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Categories: Biology: Marine, Geoscience: Environmental Issues

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Greater atmospheric demand for water means a dramatic increase in the risk of major fires in global forests unless we take urgent and effective climate action, new research finds. Researchers have examined global climate and fire records in all of the world's forests over the last 20 years.

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The 1930s Dust Bowl affected heat extremes across much of North America and as far away as Europe and East Asia, according to new research. The study found that the extreme heating of the Great Plains triggered motions of air around the Northern Hemisphere in ways that suppressed cloud formation in some regions and contributed to record heat thousands of miles away.

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Creating campaigns that tap the diverse community around many of the UK's schools could help to keep air pollution low, especially as much of the country experiences the cost-of-living crisis, according to a new study.

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Researchers examined root exudates and their impact on soil carbon storage revealing surprising and counterintuitive results.

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Microplastic fibers discovered in samples (air, seawater, sediment and sea-ice) from the last remaining pristine environment on Earth.

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A research team has found that the Andean region of Chile could face noticeable snow loss and roughly 10% less mountain water runoff with a global warming of approximately 2.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels over the next three decades. The study also shows that what happens in the Andes could be a harbinger of what is to come for the California Sierra Nevada mountain range, and highlights the importance of carbon-mitigation strategies to prevent this from occurring.

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The wastewater draining from massive pools of sewage sludge has the potential to play a role in more sustainable agriculture, according to environmental engineering researchers.

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Race- and ethnicity-based discrepancies in exposure to air pollution, especially regarding proximity to roadways and industrial zones, are well-established. A new study reports the first nationwide patterns in atmospheric fine particulate pollution and nitrogen dioxide exposure at U.S. public schools.

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Changing weather patterns have profound impacts on agricultural production around the world. Higher temperatures, severe drought, and other weather events may decrease output in some regions but effects are often volatile and unpredictable. Yet, many countries rely on agricultural and food trade to help alleviate the consequences of local, weather-induced production shifts, a new article suggests.

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A new study has found that traffic congestion may be linked to lower birthweights. The study found consistent associations between traffic delays and a nine-gram reduction in birthweight among infants born to parents who reside in areas with heavy traffic, such as highways or freeways.

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A new experiment conducted at the world's largest particle physics laboratory, demonstrates the mechanism for how the gas-phase form of iodine -- known as iodic acid -- forms, and suggests it has a catalytic role in atmospheric particle formation.

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Research shows that a practice of purposeful water management, or irrigation, was adopted in northern China about 4,000 years ago as part of an effort to grow new grains that had been introduced from southwest Asia. But the story gets more complex from there. Wheat and barley arrived on the scene at about the same time, but early farmers only used water management techniques for wheat. The results raise awareness that the dispersal of domesticated crops and the knowledge of best using them can be traced independently across time and space.

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The World Health Organization's most recent estimates (2016) are that over 4.2 million people die prematurely each year due to long-term exposure to fine particulate outdoor air pollution (often referred to as PM2.5,). A recent study now suggests that the annual global death toll from outdoor PM2.5 may be significantly higher than previously thought. That's because the researchers found that mortality risk was increased even at very low levels of outdoor PM2.5, ones which had not previously been recognized as being potentially deadly, causing as many as 1.5 million additional deaths around the globe each year.

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Exposure to indoor household pollution has been linked to poor pregnancy outcomes for women in low- and middle-income countries in a new study.

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When fields of oilseed rape are exposed to diesel exhaust and/or ozone -- both found in emissions from diesel burning vehicles and industry -- the number of parasitic insects available to control aphids drops significantly, according to research published today.

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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.