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Categories: Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published The longer spilled oil lingers in freshwater, the more persistent compounds it produces
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Oil is an important natural resource for many industries, but it can lead to serious environmental damage when accidentally spilled. While large oil spills are highly publicized, every year there are many smaller-scale spills into lakes, rivers and oceans. The longer that oil remains in freshwater, the more chemical changes it undergoes, creating products that can persist in the environment.
Published Warming Arctic reduces dust levels in parts of the planet
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Dust can have a huge impact on local air quality, food security, energy supply and public health. Previous studies have found that dust levels are decreasing across India, particularly northern India, the Persian Gulf Coast and much of the Middle East, but the reason has remained unclear. Researchers found that the decrease in dust can be attributed to the Arctic warming much faster than the rest of the planet, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification. This process destabilizes the jet stream and changes storm tracks and wind patterns over the major sources of dust in West and South Asia.
Published Scientists replace fishmeal in aquaculture with microbial protein derived from soybean processing wastewater
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have successfully replaced half of the fishmeal protein in the diets of farmed Asian seabass with a 'single cell protein' cultivated from microbes in soybean processing wastewater, paving the way for more sustainable fish farming practices.
Published Key to efficient and stable organic solar cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A team of researchers has made a significant breakthrough in the field of organic photovoltaics.
Published How do birds flock? Researchers do the math to reveal previously unknown aerodynamic phenomenon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source How do birds fly in a coordinated and seemingly effortless fashion? Part of the answer lies in precise, and previously unknown, aerodynamic interactions, reports a team of mathematicians. Its breakthrough broadens our understanding of wildlife, including fish, who move in schools, and could have applications in transportation and energy.
Published Human activities have an intense impact on Earth's deep subsurface fluid flow
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Hydrologists predict human-induced underground fluid fluxes to rise with climate change mitigation strategies like carbon sequestration.
Published Artificial intelligence helps scientists engineer plants to fight climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists are using artificial intelligence software to analyze plant root systems, laying out a protocol that can be applied to gather data on crop and model plant phenotypes (physical characteristics) more efficiently and with equal or greater accuracy than existing methods.
Published How light can vaporize water without the need for heat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers discovered that light can cause evaporation of water from a surface without the need for heat. This 'photomolecular effect' could be important for understanding climate change and for improving some industrial processes.
Published Can climate change accelerate transmission of malaria? Pioneering research sheds light on impacts of temperature
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A groundbreaking study combined novel experimental data within an innovative modeling framework to examine how temperature might affect transmission risk of malaria in different environments in Africa.
Published Diversity and productivity go branch-in-branch
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers found that forests with higher trait diversity not only adapt better to climate change but may also thrive. The study unveiled how tree functional trait diversity plays a pivotal role in mitigating climate warming. In the face of environmental stress, these diverse trees have been shown to maintain higher productivity levels, in contrast to monoculture forests.
Published Nanofibers rid water of hazardous dyes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A special nanostructure has been developed to filter a widespread class of harmful dyes from water. A crucial component is a material that is considered waste: used cellulose, for example in the form of cleaning cloths or paper cups. The cellulose is utilized to coat a fine nano-fabric to create an efficient filter for polluted water.
Published Securing competitiveness of energy-intensive industries through relocation: The pulling power of renewables
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Countries with limited potential for renewables could save up to 20 percent of costs for green steel and up to 40 percent for green chemicals from green hydrogen if they relocated their energy-intensive production and would import from countries where renewable energy is cheaper.
Published This salt battery harvests osmotic energy where the river meets the sea
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Estuaries -- where freshwater rivers meet the salty sea -- are great locations for birdwatching and kayaking. In these areas, waters containing different salt concentrations mix and may be sources of sustainable, 'blue' osmotic energy. Researchers report creating a semipermeable membrane that harvests osmotic energy from salt gradients and converts it to electricity. The new design had an output power density more than two times higher than commercial membranes in lab demonstrations.
Published Modeling broader effects of wildfires in Siberia
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As wildfires in Siberia become more common, global climate modeling estimates significant impacts on climate, air quality, health, and economies in East Asia and across the northern hemisphere.
Published Researchers find oldest undisputed evidence of Earth's magnetic field
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has recovered a 3.7-billion-year-old record of Earth's magnetic field, and found that it appears remarkably similar to the field surrounding Earth today.
Published A chemical mystery solved -- the reaction explaining large carbon sinks
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A mystery that has puzzled the scientific community for over 50 years has finally been solved. A team has discovered that a certain type of chemical reaction can explain why organic matter found in rivers and lakes is so resistant to degradation.
Published Frog species evolved rapidly in response to road salts
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source When we think of evolution, we think of a process that happens over hundreds or thousands of years. In research recently published, a species of frog that has evolved over the course of merely 25 years. The adaptation was spurred on by something many assume is innocuous: salt.
Published Critical minerals recovery from electronic waste
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A nontoxic separation process recovers critical minerals from electronic scrap waste.
Published Asian monsoon lofts ozone-depleting substances to stratosphere
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Powerful monsoon winds, strengthened by a warming climate, are lofting unexpectedly large quantities of ozone-depleting substances high into the atmosphere over East Asia, according to new research. The study found that the East Asian Monsoon delivers more than twice the concentration of very short-lived ozone-depleting substances into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere than previously reported.
Published Warming climate is putting more metals into Colorado's mountain streams
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Warming temperatures are causing a steady rise in copper, zinc and sulfate in the waters of Colorado mountain streams affected by acid rock drainage. Concentrations of these metals have roughly doubled in these alpine streams over the past 30 years, presenting a concern for ecosystems, downstream water quality and mining remediation, according to a new study. Natural chemical weathering of bedrock is the source of the rising acidity and metals, but the ultimate driver of the trend is climate change, the report found, and the results point to lower stream volumes and exposure of rock once sealed away by ice as the likely causes.