Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

We know the Arctic is warming -- What will changing river flows do to its environment?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists recently combined satellite data, field observations and sophisticated numerical modeling to paint a picture of how 22.45 million square kilometers of the Arctic will change over the next 80 years. As expected, the overall region will be warmer and wetter, but the details -- up to 25% more runoff, 30% more subsurface runoff and a progressively drier southern Arctic, provides one of the clearest views yet of how the landscape will respond to climate change.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

8 in 10 lizards could be at risk due to deforestation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

These reptiles move around tree trunks to seek warmth or shade. With trees disappearing, they would have trouble controlling their body temperature, a new study shows.

Biology: Botany Biology: General Ecology: Endangered Species Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Plant Lavender, Marjoram and Ivy on your green wall to clean up the air      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Green walls can strip pollution from the air -- and some plants do it better than others, according to new research. Researchers planted 10 species on a custom-built 1.4m green wall.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Less ice in the Arctic Ocean has complex effects on marine ecosystems and ocean productivity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Most of the sunlight reaching the Arctic Ocean is reflected to space by sea ice, effectively shielding ocean ecosystems from sunlight. As the Arctic sea ice continues its downward trend, larger areas of the ocean become exposed to sunlight for longer periods, potentially allowing more primary production on the seafloor. However, according to a new study, this anticipated increase in primary production does not seem to be occurring uniformly across the Arctic Ocean.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Antarctica's coasts are becoming less icy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists found unexpected evidence the area of polynyas around Antarctica is increasing dramatically, and it follows an intriguing cycle, growing and shrinking roughly every 16 years.

Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Modeling the origins of life: New evidence for an 'RNA World'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists provide fresh insights on the origins of life, presenting compelling evidence supporting the 'RNA World' hypothesis. The study unveils an RNA enzyme that can make accurate copies of other functional RNA strands, while also allowing new variants of the molecule to emerge over time. These remarkable capabilities suggest the earliest forms of evolution may have occurred on a molecular scale in RNA, and also bring scientists one step closer to re-creating autonomous RNA-based life in the laboratory.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Endangered Species Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

An evolutionary mystery 125 million years in the making      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plant biologists have uncovered an evolutionary mystery over 100 million years in the making. It turns out that sometime during the last 125 million years, tomatoes and Arabidopsis thaliana plants experienced an extreme genetic makeover. Just what happened remains unclear. But the mystery surrounds CLV3, a gene key to healthy plant growth and development.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

Photosynthetic secrets come to light      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Secrets of photosynthesis have been discovered at atomic level, shedding important new light on this plant super-power that greened the earth more than a billion years ago.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Cost of direct air carbon capture to remain higher than hoped      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers estimate the cost of removing 1 ton of CO2 from the air in the year 2050 to be between 230 and 540 US dollars to remove 1 ton. This is twice as high as previous estimates. The researchers compared the potential costs of three technologies that are already in use. From today's perspective, none of these technologies has clear advantages over the others in terms of potential costs. All three technologies should therefore be further developed, say the researchers.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

2020 extreme weather event that brought fires and snow to western US      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The same weather system that led to the spread of the devastating Labor Day wildfires in 2020 brought record-breaking cold and early-season snowfall to parts of the Rocky Mountains. Now, new research is shedding light on the meteorology behind what happened and the impacts of such an extreme weather event.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Researchers use GPS-tracked icebergs in novel study to improve climate models      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research unearthed new information to help scientists better understand circulation patterns of ocean water around glaciers. In the summers of 2014 and 2019, a group of pioneers in glacial research attached GPS devices to 13 icebergs and tracked hourly changes in their positions as they passed through Greenland's Ilulissat Icefjord toward the ocean. Study results showed circulation in the primary fjord is greatly affected by freshwater flow from connecting tributary fjords, which is critically important to consider in circulation models.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Botany Biology: Cell Biology Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Genetics Biology: Marine Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Convergent evolution of algal CO2-fixing organelles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers identified the proteins of a CO2-fixing organelle, namely, 'pyrenoid,' in the marine algal group Chlorarachniophyta and revealed various pyrenoid-associated proteins among algal groups, suggesting the independent evolution of pyrenoids in different algal groups.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Glacier shrinkage is causing a 'green transition'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Glacier-fed streams are undergoing a process of profound change, according to scientists. This conclusion is based on the expeditions to the world's major mountain ranges by members of the Vanishing Glaciers project.

Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Hurricanes and power grids: Eliminating large-scale outages with a new approach      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Large scale-power outages caused by tropical cyclones can be prevented almost entirely if a small but critical set of power lines is protected against storm damages, a new study finds. Scientists developed a new method that can be used to identify those critical lines and increase the system's resilience.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Biotechnology Biology: Cell Biology Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Biology: Molecular
Published

How virus causes cancer: Potential treatment      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have discovered a key mechanism used by Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), also known as human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8), to induce cancer. The research points to effective new treatment options for KSHV-associated cancers, including Kaposi's sarcoma, primary effusion lymphoma, and HHV8-associated multicentric Castleman disease.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Tiny magnetic particles in air pollution linked to development of Alzheimer's      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Magnetite, a particle found in air pollution, can induce signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests.