Showing 20 articles starting at article 2781

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Biology: Marine, Geoscience: Environmental Issues

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

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.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

The ability of rainforests to store carbon can decrease in pace with climate change. This is due to photosynthesis rates in the leaves of rainforest species falling at higher temperatures and the trees' natural cooling systems failing during droughts. Increased heat threatens especially the species that store most carbon.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Twelve years after an oil spill coated nearly 35 miles of the Kalamazoo River, new research confirms that turtles rehabilitated in the aftermath of the disaster had high long-term survival rates.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Professors have developed a self-calibrating EDI to compare and analyze precipitation records from the Joseon Dynasty to date.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

At the beginning of the year, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the Middle East ranks among the regions with the worst air quality. There is a common misconception that desert dust is the most significant cause of air pollution from particulate matter in this region, but a new study has shown that more than 90 percent of the particulate matter that is detrimental to health originates from anthropogenic sources. This human-made fine particulate matter differs from the less harmful desert dust particles. Scientists determined this through ship borne measurements and verified it in elaborate modeling calculations. The anthropogenic particles are primarily caused by the production and use of fossil fuels such as oil and gas. They are generally smaller than desert dust and can penetrate deep into the lungs.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers use satellites to measure soil moisture around certain crops to solve a long-standing mystery about how water impacts agricultural production. The researchers found that models using soil moisture explain 30% to 120% more of the year-to-year variation in yield across crops than models that rely on rainfall. The research give scientists a better understanding of how crop yields will change under climate change.