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Categories: Environmental: Ecosystems, Paleontology: Climate
Published Mekong Delta will continue to be at risk for severe flooding, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Reef corals provide an accurate, high-resolution record of the influence of the El Niño Southern Oscillation on rainfall, flooding and droughts in the Mekong River Delta, Vietnam.
Published Climate archives under the magnifying glass
(via sciencedaily.com) How is the weather changing as a consequence of global warming? Climate archives provide valuable glimpses into past climate changes, especially into the processes that drive our planet from one climate setting to the next. For humans and ecosystems, however, time spans of just weeks to years, which are the scope of weather events, are often most important. Using an newly developed and tested analytical method these two aspects have now been merged, and the impacts of the most recent global warming on seasonal temperature fluctuations have been described.
Published Discovery of world's oldest DNA breaks record by one million years
(via sciencedaily.com) Two-million-year-old DNA has been identified -- opening a 'game-changing' new chapter in the history of evolution. Microscopic fragments of environmental DNA were found in Ice Age sediment in northern Greenland. Using cutting-edge technology, researchers discovered the fragments are one million years older than the previous record for DNA sampled from a Siberian mammoth bone. The ancient DNA has been used to map a two-million-year-old ecosystem which weathered extreme climate change.
Published In the tropics, nitrogen-fixing trees take a hit from herbivores
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The ability of tropical forests to grow and store carbon is limited, in part, by herbivory. Insects and other animals prefer to feed on nitrogen-fixing trees, reducing the success of fixers and the nitrogen they provide. Experts now recommend accounting for herbivory constraints on nitrogen-fixing trees in climate models and projections of the tropical forest carbon sink.
Published For 400 years, Indigenous tribes buffered climate's impact on wildfires in the American Southwest
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Devastating megafires are becoming more common, in part, because the planet is warming. But a new study suggests bringing 'good fire' back to the U.S. and other wildfire fire-prone areas, as Native Americans once did, could potentially blunt the role of climate in triggering today's wildfires.
Published Countries bet on forests and soils to reach net-zero
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research highlights the risks of countries relying on nature-based solutions to achieve net-zero. National climate strategies set out how countries plan to reduce emissions, for example by phasing out fossil-fuel use, to get to net-zero in 2050. The study found, once the bulk of emissions have been reduced, countries plan to 'cancel out' the left-over difficult to decarbonise emissions, such as those from agriculture, by using forests and soils to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
Published Coloring microscopic coral larvae to aid tracking for conservation and reef restoration
(via sciencedaily.com) A new, low-cost staining method enables visual tracking of coral larvae as they disperse and settle in coral reefs, according to a study.
Published Fresh understanding of ice age frequency
(via sciencedaily.com) A chance find of an unstudied Antarctic sediment core has led researchers to flip our understanding of how often ice ages occurred in Antarctica.
Published Researchers propose new structures to harvest untapped source of freshwater
(via sciencedaily.com) An almost limitless supply of fresh water exists in the form of water vapor above Earth's oceans, yet remains untapped, researchers said. A new study suggests an investment in new infrastructure capable of harvesting oceanic water vapor as a solution to limited supplies of fresh water in various locations around the world.
Published Forest resilience linked with higher mortality risk in western US
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A forest's resilience, or ability to absorb environmental disturbances, has long been thought to be a boost for its odds of survival against the looming threat of climate change. But a new study suggests that for some Western U.S. forests, it's quite the opposite. The results of one of the first large-scale studies of its kind show that while high ecosystem resilience correlates with low mortality in eastern forests, it is linked to high mortality in western regions.
Published The Southern Hemisphere is stormier than the Northern, and we finally know why
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The Southern Hemisphere is stormier than the Northern -- but no one knew why. A new study lays out the first concrete explanation for this phenomenon. Researchers found two major culprits: ocean circulation and the large mountain ranges in the Northern Hemisphere.
Published Climate change in the forests of northern Germany
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source More and more trees are suffering the consequences of decades of human-made climate change. The growth of the European beech has so far suffered decline mainly in southern Europe. European beech is Germany's most important native forest tree species and it is most commonly found in Central Europe. A research team has now been able to show that the European beech is suffering from increasing drought stress in summer in northern Germany as well. This climate stress is particularly pronounced at warmer sites, when there is a higher density of these trees together, and on very sandy soils.
Published Greenland ice sheet: Short-lived ice streams
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Major ice streams can shut down, shifting rapid ice transport to other parts of the ice sheet, within a few thousand years. This was determined in reconstructions of two ice streams, based on ice-penetrating radar scans of the Greenland ice sheet.
Published Complete picture of Arctic sea ice freeze-thaw cycle highlights sea ice response to climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Years of research show that climate change signals are amplified in the Arctic, and that sea ice in this region is sensitive to increases in Arctic warming. Sea ice greatly modifies the exchanges of heat, momentum and mass between the atmosphere and the ocean. So, the timings of the sea ice melt and freeze onsets, as well as the length of the melt and freeze seasons, play a key role in the 'heat budget' of the atmosphere-ice-ocean system.
Published Hibernating corals and the microbiomes that sustain them
(via sciencedaily.com) What happens to a coral's microbiome while it hibernates? A new study found microbial communities shift while a coral sleeps, which may inform coral health and recovery efforts.
Published Old-growth trees more drought tolerant than younger ones, providing a buffer against climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new analysis of more than 20,000 trees on five continents shows that old-growth trees are more drought tolerant than younger trees in the forest canopy and may be better able to withstand future climate extremes. The findings highlight the importance of preserving the world's remaining old-growth forests, which are biodiversity strongholds that store vast amounts of planet-warming carbon, according to forest ecologists.
Published Mammoth problem with extinction timeline
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Paleontologists say environmental DNA is not always helpful in identifying when animals like mammoths went extinct because genetic material found in sediment could have come from animals that died thousands of years earlier.
Published Major fires an increasing risk as the air gets thirstier, research shows
(via sciencedaily.com) Greater atmospheric demand for water means a dramatic increase in the risk of major fires in global forests unless we take urgent and effective climate action, new research finds. Researchers have examined global climate and fire records in all of the world's forests over the last 20 years.
Published Strongest Arctic cyclone on record led to surprising loss of sea ice
(via sciencedaily.com) The strongest Arctic cyclone ever observed struck in January 2022. A new analysis shows that while forecasts accurately predicted the massive storm, models seriously underestimated its effect on sea ice. Results suggest where forecast models for a changing Arctic Ocean could improve.
Published 1930s Dust Bowl led to extreme heat around Northern Hemisphere
(via sciencedaily.com) The 1930s Dust Bowl affected heat extremes across much of North America and as far away as Europe and East Asia, according to new research. The study found that the extreme heating of the Great Plains triggered motions of air around the Northern Hemisphere in ways that suppressed cloud formation in some regions and contributed to record heat thousands of miles away.