Biology: Marine Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

As sea ice declines in the Arctic, bowhead whales are adjusting their migration patterns      (via sciencedaily.com) 

As sea ice declines in the Arctic, bowhead whales are staying north of the Bering Strait more frequently, a shift that could affect the long-term health of the bowhead population and impact the Indigenous communities that rely on the whales, a new study shows.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Diets rich in food from the ocean and freshwater sources can help address nutritional and environmental challenges      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Blue foods -- those that come from the ocean or freshwater environments -- have tremendous potential to help address several global challenges. With careful implementation of policies that leverage these foods, nations could get a boost on efforts to reduce nutritional deficits, lower disease risk, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and ensure resilience in the face of climate change.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Scientists use satellite images to study the degradation of rangelands in Tanzania      (via sciencedaily.com) 

East Africa's iconic rangelands -- under threat from climate change and human activity -- have the potential to recover from repeated environmental shocks and degradation, a new study has concluded.

Biology: Botany Ecology: General Ecology: Research Ecology: Trees Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Clever orchard design for more nuts      (via sciencedaily.com) 

To reduce biodiversity loss in agricultural landscapes, more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices are needed. A research team has investigated how ecosystem services such as pollination could be improved in macadamia plantations. The scientists showed that a certain design of plantations -- for instance, how the rows of trees are arranged, the varieties, and the integration of semi-natural habitats in and around the plantations -- can increase the pollination performance of bees.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

How Iceland could have a starring role as a sustainable alternative protein exporter to Northern Europe      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Iceland could help address Northern Europe's food security issues with the scaling-up of its industrial production of Spirulina -- an alternative protein source that is nutritious, sustainable and risk resilient. Under the most ambitious of estimations, Iceland could be protein self-sufficient and capable of feeding more than six million Europeans every year, a new feasibility study suggests.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Excess nutrients lead to dramatic ecosystem changes in Cape Cod's Waquoit Bay; the bay is a harbinger for estuaries worldwide, say researchers      (via sciencedaily.com) 

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020 with associated travel restrictions, a research group shifted their overseas research projects to instead study the seagrass meadow ecosystem in Waquoit Bay, USA. It's a shallow, micro-tidal estuary on the south side of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Researcher discovers threshold that triggers drought response in forests      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Missouri is home to an array of natural resources, with forests among the state's most valuable ecosystems. As warmer temperatures fueled by climate change affect ecosystems globally, forests are under stress to adapt to these changes and ensure their survival in a warmer world. Researchers now introduce the 'ecosystem wilting point' concept, which explains how whole forests respond to drought.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Sinking tundra surface unlikely to trigger runaway permafrost thaw      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists set out to address one of the biggest uncertainties about how carbon-rich permafrost will respond to gradual sinking of the land surface as temperatures rise. Using a high-performance computer simulation, the research team found that soil subsidence is unlikely to cause rampant thawing in the future.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Using sewage to forecast COVID-19 infections      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Sifting through sewage for SARS-CoV-2 genetic material could help authorities tailor infection control policies.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate
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New knowledge about ice sheet movement can shed light on when sea levels will rise      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The trawling of thousands of satellite measurements using artificial intelligence has shown researchers that meltwater in tunnels beneath Greenland's ice sheet causes it to change speed, and in some places, accelerate greatly towards the ocean. This can increase melting, especially in a warming climate, which is why the study's researchers think that it is important to keep an eye on.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Biochar offers new promise for climate-smart agriculture      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researcher see the interconnections between the systems in nature and how each component impacts the others. In Connecticut, rich in forests and farmland, experts see the potential that could position the state at the forefront of a climate-smart agriculture (CSA) approach using an emerging sustainable practice called biochar.

Biology: Botany Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: General Ecology: Research Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Detecting the impact of drought on plants with user-friendly and inexpensive techniques      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Climate change is aggravating the impact of droughts -- one of the factors that only affect plant physiology -- on all plant ecosystems worldwide. Although new tools have been developed to detect and assess drought stress in plants -- transcriptomic or metabolomic technologies, etc. -- they are still difficult to apply in natural ecosystems, especially in remote areas and developing countries.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Physics: Optics
Published

Enhanced arsenic detection in water, food, soil      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists fabricate sensitive nanostructured silver surfaces to detect arsenic, even at very low concentrations. The sensors make use of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy: As a molecule containing arsenic adheres to the surface, it's hit with a laser and the arsenic compound scatters the laser light, creating an identifiable signature. The technique is a departure from existing methods, which are time-consuming, expensive, and not ideally suited to on-site field assays.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Rationing: A fairer way to fight climate change?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

World War II-style rationing could be an effective way to reduce carbon emissions, according to new research.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Feedback loops make climate action even more urgent, scientists say      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have identified 26 global warming accelerators known as amplifying feedback loops that the researchers say aren't being properly included in climate models. They note that the findings add urgency to the need to respond to the climate crisis and provide a roadmap for policymakers aiming to avert the most severe consequences of a warming planet.

Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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How to pull carbon dioxide out of seawater      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers may have found the key to a truly efficient and inexpensive mechanism for removing carbon dioxide from seawater. The method could be far more efficient than existing systems for removing the greenhouse gas from the air.

Ecology: Animals Ecology: Invasive Species Environmental: Biodiversity Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Using spiders as environmentally-friendly pest control      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Groups of spiders could be used as an environmentally-friendly way to protect crops against agricultural pests. That's according to new research which suggests that web-building groups of spiders can eat a devastating pest moth of commercially important crops like tomato and potato worldwide.

Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Engineered wood grows stronger while trapping carbon dioxide      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have figured out a way to engineer wood to trap carbon dioxide through a potentially scalable, energy-efficient process that also makes the material stronger for use in construction.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Paleontology: Climate
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European summer droughts since 2015 were most severe over centuries -- but multi-year droughts also happened in the past      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The 2015--2018 summer droughts have been exceptional in large parts of Western and Central Europe over the last 400 years, in terms of the magnitude of drought conditions. This indicates an influence of human-made global warming. However, multi-year droughts have occurred frequently in the 17th and 18th century, although not as severe.

Energy: Technology Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Scientists engineer a 'self-charging' electrostatic face mask for prolonged air filtration, reducing the environmental burden      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have engineered an electrostatic face mask that can 'self-charge' through the user's breathing and continuously replenish its electrostatic charge as the user wears and breathes through the mask. This significantly increase the filtering performance in prolonged use of the mask for up to 60 hours, compared to four hours for a conventional surgical mask. This also benefits the environment.