Most recent 40 articles: Science Daily - Earth and Climate
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'Gap' in Carbon Removal: Countries' Plans to Remove CO2 Not Enough - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Since 2010, the United Nations environmental organisation UNEP has taken an annual measurement of the emissions gap -- the difference between countries' climate protection pledges and what is necessary to limit global heating to 1.5 ºC, or at least below 2 ºC.
The UNEP Emissions Gap Reports are clear: climate policy needs more ambition. This new study now explicitly applies this analytical concept to carbon dioxide removal (CDR) -- the removal of the most important greenhouse gas, CO2, from the atmosphere.
The study, published today in the journal Nature Climate Change, was led by the Berlin-based Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change ... Read more ...
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Acceptance of Animals in Urban Environments - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · How do city residents feel about animals in their immediate surroundings? A recent study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the University of Jena and the Vienna University of Technology shows how different the acceptance of various wild animals in urban areas is. Important factors are the places where the animals are found and their level of popularity -- squirrels and ladybugs come out on top here. The results have important implications for urban planning and nature conservation.
The relationship between city inhabitants and urban animals is complex, as the study shows. The researchers conducted a survey to find out how Munich residents rate 32 urban animal ... Read more ...
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Atmosphere Surrounding Super-Earth? - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Renyu Hu from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, is lead author on a paper published today in Nature. "Webb is pushing the frontiers of exoplanet characterization to rocky planets," Hu said. "It is truly enabling a new type of science."
Super-Hot Super-Earth 55 Cancri e
55 Cancri e (image below, details/download), also known as Janssen, is one of five known planets orbiting the Sun-like star 55 Cancri, in the constellation Cancer. With a diameter nearly twice that of Earth and density slightly greater, the planet is classified as a super-Earth: larger than Earth, smaller than Neptune, and likely similar in composition to the rocky planets in ... Read more ...
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Climate Change Amplifies Severity of Combined Wind-Rain Extremes Over the UK and Ireland - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Climate change will cause an increase in extreme winter storms combining strong winds and heavy rainfall over the UK and Ireland, new research has shown.
The new study was led by experts at Newcastle University and the Met Office and investigated how future climate change may influence compound wind-rain extremes, which are events where extreme wind and rainfall occur simultaneously.
These changes are mainly driven by increased rainfall, a thermodynamic response to rising temperatures. Additional contributing factors include a strengthened jet stream and its southward displacement that brings storms through warmer areas leading to further increases in ... Read more ...
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Climate Resilience Strategies in Urban, Rural Areas - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Local decision-makers looking for ways to reduce the impact of heat waves on their communities have a valuable new capability at their disposal: a new study on vegetation resilience.
Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory completed a study of how well vegetation survived extreme heat events in both urban and rural communities across the country in recent years. The analysis informs pathways for climate mitigation, including ways to reduce the effect of urban heat islands.
Vegetation such as trees provide a valuable cooling effect, shading surfaces and deflecting solar radiation while releasing moisture into the atmosphere through ... Read more ...
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Damaging Impact of Heat Waves on Vital Organs - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · These organs have a complex and multidirectional communication system that touches everything from our gastrointestinal tract to the nervous system. Whether it is our brain affecting hunger or the liver influencing mental health, understanding the gut-liver-brain communication or "axis" is crucial to protecting human health.
Their study, which was conducted on mouse models, is published in thejournal Scientific Reports, a Nature Portfolio journal. It is one of the first to fill the knowledge gap on the effects of heat stress on a molecular level of this crucial biological conversation.
"Inflammation in the brain and spine contributes to cognitive decline, compromises the ... Read more ...
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Did a Magnetic Field Collapse Trigger the Emergence of Animals? - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · The Ediacaran Period, spanning from about 635 to 541 million years ago, was a pivotal time in Earth's history. It marked a transformative era during which complex, multicellular organisms emerged, setting the stage for the explosion of life.
But how did this surge of life unfold and what factors on Earth may have contributed to it?
According to John Tarduno, the William Kenan, Jr. Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, one of the most remarkable life forms during the Ediacaran Period was the Ediacaran fauna. They were notable for their resemblance to early animals -- some even reached more than a meter (three feet) in size and were mobile, ... Read more ...
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Earth-Like Environment On Ancient Mars - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · "It is difficult for manganese oxide to form on the surface of Mars, so we didn't expect to find it in such high concentrations in a shoreline deposit," said Patrick Gasda, of Los Alamos National Laboratory's Space Science and Applications group and lead author on the study. "On Earth, these types of deposits happen all the time because of the high oxygen in our atmosphere produced by photosynthetic life, and from microbes that help catalyze those manganese oxidation reactions.
"On Mars, we don't have evidence for life, and the mechanism to produce oxygen in Mars's ancient atmosphere is unclear, so how the manganese oxide was formed and concentrated here is really puzzling. ... Read more ...
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Efficacy of Solar Panels Boosted - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Solar energy is a crucial asset in the fight against climate change, and researchers at the University of Ottawa have devised a smart approach to optimize its effectiveness. Their innovative method includes incorporating artificial ground reflectors, a simple yet powerful enhancement.
To study how reflective ground covers affect solar energy output, the University of Ottawa's SUNLAB, led by electrical engineering Professor Karin Hinzer, who is also vice-dean, research of the Faculty of Engineering, collaborated with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, a world leader in clean energy research, development, and deployment. The study, which was ... Read more ...
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EPA Underestimates Methane Emissions from Landfills, Urban Areas - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is underestimating methane emissions from landfills, urban areas and U.S. states, according to a new study led by researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).
"Methane is the second largest contributor to climate change behind carbon dioxide so it's really important that we quantify methane emissions at the highest possible resolution to pinpoint what sources it is coming from," said Hannah Nesser, a former PhD student at SEAS and first author of the paper. Nesser is currently a NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow in the Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Group at the Jet Propulsion ... Read more ...
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For Microscopic Organisms, Ocean Currents Act as 'Expressway' to Deeper Depths - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Some of the ocean's tiniest organisms get swept into underwater currents that act as a conduit that shuttles them from the sunny surface to deeper, darker depths where they play a huge role in affecting the ocean's chemistry and ecosystem, according to new research.
"We found that because these organisms are so small, they can be swept up by ocean currents that then bring them deeper than where they grow," said Mara Freilich, an assistant professor in Brown University's Division of Applied Mathematics and Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences who launched the work as a Ph.D. student a joint program at MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "It's ... Read more ...
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Free-Forming Organelles Help Plants Adapt to Climate Change - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Plants' ability to sense light and temperature, and their ability to adapt to climate change, hinges on free-forming structures in their cells whose function was, until now, a mystery.
For the first time, UC Riverside researchers have determined how these structures work on a molecular level, as well as where and how they form. This information is described in two Nature Communications papers published this week.
Scientists have long studied membrane-bound compartments, called organelles, in plant cells, such as the Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, and most significantly, the nucleus, where DNA gets copied and transcribed into RNA.
However, much less is known about ... Read more ...
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From Fossils to Fuel: Mozambique's Maniamba Basin's Energy Potential - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · In the ever-expanding search for energy resources, a new study has emerged from Mozambique's Maniamba Basin. A team led by Nelson Nhamutole, a PhD student at the University of the Witwatersrand, and his team of scientists from around the world, shared in the South African Journal of Geology that Mozambique's Maniamba Basin could be a big source of natural gas.
Spanning an impressive 8,000,000 km², the Maniamba Basin is a geological marvel. Its layers of Permian to Early Triassic rocks hold the secrets of the Earth's ancient past, now thought to be ripe with organic material capable of producing natural gas. This revelation is a beacon for energy prospects in a world ... Read more ...
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Getting Dirty to Clean Up the Chemical Industry's Environmental Impact - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · The global chemical industry is a major fossil fuel consumer and climate change contributor; however, new Curtin University research has identified how the sector could clean up its green credentials by getting dirty.
Most chemical reactions involving electricity and organic materials can't be done efficiently using water because the organic materials don't dissolve well, forcing industry to use fossil fuels to provide heat rather than electricity or use alternative substances to water, which add environmental and safety risks.
However, a team of researchers led by Associate Professor Simone Ciampi, from Curtin's School of Molecular and Life Sciences, has found chemical ... Read more ...
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Heavy Snowfall and Rain May Contribute to Some Earthquakes - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · When scientists look for an earthquake's cause, their search often starts underground. As centuries of seismic studies have made clear, it's the collision of tectonic plates and the movement of subsurface faults and fissures that primarily trigger a temblor.
But MIT scientists have now found that certain weather events may also play a role in setting off some quakes.
In a study appearing today in Science Advances, the researchers report that episodes of heavy snowfall and rain likely contributed to a swarm of earthquakes over the past several years in northern Japan. The study is the first to show that climate conditions could initiate some quakes.
"We see that ... Read more ...
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How Climate Change Will Affect Malaria Transmission - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · A new model for predicting the effects of climate change on malaria transmission in Africa could lead to more targeted interventions to control the disease according to a new study.
Previous methods have used rainfall totals to indicate the presence of surface water suitable for breeding mosquitoes, but the research led by the University of Leeds used several climatic and hydrological models to include real-world processes of evaporation, infiltration and flow through rivers.
This groundbreaking approach has created a more in-depth picture of malaria-friendly conditions on the African continent.
It has also highlighted the role of waterways such as the Zambezi ... Read more ...
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Human Activity Is Making It Harder for Scientists to Interpret Oceans' Past - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · "We are not only changing the environment; we're also changing the nature of the record that archives this information," said Michal Kowalewski, the Thompson chair of invertebrate paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History. "These changes can be both good and bad. On one hand, human activities can prevent the fossil record from preserving useful information about ongoing changes. In other situations, human actions can actually enhance the quality of the currently forming fossil record, thereby providing more information."
If not properly accounted for, these effects on the fossil record can lead to misinterpretation of data vital for conservation efforts. Humans ... Read more ...
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Ice Shelves Fracture Under Weight of Meltwater Lakes - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · When air temperatures in Antarctica rise and glacier ice melts, water can pool on the surface of floating ice shelves, weighing them down and causing the ice to bend. Now, for the first time in the field, CIRES-led research shows that ice shelves don't just buckle under the weight of meltwater lakes -- they fracture. As the climate warms and melt rates in Antarctica increase, this fracturing could cause vulnerable ice shelves to collapse, allowing inland glacier ice to spill into the ocean and contribute to sea level rise.
"Ice shelves are extremely important for the Antarctic Ice Sheet's overall health as they act to buttress or hold back the glacier ice on land," said Alison ... Read more ...
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Improved Wildfire Smoke Model Identifies Areas for Public Health Intervention - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · The Canadian wildfires of June 2023 exposed a large portion of the Northeastern United States to unprecedented levels of smoke. A new model that combines wildfire smoke forecasts and data from ground-based sensors may help public health officials plan targeted interventions in areas most at risk for the negative health effects of unexpected smoke events and air pollution, according to a team led by Penn State scientists.
"Statistical analyses suggest that situations like last year's Canadian wildfires, where smoke travels long distances to affect the Eastern United States, may become the norm," said lead author Manzhu Yu, assistant professor of geography at Penn State. "Our ... Read more ...
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It Flickers, Then It Tips -- Study Identifies Early Warning Signals for the End of the African Humid Period - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Tipping points in the climate system can be the result of a slow but linear development. However, they can also be accompanied by a "flickering," with two stable climatic states that alternate before a final transition occurs -- and the climate tips permanently. A study by the research team around Potsdam geoscientist Prof. Dr. Martin H. Trauth confirms this for the end of the African Humid Period and the transition to the pronounced aridity that is typical today.
The transition from the African Humid Period (AHP) to dry conditions in North Africa is the clearest example of climate tipping points in recent geological history. They occur when small perturbations trigger a ... Read more ...
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Lake Tsunamis Pose Significant Threat Under Warming Climate - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · The names might not be familiar -- Cowee Creek, Brabazon Range, Upper Pederson Lagoon -- but they mark the sites of recent lake tsunamis, a phenomenon that is increasingly common in Alaska, British Columbia and other regions with mountain glaciers.
Triggered by landslides into small bodies of water, most of these tsunamis have occurred in remote locations so far, but geologist Bretwood Higman of Ground Truth Alaska said it may just be a matter of time before a tsunami swamps a more populated place like Portage Lake near Whittier, Alaska.
When he estimates where the risk of an Alaskan lake tsunami is highest, Portage Lake "is pretty much at the top of my list," Higman ... Read more ...
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Liberals and Conservatives Differ on Climate Change Beliefs--but Are Relatively United in Taking Action - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · The division between liberals and conservatives on both climate-change beliefs and related policy support is long-standing. However, the results of a newly released global experiment show that despite these differences, the two camps actually align when it comes to taking certain actions to combat climate change.
The study, led by researchers at New York University, finds that when given the opportunity, liberals and conservatives take action to address climate change at roughly the same levels -- and that this is due to conservatives choosing to take action despite their climate-change beliefs rather than liberals failing to act on theirs.
"Our work shows a disconnect ... Read more ...
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Limited Adaptability Makes Freshwater Bacteria Vulnerable to Climate Change - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Freshwater bacteria with small genomes frequently undergo prolonged periods of adaptive stagnation. Based on genomic analyses of samples from Lake Zurich and other European lakes, researchers at the University of Zurich uncovered specific evolutionary strategies that shape these bacteria's lifestyles. Understanding the evolutionary dynamics of aquatic microbial communities is key to safeguarding ecosystem services.
Freshwater resources are limited, accounting for only 3.5% of Earth's water, with just 0.25% accessible on the surface. Nevertheless, freshwater lakes are essential for ecosystem functioning and global carbon cycling due to their high biological productivity and ... Read more ...
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Low-Energy Process for High-Performance Solar Cells - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Finding reliable, eco-friendly power sources is crucial as our world grapples with increasing energy needs and the urgent call to combat climate change. Solar energy offers one solution, with scientists devising ever more efficient materials for capturing sunlight.
Perovskite solar cells have emerged as a promising alternative to conventional, silicon solar cells, boasting a number of advantages. But processing the material has been a complicated affair. Now, researchers at UC Santa Barbara have developed a method to make high-quality perovskite films at room temperature. The team's innovation not only simplified the production process but also increased the material's ... Read more ...
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Mystery Behind Huge Opening in Antarctic Sea Ice Solved - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · A study reveals a key process that had eluded scientists as to how the opening, called a polynya, was able to form and persist for several weeks.
The team of researchers from the University of Southampton, the University of Gothenburg and the University of California San Diego studied the Maud Rise polynya -- named after the submerged mountain-like feature in the Weddell Sea, over which it grows.
They found the polynya was brought on by complex interactions between the wind, ocean currents, and the unique geography of the ocean floor, transporting heat and salt towards the surface.
In Antarctica, the surface of the ocean freezes over in the winter, with sea ice ... Read more ...
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Net Zero Plans Show Limited Climate Ambition on 'Residual' Emissions - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Once countries have taken the 'easy' steps to get to net zero -- such as switching to more renewable electricity, electric cars, and heat pumps for homes -- they are still left with some sources of emissions.
These 'residual' emissions continue to be emitted at the point of net zero -- but their effect is cancelled out or moved elsewhere, for example by taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere using methods of carbon dioxide removal, or to other countries via international offsets.
Harder to decarbonise areas include aviation, agriculture, and industry, with fewer alternatives to fossil fuels. Residual emissions are expected to come from these 'hard-to-abate' sources, ... Read more ...
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New Computer Algorithm Supercharges Climate Models and Could Lead to Better Predictions of Future Climate Change - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Earth System Models -- complex computer models which describe Earth processes and how they interact -- are critical for predicting future climate change. By simulating the response of our land, oceans and atmosphere to manmade greenhouse gas emissions, these models form the foundation for predictions of future extreme weather and climate event scenarios, including those issued by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
However, climate modellers have long faced a major problem. Because Earth System Models integrate many complicated processes, they cannot immediately run a simulation; they must first ensure that it has reached a stable equilibrium ... Read more ...
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New Discoveries About Jupiter - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · New discoveries about Jupiter could lead to a better understanding of Earth's own space environment and influence a long-running scientific debate about the solar system's largest planet.
"By exploring a larger space such as Jupiter, we can better understand the fundamental physics governing Earth's magnetosphere and thereby improve our space weather forecasting," said Peter Delamere, a professor at the UAF Geophysical Institute and the UAF College of Natural Science and Mathematics.
"We are one big space weather event from losing communication satellites, our power grid assets, or both," he said.
Space weather refers to disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere ... Read more ...
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New Nevada Experiments Will Improve Monitoring of Nuclear Explosions - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · On an October morning in 2023, a chemical explosion detonated in a tunnel under the Nevada desert was the launch of the next set of experiments by the National Nuclear Security Administration, with the goal to improve detection of low-yield nuclear explosions around the world.
Physics Experiment 1-A (PE1-A) is the first in a series of non-nuclear experiments that will compare computer simulations with high-resolution seismic, tracer gas, acoustic and electromagnetic data gleaned from underground explosions and atmospheric experiments, said Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher Stephen Myers at the Seismological Society of America (SSA)'s 2024 Annual ... Read more ...
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Ocean Biodiversity Work Needs Improvement - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · An international collaboration that includes two Oregon State University scientists says the world's largest marine protected areas aren't collectively delivering the biodiversity benefits they could be because of slow implementation of management strategies and a failure to restrict the most impactful human activities.
Their analysis of the 100 biggest marine protected areas or MPAs, which account for nearly 90% of the Earth's protected ocean areas, was published today in Conservation Letters.
Ocean biodiversity supports human life by regulating climate, producing oxygen and food, and providing many other benefits. Having many different species in an area helps ward off ... Read more ...
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Path to Easier Recycling of Solar Modules - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · The use of femtosecond lasers to form glass-to-glass welds for solar modules would make the panels easier to recycle, according to a proof-of-concept study conducted by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The welds would eliminate the need for plastic polymer sheets that are now laminated into solar modules but make recycling more difficult. At the end of their useful lifespan, the modules made with the laser welds can be shattered. The glass and metal wires running through the solar cells can be easily recycled and the silicon can be reused.
"Most recyclers will confirm that the polymers are the main issue in terms ... Read more ...
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Planet Glows With Molten Lava - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · UC Riverside astrophysicist Stephen Kane had to double check his calculations. He wasn't sure the planet he was studying could be as extreme as it seemed.
Kane never expected to learn that a planet in this faraway star system is covered with so many active volcanoes that seen from a distance it would take on a fiery, glowing-red hue.
"It was one of those discovery moments that you think, 'wow, it's amazing this can actually exist," Kane said. A paper detailing the discovery has been published in The Astronomical Journal.
Launched in 2018, NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, searches for exoplanets -- planets outside our solar system -- that orbit ... Read more ...
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Plants Utilize Drought Stress Hormone to Block Snacking Spider Mites - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Recent findings that plants employ a drought-survival mechanism to also defend against nutrient-sucking pests could inform future crop breeding programmes aimed at achieving better broadscale pest control.
Using an advanced fluorescent biosensor (ABACUS2) that can detect tiny changes in plant hormone concentrations at the cellular scale, scientists saw that abscisic acid (ABA), usually linked with drought response, started closing the plant's entry gates within 5 hours of being infested with spider mites.
Microscopic leaf pores (stomata) are important for gas exchange but are also the major sites for water loss. When there is a water shortage, plants act to conserve ... Read more ...
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Pore Pressure Diffusion Led to Microseismicity at Illinois Basin Carbon Sequestration Site - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Pore pressure diffusion generated by carbon dioxide injected underground at a carbon storage site in the Illinois Basin is the likely cause of hundreds of microearthquakes that took place at the site between 2011 and 2012, according to a new analysis.
The modeling study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America indicates that pressure diffusion along existing faults into the basement rock could have destabilized the faults where the microseismicity -- ranging from Mw -2 to 1 -- occurred, said Ruben Juanes of MIT and colleagues.
There are some similarities between CO2 injection and wastewater injection from oil and gas operations, although globally ... Read more ...
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Roadmap to Close the Carbon Cycle - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · A major approach to achieving net-zero carbon emissions relies on converting various parts of the economy, such as personal vehicles and heating, to run via electricity generated from renewable sources. But carbon cannot be removed from all parts of society. Plastics, ubiquitous in the modern world, cannot be decarbonized because they are made of carbon-based molecules.
Led by chemist Wendy Shaw of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a multi-institutional effort has produced a new roadmap to reducing emissions in hard-to-electrify segments of the economy. The multifaceted approach includes developing non-carbon fuels, finding non-fossil sources of carbon, and keeping ... Read more ...
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Robots Invited to Help Make Wind Turbine Blades - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Although robots have been used by the wind energy industry to paint and polish blades, automation has not been widely adopted. Research at the laboratory demonstrates the ability of a robot to trim, grind, and sand blades. Those necessary steps occur after the two sides of the blade are made using a mold and then bonded together.
"I would consider it a success," said Hunter Huth, a robotics engineer at NREL and lead author of a newly published paper detailing the work. "Not everything operated as well as we wanted it to, but we learned all the lessons we think we need to make it meet or exceed our expectations."
The paper, "Toolpath Generation for Automated Wind Turbine ... Read more ...
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Rock Steady: Study Reveals New Mechanism to Explain How Continents Stabilized - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Ancient, expansive tracts of continental crust called cratons have helped keep Earth's continents stable for billions of years, even as landmasses shift, mountains rise and oceans form. A new mechanism proposed by Penn State scientists may explain how the cratons formed some 3 billion years ago, an enduring question in the study of Earth's history.
The scientists reported today (May 8) in the journal Nature that the continents may not have emerged from Earth's oceans as stable landmasses, the hallmark of which is an upper crust enriched in granite. Rather, the exposure of fresh rock to wind and rain about 3 billion years ago triggered a series of geological processes that ... Read more ...
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Saturated Soils Could Impact Survival of Young Trees Planted to Address Climate Change - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · The saturated soil conditions predicted to result from increased rainfall in the UK’s upland regions could have a knock-on effect on the ambition to create more woodland in the fight against climate change, a new study has found.
They have also shown that the UK’s uplands could in future see significantly more annual rainfall than is currently being predicted in national climate models.
Dr Thomas Murphy, Lecturer in Environmental Sciences at the University of Plymouth, is the study’s lead author. He said: “In recent years, there have been increasing calls to plant more trees as part of the global effort to combat climate change. Restoration and ... Read more ...
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Sister Cities Can Help Communities Better Navigate the Climate Crisis - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · Anthropologists at Rice University suggest in a new study that establishing networks of 'sister cities' dedicated to addressing the impact of natural disasters can mitigate the devastation wrought by climate change.
Historically, these relationships have centered on social and political factors like trade relationships, diplomacy and more. But Howe and Boyer believe they can be powerful tools to aid in dealing with the physical effects of climate change, especially as cities deal with things like wildfires, extreme storms and more. As a result, they recommend forming a network called "Sister Cities for the Anthropocene" to help track and raise awareness of the spread of ... Read more ...
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Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Is Shifting the Ecological Balance of Caribbean Reefs - Science Daily - Earth and Climate (May 24) |
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May 24 · The outbreak of a deadly disease called stony coral tissue loss disease is destroying susceptible species of coral in the Caribbean while helping other, "weedier" organisms thrive -- at least for now -- according to a new study published today in Science Advances.
"Some fast-growing organisms, like algae, might thrive in the short term," said the study's lead author, Sara Swaminathan, an environmental engineering sciences Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida. "But the loss of the susceptible corals could have long-lasting repercussions."
Stony coral tissue loss disease, or SCTLD, was first reported off the coast of Miami in 2014 and has since moved throughout the ... Read more ...
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