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Categories: Computer Science: Encryption, Geoscience: Environmental Issues

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For years, scientists have seen enhanced photosynthesis as one of the only possible bright sides of increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) -- since plants use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, it is anticipated that higher levels of the gas will lead to more productive plants. Scientists now explain why this effect may be less than expected because elevated levels of CO2 make it difficult for plants to obtain minerals necessary to grow and provide nutritious food.

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New research reveals that the world's largest tropical peatland turned from being a major store of carbon to a source of damaging carbon dioxide emissions as a result of climate change thousands of years ago. Around the time that Stonehenge was built, 5,000 years ago, the climate of central Congo began to dry leading to the peatlands emitting carbon dioxide. The peatlands only stopped releasing carbon and reverted back to taking carbon out of the atmosphere when the climate got wetter again in the past 2,000 years, according to a major international study Scientists involved in the study are warning that if modern-day global heating produces droughts in the Congo region, history could repeat itself, dangerously accelerating climate change.

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Peering inside common atmospheric particles is providing important clues to their climate and health effects, according to a new study by chemists. Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) particles are ubiquitous in the atmosphere and play an important role in air quality and climate. They can add to air pollution and damage the lungs, as well as help deflect solar radiation or aid cloud formation. Different types of SOA can mix together in a single particle and their environmental impacts are governed by the new particles' physical and chemical properties, particularly the number of phases --or states-- it can exist in. In a new research letter published in the European Geosciences Union's open access journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, an international team of researchers found that particles with two phases can form when different types of SOA mix. The finding could help improve current models that predict SOA climate and health effects.

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Scientists conducted a 7-year study on seedling recruitment and mortality in a national park in Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand. During the study period, an extremely strong El Niño event occurred, leading to a stronger and longer drought than normal. Seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFs), which experience an annual dry season, are considered drought-tolerant. Nevertheless, the study found that seedling mortality increased in SDTFs when severe and prolonged drought occurred.

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A new study measured particulate emissions from passenger car preheating with an auxiliary heater in sub-zero conditions. The preheating emissions were compared to calculated emissions from driving to determine the driving distance corresponding to the preheating emissions under current emissions standards.

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The annual Antarctic ozone hole reached an average area of 8.9 million square miles (23.2 million square kilometers) between Sept. 7 and Oct. 13, 2022. This depleted area of the ozone layer over the South Pole was slightly smaller than last year and generally continued the overall shrinking trend of recent years.

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Based on new analyses of satellite data, scientists have found that hydrologic conditions that increase flash drought risk occur more often than current models predict. The research also shows that incorporating how plants change soil structures can improve Earth system models.

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Higher exposure to a certain type of traffic-related air pollution called particulate matter may be linked to an increased risk of dementia, according to a meta-analysis. Researchers specifically looked at fine particulate matter, PM2.5, which consists of pollutant particles of less than 2.5 microns in diameter suspended in air. The meta-analysis included all available studies on air pollution and risk of dementia.

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Food insecurity is a growing problem in certain parts of the world, especially as climate change affects weather conditions around the globe. New research found that a lack of rainfall was associated with the highest risk of food insecurity in Tanzania.

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New research indicates better groundwater supply management could hold the key to help combat the impact of climate change in East Africa, where countries are currently facing the worst drought and food insecurity in a generation.

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Hydrogen gas could someday replace fossil fuels as a 'clean' energy source, producing only water and energy. However, handling large quantities of gaseous hydrogen is cumbersome, and converting it to a liquid requires vessels that can withstand extremely high pressures. Now, researchers have developed a method to store and release highly pure hydrogen with salts in the presence of amino acids.

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Britain's transition from water power to coal-based steam power set the stage for the 19th century Industrial Revolution, which transformed much of Europe and North America into predominantly urban and industrialized societies. One long-held argument for this move 'away from the water' has been that Britain no longer had sufficient water resources to satisfy the increasing power demands of its textile mills.

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High temperatures, fuelled by climate change, dried out soils across Europe and the Northern Hemisphere this summer, finds a team of climate scientists.

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An opinion piece urgently calls for more research into the specific pathways by which civilization could potentially collapse due to climate change. Scientists have warned that climate change threatens the habitability of large regions of the Earth and even civilization itself, but surprisingly little research exists about how that collapse could happen and what can be done to prevent it.

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Researchers have reported that nitrate accumulated in soil bordering streams plays an important role in the increase of nitrate levels in stream water when it rains. Their findings may help reduce nitrogen pollution and improve water quality in downstream bodies of water, such as lakes and nearshore waters.

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Tiny amounts of crude oil on the water surface, less than one percent of the thickness of a hair, can damage seabird feathers, a new study finds.

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The Great Salt Lake is getting saltier, creating a serious threat to the ecosystems and the economies that depend on it. New research examines the trajectory the two halves of the lake might take on a path to hyper-salinity.

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Scientists have created a new type of nanomembrane that presents a less energy intensive way to fractionate hydrocarbons from crude oil. The global production of crude oil is currently around 80 million barrels per day. Hydrocarbons extracted from crude oil are the main ingredients for manufacturing fossil fuels, plastics, and polymers. The process by which they are extracted is extremely energy intensive. Membrane technology that can separate the molecules in crude oil by their different sizes and classes could be a far more energy efficient process, consuming 90% less energy.

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Over the past decades, rising levels of ozone pollution have been interrupting pollination, impacting the livelihood of both plants and the animals that pollinate them. Researchers now explain how an excess of ground-level ozone can damage plant foliage, change plants' flowering patterns, and act as a barrier to pollinators finding blooms.

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More frequent and longer-lasting droughts caused by rising global temperatures pose significant risks to people and ecosystems around the world -- according to new research. The paper has quantified the projected impacts of alternative levels of global warming upon the probability and length of severe drought in the six countries.