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Categories: Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published Aquatic organisms respond to flooding and drought disturbance in different ways
(via sciencedaily.com) Populations of various species of aquatic insects and other invertebrates respond to flooding and waterway drying due to drought in different ways that can be anticipated, according to a new study that employed a novel method to assess the stability of stream ecosystems.
Published Biorefinery uses microbial fuel cell to upcycle resistant plant waste
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a sustainable, inexpensive two-step process that can upcycle organic carbon waste -- including lignin, a difficult-to-breakdown material that gives plants their structure. By processing waste through a microbe-driven biorefinery, the researchers turned lignin into carbon sources that could be used in high-value, plant-derived pharmaceuticals and antioxidant nutraceuticals as well as carbon-based nanoparticles for drug or chemical delivery.
Published Understanding plants can boost wildland-fire modeling in uncertain future
(via sciencedaily.com) A new conceptual framework for incorporating the way plants use carbon and water, or plant dynamics, into fine-scale computer models of wildland fire provides a critical first step toward improved global fire forecasting.
Published Short-term bang of fireworks has long-term impact on wildlife
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Popular fireworks should be replaced with cleaner drone and laser light shows to avoid the 'highly damaging' impact on wildlife, domestic pets and the broader environment, new research has found.
Published Monitoring an 'anti-greenhouse' gas: Dimethyl sulfide in Arctic air
(via sciencedaily.com) Data stored in ice cores dating back 55 years bring new insight into atmospheric levels of a molecule that can significantly affect weather and climate.
Published New insights on why improvements to Chesapeake Bay remain a challenge
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new look at the history of water quality in the Chesapeake Bay sheds light on how the estuary has responded to nutrient reduction efforts and why improvements have remained a major challenge. Environmental science researchers looked at the Bay's historic response to efforts to reduce nutrients to minimize dead zones -- areas with too little oxygen to support marine life -- and found there is a pollution threshold after which it takes twice the effort to make a change.
Published Want a stronger biodegradable plastic? Add a 'pinch' of cream of tartar
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Cooking a delicious risotto and making plastics are actually very similar processes. In both, ingredients come together and are heated to create a product, but current recipes for synthesizing bioplastics often fall flat, producing flimsy materials. So, taking a hint from chefs, researchers now report on a way to 'season' biodegradable plastics to make them stronger. It just takes a 'pinch' of cream of tartar (tartaric acid) or citric acid.
Published Ancestral variation guides future environmental adaptations
(via sciencedaily.com) The speed of environmental change is very challenging for wild organisms. When exposed to a new environment individual plants and animals can potentially adjust their biology to better cope with new pressures they are exposed to -- this is known as phenotypic plasticity. New research shows that early plasticity can influence the ability to subsequently evolve genetic adaptations to conquer new habitats.
Published Discovery advances biofuel crop that could curb dependence on fossil fuel
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have solved a puzzle that could help switchgrass realize its full potential as a low-cost, sustainable biofuel crop and curb our dependence on fossil fuels.
Published Rapid plant evolution may make coastal regions more susceptible to flooding and sea level rise, study shows
(via sciencedaily.com) Evolution has occurred more rapidly than previously thought in the Chesapeake Bay wetlands, which may decrease the chance that coastal marshes can withstand future sea level rise, researchers at the University of Notre Dame and collaborators demonstrated in a recent publication in Science.
Published What crocodile DNA reveals about the Ice Age
(via sciencedaily.com) What drives crocodile evolution? Is climate a major factor or changes in sea levels? Determined to find answers to these questions, researchers discovered that while changing temperatures and rainfall had little impact on the crocodiles' gene flow over the past three million years, changes to sea levels during the Ice Age had a different effect.
Published Satellite data shows sustained severe drought in Europe
(via sciencedaily.com) Europe lacks groundwater -- a lot of groundwater. The continent has already been suffering from a severe drought since 2018. This is confirmed by satellite data.
Published Spinning food processing waste into 'gold'
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have taken the first step at estimating the best large-scale uses for food processing waste, first analyzing its contents and, based on those findings, proposing production opportunities ranging from sustainable fuels, biogas and electricity to useful chemicals and organic fertilizer.
Published Artificial photosynthesis uses sunlight to make biodegradable plastic
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have succeeded in synthesizing fumaric acid, a raw material for plastics, from CO2 powered by solar energy. Typically, fumaric acid is synthesized from petroleum as a raw material to make polybutylene succinate, a biodegradable plastic, but this research shows that it can be synthesized from CO2 and biomass-derived compounds using renewable energy.
Published Traffic pollution impairs brain function
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study has shown that common levels of traffic pollution can impair human brain function in only a matter of hours. The study was the first to show in a controlled experiment using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that exposure to diesel exhaust disrupts the ability of different areas of the human brain to interact and communicate with each other.
Published How plants are inspiring new ways to extract value from wastewater
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists are drawing inspiration from plants to develop new techniques to separate and extract valuable minerals, metals and nutrients from resource-rich wastewater.
Published Scientists unveil least costly carbon capture system to date
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists carve a path to profit from carbon capture by creating a system that efficiently captures CO2 and converts it into one of the world's most widely used chemicals: methanol.
Published Study reveals influence of krill availability on humpback whale pregnancies
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists show reduced krill supplies lead to fewer pregnancies in humpback whales -- a finding that could have major implications for industrial krill fishing. Data from Antarctica show more humpback whales get pregnant after years with abundant krill than after years when krill were less plentiful.
Published The single oil spill that can disrupt the global energy supply
(via sciencedaily.com) A maritime area three times the size of the city of London holds the highest risk for oil spills in the Gulf which can have devastating consequences locally and globally.
Published Farewell to 'forever' -- Destroying PFAS by grinding it up with a new additive
(via sciencedaily.com) Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are potentially harmful substances known as 'forever chemicals' because they are so difficult to destroy. One emerging technique to degrade PFAS involves forcefully grinding them with metal balls in a moving container, but this technique can require corrosive additives. Now, researchers report a new type of additive for 'ball milling' that completely breaks down PFAS at ambient temperature and pressure.