainable' condenser tumble dryers create hundreds of tons of waterborne microfiber pollution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study has revealed that drying laundry using a condenser tumble dryer leads to hundreds of tons of potentially harmful microfibers being released into waterways and oceans across the UK and Europe.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Simultaneous atmospheric and marine observations directly beneath a violent, Category 5 typhoon in the North-West Pacific      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have successfully conducted a simultaneous marine and atmospheric measurements at multiple locations directly beneath a violent, Category 5, which is the strongest class, typhoon in the North-West Pacific, before it reached land.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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New technique substantially reduces mouse damage to crops even during plagues      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A non-toxic method to prevent mice from devouring wheat crops has been shown to drastically reduce seed loss.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Volcanoes Paleontology: Climate
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Extinct offshore volcano could store gigatons of carbon dioxide      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study concludes that an extinct volcano off the shore of Portugal could store as much as 1.2-8.6 gigatons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of ~24-125 years of the country's industrial emissions. For context, in 2022 a total of 42.6 megatons (0.0426 gigatons) of carbon dioxide was removed from the atmosphere by international carbon capture and storage efforts, according to the Global CCS Institute. The new study suggests that carbon capture and storage in offshore underwater volcanoes could be a promising new direction for removal and storage of much larger volumes of the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.

Energy: Fossil Fuels Energy: Technology Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Researchers examine cooling power plants with brackish groundwater      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Nontraditional water sources can be deployed to help cope with climate-induced water risks and tackle the increasing water demand for decarbonization of fossil fuel-fired power plants, but that could increase the cost of electricity generation by 8 percent to 10 percent.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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Coastal ecosystems are a net greenhouse gas sink, new research shows      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new greenhouse gas budget shows coastal ecosystems globally are a net greenhouse gas sink for carbon dioxide (CO2) but emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) counteract some of the CO2 uptake, according to researchers.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Modular builds may help construction industry weather a perfect storm      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have calculated the potential cost savings for builders who opt for modular construction techniques to avoid lengthy and expensive holdups caused by poor weather.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Researchers want to use 'biochar' to combat climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new review of research suggests that the nature-based technology biochar -- a carbon-rich material -- could be an important tool to use in agriculture to help mitigate climate change.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
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Montreal protocol is delaying first ice-free Arctic summer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research shows that the 1987 global treaty, designed to protect the ozone layer, has postponed the occurrence of the first ice-free Arctic by as much as 15 years.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Severe Weather
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How a drought affects trees depends on what's been holding them back      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Droughts can be good for trees. Certain trees, that is. Contrary to expectation, sometimes a record-breaking drought can increase tree growth. Why and where this happens is the subject of a new article.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
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Fine particulate matter catalyzes oxidative stress in the lungs      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Study sheds new light on the adverse health effects of air pollution: hydrogen peroxide production of fine particles may not be as important as previously assumed. A new study reveals that the adverse health effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are attributable to the conversion of peroxides into more reactive species such as the hydroxyl radical (OH) rather than the direct chemical production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as previously thought.

Chemistry: General Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Severe Weather Geoscience: Volcanoes Space: Exploration Space: General
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Eruption of Tonga underwater volcano found to disrupt satellite signals halfway around the world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers found that the Hunga-Tonga eruption was associated with the formation of an equatorial plasma bubble in the ionosphere, a phenomenon associated with disruption of satellite-based communications. Their findings also suggest that a long-held atmospheric model should be revised.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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Earlier snowpack melt in Western US could bring summer water scarcity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mountain snowpack, typically seen as the water tower of the Western United States and Canada, is in decline, according to a new study. Researchers created the Snow Storage Index to assess snow water storage from 1950-2013 and found that storage has significantly declined in more than 25% of the Mountain West, in part because more snow is melting during winter and spring.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
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Limiting global warming to 1.5°C would save billions from dangerously hot climate      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Current climate policies will leave more than a fifth of humanity exposed to dangerously hot temperatures by 2100, new research suggests.