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Categories: Chemistry: General, Environmental: Ecosystems
Published Engineers devise technology to prevent fouling in photobioreactors for CO2 capture
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new, inexpensive technology can limit the buildup of algae on the walls of photobioreactors that can help convert carbon dioxide into useful products. Reducing this fouling avoids costly cleanouts and allows more photosynthesis to happen within tanks.
Published Apes may have evolved upright stature for leaves, not fruit, in open woodland habitats
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Anthropologists have long thought that our ape ancestors evolved an upright torso in order to pick fruit in forests, but new research from the University of Michigan suggests a life in open woodlands and a diet that included leaves drove apes' upright stature.
Published Shift to 'flash droughts' as climate warms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 'Flash droughts' have become more frequent due to human-caused climate change and this trend is predicted to accelerate in a warmer future, according to new research.
Published Timing of snowshoe hare winter color swap may leave them exposed in changing climate, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study, which used 44 years of data, shows that as the globe has warmed, altering the timing and amount of snow cover, snowshoe hares' winter transformation may be out of sync with the color of the background environment; this may actually put them at a greater disadvantage.
Published The hidden culprit behind nitrogen dioxide emissions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team assesses neighborhood-scale NO2 exposure using a European satellite. High-rise apartment complexes are a significant source of emissions that should be considered in the development of clean air policies.
Published Luminous molecules
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Twisted molecules play an important role in the development of organic light-emitting diodes. A team of chemists has managed to create these compounds with exactly the three-dimensional structure that they wanted. In so doing, they are smoothing the path for new and better light sources.
Published Increased droughts are disrupting carbon-capturing soil microbes, concerning ecologists
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Soil stores more carbon than plants and the atmosphere combined, and soil microbes are largely responsible for putting it there. However, the increasing frequency and severity of drought, such as those that have been impacting California, could disrupt this delicate ecosystem. Microbial ecologists warn that soil health and future greenhouse gas levels could be impacted if soil microbes adapt to drought faster than plants do.
Published Humans need Earth-like ecosystem for deep-space living
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Can humans endure long-term living in deep space? The answer is a lukewarm maybe, according to a new theory describing the complexity of maintaining gravity and oxygen, obtaining water, developing agriculture and handling waste far from Earth.
Published World's biggest cumulative logjam, newly mapped in the Arctic, stores 3.4 million tons of carbon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Throughout the Arctic, fallen trees make their way from forests to the ocean by way of rivers. Those logs can stack up as the river twists and turns, resulting in long-term carbon storage. A new study has mapped the largest known woody deposit, covering 51 square kilometers (20 square miles) of the Mackenzie River Delta in Nunavut, Canada, and calculated that the logs store about 3.4 million tons (about 3.1 million metric tons) of carbon.
Published As rising temperatures affect Alaskan rivers, effects ripple through Indigenous communities
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Six decades of river gage data gathered from nine rivers in Alaska highlight the cumulative and consequential impacts of climate change for local communities and ecosystems in the Arctic.
Published How an African bird might inspire a better water bottle
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An extreme closeup of feathers from a bird with an uncanny ability to hold water while it flies could inspire the next generation of absorbent materials.
Published Lightning strike creates phosphorus material
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A lightning strike in New Port Richey, Florida, led to a chemical reaction creating a new material that is transitional between space minerals and minerals found on Earth. High-energy events, such as lightning, can cause unique chemical reactions. In this instance, the result is a new material -- one that is transitional between space minerals and minerals found on Earth.
Published Trees in areas prone to hurricanes have strong ability to survive even after severe damage
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The island of Dominica took a direct hit from Category 5 Hurricane Maria. Nine months afterward, researchers found that while 89% percent of trees located in nine previously documented forest stands were damaged, but only 10 percent had immediately died. The most common damage was stem snapping and major branch damage. The damage with the highest rates of mortality were uprooting and being crushed by a neighboring tree. Large individual trees and species with lower wood density were susceptible to snapping, uprooting and mortality. Those on steeper slopes were more prone to being crushed by neighboring trees.
Published Temperature is stronger than light and flow as driver of oxygen in US rivers
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The amount of dissolved oxygen in a river is a matter of life or death for the plants and animals living within it, but this oxygen concentration varies drastically from one river to another, depending on their unique temperature, light and flow. To better understand which factor has the greatest impact on the concentration of dissolved oxygen, researchers used a deep learning model to analyze data from hundreds of rivers across the United States.
Published Researchers discover new circuit element
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have identified a new circuit element known as a meminductor.
Published Scientists advocate for integration of biogeography and behavioral ecology to rapidly respond to biodiversity loss
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An interdisciplinary team of researchers is advocating for convergent research that integrates the fields of biogeography and behavioral ecology to more rapidly respond to challenges associated with climate change and biodiversity loss.
Published Shutting down nuclear power could increase air pollution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study shows that if U.S. nuclear power plants are retired, the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas to fill the energy gap could cause more than 5,000 premature deaths.
Published Solar cells charging forward
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An environmentally friendlier solution to solar cell production with enhanced performance utilizes PEDOT:PSS/silicon heterojunction solar cells. This hybrid type is made of organic-inorganic material, which could potentially ease the production process compared to conventional silicon-only solar cells. It avoids manufacturing solar cells in vacuums and high-temperature processes, which require large and expensive equipment and a great amount of time.
Published New textile unravels warmth-trapping secrets of polar bear fur
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Engineers have invented a fabric that concludes the 80-year quest to make a synthetic textile modeled on polar bear fur. The results are already being developed into commercially available products.
Published Scientists use peroxide to peer into metal oxide reactions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers to get a better look at how peroxides on the surface of copper oxide promote the oxidation of hydrogen but inhibit the oxidation of carbon monoxide, allowing them to steer oxidation reactions.