Chemistry: Thermodynamics Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Scientists develop a cool new method of refrigeration      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a new kind of heating and cooling method that they have named the ionocaloric refrigeration cycle. They hope the technique will someday help phase out refrigerants that contribute to global warming and provide safe, efficient cooling and heating for homes.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

London Underground polluted with metallic particles small enough to enter human bloodstream      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The London Underground is polluted with ultrafine metallic particles small enough to end up in the human bloodstream, according to researchers. These particles are so small that they are likely being underestimated in surveys of pollution in the world's oldest metro system.

Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Drought encouraged Attila's Huns to attack the Roman empire, tree rings suggest      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Hunnic peoples migrated westward across Eurasia, switched between farming and herding, and became violent raiders in response to severe drought in the Danube frontier provinces of the Roman empire, a new study argues.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Plastic pollution kills sea urchin larvae      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Sea urchin larvae raised in high levels of plastic pollution die due to developmental abnormalities, new research shows.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

New study sheds light on boric acid transport and excretion in marine fish      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Seawater is known to contain a significant concentration of boric acid, which can be toxic and deadly to living systems. As such, fish living in marine habitats need to be able to excrete boric acid in order to maintain a healthy boron balance. Researchers have now identified the gene and mechanism of boric acid transport in seawater fish and contrasted it to freshwater species.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate
Published

Microplastic pollution swirling in city air: Millions of plastic bottles per year      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers calculated that 74 metric tons of microplastics are dropping out of the atmosphere onto the city annually, the equivalent of more than 3 million plastic bottles falling from the sky.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

Researchers propose methods for automatic detection of doxing      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new automated approach to detect doxing -- a form of cyberbullying in which certain private or personally identifiable information is publicly shared without an individual's consent or knowledge -- may help social media platforms better protect their users, according to researchers.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Researchers shed (laser) light on emerging water treatment technique      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Assuring that a growing global population has access to clean water will require new water treatment methods. One of these next-generation methods involves a form of iron called ferrate, which creates fewer toxic byproducts than chemicals like chlorine and is potentially cheaper and easier to deploy than complex ozone treatment systems. For ferrate to work best, however, it needs to be combined with other compounds or excited by light energy. Now, using a technique involving ultra-fast laser and X-ray pulses, a team of researchers has revealed new details about the chemical reaction that occurs when ferrate is exposed to visible and ultraviolet light.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Electric car sales drive toward cleaner air, longer lives      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Electric cars -- and their continued sales growth -- are expected to have a greener, cleaner influence on air pollution and reduce early human mortality in most, if not all, U.S. metropolitan areas.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Salton Sea dust triggers lung inflammation, research finds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A mouse study has found that dust collected at sites near the Salton Sea in Southern California triggered lung neutrophil inflammation in mice -- an important direct demonstration that chronic exposures to Salton Sea dust may have a role in the asthma in residents closest to the sea.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Germicidal UV lamps: A trade-off between disinfection and air quality, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

When winter chill strikes, people stay indoors more often, giving airborne pathogens -- such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza -- prime opportunities to spread. Germicidal ultraviolet (GUV) lamps can help disinfect circulating air, but their UVC wavelengths could also transform airborne compounds into potentially harmful substances. Now, researchers have modeled the reactions initiated by UVC sanitizing light and find that there's a trade-off between removing viruses and producing air pollutants.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Megadrought: How the current Southwestern North American megadrought is affecting Earth's upper atmosphere      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research, based on two decades' worth of data, shows that in the ten years after its onset in 2000, the Southwestern North American (SWNA) megadrought caused a 30% change in gravity wave activity in Earth's upper atmosphere.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Itchy eyes and a runny nose? It could be climate change      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have simulated how climate change will affect the distribution of two leading allergens -- oak and ragweed pollens -- across the contiguous United States. The results may make your eyes water. Using computer models, the team found that by 2050 climate change significantly will increase airborne pollen loads, with some of the largest surges occurring in areas where pollen is historically uncommon.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Transport of air masses in connection with 'El Niño' decoded      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The El Niño phenomenon influences the weather in distant regions, as far away as the USA, India or the Mediterranean region. But how exactly these so-called teleconnections actually work has not yet been clarified completely. Atmospheric researchers at have now succeeded in demonstrating that variations of the transport of air mass, heat, moisture and energy from the tropical Pacific are responsible for many of these climate anomalies. And: El Niño also warms up the Atlantic.

Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Forest resilience linked with higher mortality risk in western US      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A forest's resilience, or ability to absorb environmental disturbances, has long been thought to be a boost for its odds of survival against the looming threat of climate change. But a new study suggests that for some Western U.S. forests, it's quite the opposite. The results of one of the first large-scale studies of its kind show that while high ecosystem resilience correlates with low mortality in eastern forests, it is linked to high mortality in western regions.

Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Climate change in the forests of northern Germany      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

More and more trees are suffering the consequences of decades of human-made climate change. The growth of the European beech has so far suffered decline mainly in southern Europe. European beech is Germany's most important native forest tree species and it is most commonly found in Central Europe. A research team has now been able to show that the European beech is suffering from increasing drought stress in summer in northern Germany as well. This climate stress is particularly pronounced at warmer sites, when there is a higher density of these trees together, and on very sandy soils.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Household air cleaners improve heart health among individuals with COPD, researchers find      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A six-month study oncludes that the use of portable home air purifiers can improve some markers of cardiovascular health in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Post-lockdown auto emissions can't hide in the grass      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have a new way to demonstrate which neighborhoods are most affected by air pollution from vehicle emissions: analyzing wild grass for radiocarbon content, which is a proxy for fossil fuel emissions.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Energy: Fossil Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Health benefits of using wind energy instead of fossil fuels      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study finds that the health benefits associated with wind power could more than quadruple if operators turned down output from the most polluting fossil-fuel-based power plants when energy from wind is available. However, compared to wealthier communities, disadvantaged communities would reap a smaller share of these benefits.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Adults living in areas with high air pollution are more likely to have multiple long-term health conditions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Exposure to traffic related air pollution is associated with an increased likelihood of having multiple long-term physical and mental health conditions according to a new study of more than 364,000 people in England.