Most recent 40 articles: PHYS.ORG - Earth
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Canadian oil sands city evacuated as wildfire draws near - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 15) |
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May 15 · Thousands of residents of Fort McMurray, a city in Canada's major oil-producing region, fled as an out-of-control wildfire drew near and thick smoke filled the skies. Shifting winds gusting to 40 kilometers per hour (25 miles per hour) fanned the flames, scorching 9,600 hectares of surrounding forests as it advanced to within 13 kilometers of the city in the western province of Alberta that had been gutted by wildfires in 2016 - one of the biggest disasters in the nation's history. Four neighborhoods were ordered to evacuate and by mid-afternoon, a highway south was jammed with cars and trucks fleeing to safety against a backdrop of plumes of dark smoke glowing orange in ... Read more ... |
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Indonesia floods kill 67 as rescuers race to find missing - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 15) |
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May 15 · Indonesian rescuers raced Wednesday to find dozens of people still unaccounted for after heavy rains caused flash floods and washed volcanic debris into residential areas over the weekend, sweeping away houses and leaving 67 people dead. Hours of torrential rain on Saturday caused mud and rocks to flow into districts near one of Indonesia's most active volcanos, destroying dozens of houses and damaging roads and mosques. "Some of the missing ones have been found. According to the police identification, 67 people died," national disaster agency chief Suharyanto said Wednesday in a press conference, raising the death toll from 58. He added that 20 people remained ... Read more ... |
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Scientists raise minimum magnetic field of a single measurement to sub-femtotesla level - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 15) |
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May 15 · Quantum amplification is an effective means to achieve precise measurement of a weak electromagnetic field, but the performance of spin quantum amplification is limited due to the constraints of initialization of gaseous spin, coherence time and readout sensitivity. Overcoming these limitations is very important for releasing the full potential of quantum amplification. In order to solve the above problems, researchers have put forward the concept of dark-state spin quantum amplification and carried out experiments in the mixed system of gaseous xenon and rubidium atoms. In this system, gaseous xenon atoms are used as the amplification medium, and rubidium atoms polarized by ... Read more ... |
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Sun shoots out biggest solar flare in almost 2 decades, but Earth should be out of the way this time - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 15) |
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May 15 · The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummeled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places. "Not done yet!" the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in an update. It's the biggest flare of this 11-year solar cycle, which is approaching its peak, according to NOAA. The good news is that Earth should be out of the line of fire this time because the flare erupted on a part of the sun rotating away from Earth. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the bright flash of the X-ray flare. It was the strongest since 2005, rated on the scale for these flares as ... Read more ... |
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Sweltering heat across Asia was 45 times more likely because of climate change, study finds - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 15) |
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May 15 · Sizzling heat across Asia and the Middle East in late April that echoed last year's destructive swelter was made 45 times more likely in some parts of the continent because of human-caused climate change, a study Tuesday found. Scorching temperatures were felt across large swaths of Asia, from Gaza in the west - where over 2 million people face clean water shortages, lack of health care and other essentials amid the Israeli bombardment - to the Philippines in the southeast, with many parts of the continent experiencing temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) several days in a row. The study was released by the World Weather Attribution group ... Read more ... |
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How 'glowing' plants could help scientists predict flash drought - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 14) |
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May 14 · Flaring up rapidly and with little warning, the drought that gripped much of the United States in the summer of 2012 was one of the most extensive the country had seen since the years-long Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The "flash drought," stoked by extreme heat that baked the moisture from soil and plants, led to widespread crop failure and economic losses costing more than $30 billion. While archetypal droughts may develop over seasons, flash droughts are marked by rapid drying. They can take hold within weeks and are tough to predict. In a recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters, a team led by scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California ... Read more ... |
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'Dancing' raisins: A simple kitchen experiment reveals how objects can extract energy from their environment - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 14) |
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May 14 · The kitchen offers plenty of opportunities to view and explore what physicists call soft matter and complex fluids. Everyday phenomena, such as Cheerios clustering in milk or rings left when drops of coffee evaporate, have led to discoveries at the intersection of physics and chemistry and other tasteful collaborations between food scientists and physicists. Two students, Sam Christianson and Carsen Grote, and I published a new study in Nature Communications in May 2024 that dives into another kitchen observation. We studied how objects can levitate in carbonated fluids, a phenomenon that's whimsically referred to as dancing raisins. The study explored how objects like ... Read more ... |
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2023 was the hottest summer in 2,000 years, study finds - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 14) |
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May 14 · Although 2023 has been reported as the hottest year on record, the instrumental evidence only reaches back as far as 1850 at best, and most records are limited to certain regions. Now, by using past climate information from annually resolved tree rings over two millennia, scientists from the University of Cambridge and the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have shown how exceptional the summer of 2023 was. Even allowing for natural climate variations over hundreds of years, 2023 was still the hottest summer since the height of the Roman Empire, exceeding the extremes of natural climate variability by half a degree Celsius. "When you look at the long sweep of ... Read more ... |
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90% of Floridians believe climate change is happening: Survey - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 14) |
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May 14 · The latest edition of Florida Atlantic University's "Florida Climate Resilience Survey," found that 90% of Floridians believe that climate change is happening. In comparison, a recent Yale University survey showed 72% of all Americans believe climate change is happening. The FAU survey includes questions on beliefs about climate change, experience with extreme weather events and support for climate-related policies. The Florida Climate Resilience Survey also shows belief in human-caused climate change has surged among Florida Independents while slipping among Republicans in the state since last fall. But despite these changes, the latest edition of the survey found ... Read more ... |
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Climate-change research project aboard USS Hornet paused for environmental review - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 14) |
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May 14 · The city of Alameda has indefinitely shut down the Marine Cloud Brightening Program - a study based out of the University of Washington and set up on the deck of the U.S.S. Hornet to utilize the San Francisco Bay's ideal cloudy conditions - citing concerns over health and safety. The city asked the Hornet's administrators and the University of Washington to stop the experiment, stating it was in violation of the Hornet's lease with the city and was taking place without the city's knowledge, officials announced in a Facebook post May 4. The city has contracted biological and hazardous material consultants to independently investigate the environmental safety and health of ... Read more ... |
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How scientific conference attendees can reduce their carbon footprint - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 14) |
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May 14 · A new study carried out jointly by Lund University in Sweden and the University of Lausanne in Switzerland shows that some of them use up half their annual carbon allowance in a single week. There are ways to cut these emissions, however, say the authors behind the study, now published in Limnology and Oceanography Letters. The average emissions per delegate for each conference were 1.3 metric tons of carbon dioxide. This figure can be compared to the level of annual emissions per person we need to align with to reach the goal of the Paris Agreement: 2.3 metric tons in 2030 and 1.4 metric tons by 2040. "As a conference delegate, you are burning more than half of your ... Read more ... |
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How wildfires change soil chemistry - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 14) |
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May 14 · The huge, long-lasting wildfires that have become increasingly common in recent years can cause changes in soil chemistry that affect water contamination, air quality, and plant growth. But these changes are poorly monitored and rarely factor into post-fire recovery efforts or risk assessments, according to a review study published May 14 in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. The study, led by Stanford University and Colorado State University scientists, found that better techniques are needed to monitor changes in soil and surrounding ecosystems. This enhanced monitoring could inform decisions on how to treat drinking water sourced from burned areas, support reforestation, ... Read more ... |
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More evacuated as early wildfires sweep western Canada - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 14) |
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May 14 · One of the year's first major wildfires in Canada closed in Monday on the British Columbia town of Fort Nelson, as thousands of people across the nation were forced to flee advancing blazes. The Pacific coast province's emergency management minister, Bowinn Ma, said 4,700 people were ordered evacuated from the remote town as well as a nearby Indigenous community, as a fire spanning 5,280 hectares advanced to within 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) of Fort Nelson. Authorities have been bracing for another possibly devastating wildfire season, after Canada's worst ever last year that saw flames burning from coast to coast and charring more than 15 million hectares (37 million ... Read more ... |
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New GPS-based method can measure daily ice loss in Greenland - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 14) |
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May 14 · This occurs because the pressure from the ice above decreases, causing the land beneath to rise. This elevation change can be measured and translated into how much ice disappears from Greenland's ice sheet and how fast it's happening. Now, researchers at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) have developed a method based on this principle, allowing daily tracking of ice melt for the first time. "This is the first time we can measure the entire mass loss of the ice sheet day by day. For example, satellite gravity measurements show mass loss every month. Other methods only provide a single estimate per year. This means that we have not been able to monitor the sudden changes ... Read more ... |
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Study explores over a century of temperature trends at Beijing Observatory - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 14) |
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May 14 · This comprehensive study, led by researchers from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Meteorological Data Center and Beijing Municipal Climate Center, addresses the crucial challenge of data inhomogeneity in long-term climate records. Climate change remains a pressing global issue, demanding accurate data for informed decision-making and policy development. However, long-term climate data often suffers from inconsistencies due to various non-natural factors like station relocations, changes in instrumentation, and observation practices. These factors introduce biases, making it difficult to accurately assess climatic trends. By ... Read more ... |
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Study uncovers technologies that could unveil energy-efficient information processing and sophisticated data security - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 14) |
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May 14 · A new device that can process information using a small amount of light could enable energy-efficient and secure communications. Work led by You Zhou, an assistant professor in UMD's Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), in collaboration with researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, was published today in the journal Nature Photonics. Optical switches, the devices responsible for sending information via telephone signals, rely on light as a transmission medium and on electricity as a processing tool, requiring an extra set of energy to interpret the data. A new alternative engineered by Zhou uses only light to power ... Read more ... |
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Biohybrid robot made from flour and oats could act as a biodegradable vector for reforestation - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · Named HybriBot, this new device can accommodate natural seeds from different plants, serving as a biodegradable vector for reforestation. The research group has already conducted positive tests with tomato, chicory, and willow herb seeds, the latter being one of bees' favorite flowers, from which the plants germinated. A patent application has been filed for the invention. HybriBot has been described in a paper published in Advanced Materials; it is born within the framework of the European project i-Seed coordinated by Barbara Mazzolai, Associate Director for Robotics at the IIT, and the innovation ecosystem RAISE (Robotics and AI for Socio-economic Empowerment). The ... Read more ... |
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Bid to end deadly cooking methods which stoke global warming - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · Fifty countries are meeting in France on Tuesday to discuss the lack of access to clean cooking methods worldwide which causes millions of deaths every year and fuels global warming. Some 2.3 billion people across 128 countries breathe in harmful smoke when they cook on basic stoves or over open fires, according to an International Energy Agency (IEA)-African Development Bank (ADB) report that sounded the alarm last year. It said 3.7 million people a year die prematurely from harmful cooking practices, with children and women most at risk. The IEA said the "unprecedented" Paris gathering aims to be "a moment of changing the direction", its sustainability and ... Read more ... |
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Brazil's flooded south paralyzed as waters remain high - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · Brazil's flooded south remained paralyzed Monday, with schools and health centers shut and streets cut off as overflowing rivers showed no sign of receding after torrential rains in a disaster that has left 147 dead. More than two million people have been affected by the flooding in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where towns and part of the regional capital have been under water for about two weeks after being battered by heavy rains. Regional capital Porto Alegre's international airport remains under water, as do agricultural fields and roads, while more than 360,000 students were not in school. The latest official figures showed that 127 people were missing, ... Read more ... |
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Cambodia's famed Kampot pepper withers in scorching heat wave - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · Farmer Chhim Laem shakes his head as he walks between long rows of dead bushes, their brown leaves scorched by heat and drought that have devastated Cambodia's famed Kampot pepper crop. Known for its intense floral flavor, Kampot pepper is prized by top chefs around the world and sells for up to $200 per kilo. Nurtured for generations in two provinces in southwest Cambodia, the pepper industry survived the genocidal Khmer Rouge and decades of instability, but now faces the threat of extreme weather driven by climate change. "It is so hot this year, no rains, and we have no water to water the pepper plants," Laem told AFP. "So they all died." South and ... Read more ... |
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Canadian wildfire smoke chokes Upper Midwest for second straight year - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · Smoke from Canadian wildfires has prompted health warnings across the Upper Midwest and Montana for the second year in a row. Fires raging in British Columbia and Alberta have filled the skies with haze over parts of Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin on Sunday, lingering into Monday morning. Unhealthy air pollution levels mean everyone in Minnesota should stay indoors and avoid heavy exertion outdoors, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said in its first statewide air quality alert of the season Sunday. Scheduled to end at noon Monday, the advisory was extended until 11 p.m. for southern Minnesota including the Twin Cities metro area. The Wisconsin ... Read more ... |
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Chemical analysis of natural CO2 rise over the last 50,000 years shows that today's rate is 10 times faster - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide important new understanding of abrupt climate change periods in Earth's past and offer new insight into the potential impacts of climate change today. "Studying the past teaches us how today is different. The rate of CO2 change today really is unprecedented," said Kathleen Wendt, an assistant professor in Oregon State University's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences and the study's lead author. Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is a greenhouse gas that occurs naturally in the atmosphere. When carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere, it contributes to warming of the climate due to the ... Read more ... |
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Enhancing marine heat wave predictions with advanced ocean data assimilation - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · The study leveraged two assimilation schemes within the global climate forecast system developed by Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology. While the SST nudging scheme focuses solely on sea surface temperatures, the EnKF assimilates a broader range of oceanic observations, from the surface to the deep ocean. This comprehensive approach has been shown to enhance the accuracy of subsurface temperature predictions, particularly in the critical 100–300 m depth layer. "By assimilating more ocean data, particularly subsurface temperatures, we can better predict the progression and impacts of marine heat waves like the Blob," says corresponding author Jingjia ... Read more ... |
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Identity crisis: Climate destroying wonders that gave US parks their names - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · Glacier National Park's ice fortress is crumbling. The giant trees of Sequoia National Park are ablaze. And even the tenacious cacti of Saguaro National Park are struggling to endure a decades-long drought. Since their creation, national parks have embodied the pioneering spirit of America in their vast expanses and breathtaking landscapes. But today, the climate crisis imperils the very symbols of many parks, leaving them facing a future where their names could be cruel ironies. Deep within Montana's Glacier National Park, the once majestic Grinnell Glacier is now greatly diminished. After a grueling trek, visitors are met with a stunning sight: a serene ... Read more ... |
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In a reservoir in Southeast Brazil, introduction of a fish native to the Amazon has reduced native species diversity - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · As a top predator in the food network, the invader has negatively affected local biodiversity by bringing about detrimental changes to its taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic structure, according to a study published in Biological Invasions by researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP). They analyzed fish monitoring data collected by power utility CESP (Companhia Energética de São Paulo), which has recorded the presence of the species in the reservoir since 2001. The data analyzed is for a period ending in 2016. In no more than ten years, P. squamosissimus has become the most abundant fish species in the reservoir. "Although this predator ... Read more ... |
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Indonesia flood death toll rises to 41 with 17 missing - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · The number of people killed by flash floods and cold lava flow from a volcano in western Indonesia over the weekend has risen to 41 with 17 more missing, a local disaster agency official told AFP Monday. Hours of heavy rain caused large volcanic rocks to roll down one of Indonesia's most active volcanos into two districts on Sumatra island Saturday evening, while flooding inundated roads, homes and mosques. "Data as of last night, we recorded 37 dead victims... But from this morning it has grown again, the figure reached 41 (dead)," Ilham Wahab, West Sumatra disaster mitigation agency official, told AFP. Rescuers were searching for 17 still missing, three in Agam ... Read more ... |
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Island birds more adaptable than previously thought - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · Scientists still don't fully understand the consequences that pollution and climate change can have on the world around us. Now, a study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B examining bird populations living on islands shows we may know even less than previously thought. "Usually, one predicts that there should be fewer species of birds living in agricultural areas where trees have been removed and the land manipulated than in natural habitats like forests," said Luke O. Frishkoff, assistant professor of biology at The University of Texas at Arlington. "But strangely, on the islands we studied off the coast of China, we found opposite patterns with the ... Read more ... |
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Lake Tahoe expected to be full for first time since 2019, thanks to winter storms - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · Lake Tahoe is expected to fill for the first time since 2019, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The last time the lake was full was June 2019. The dam at Lake Tahoe provides up to 6 feet of storage, totaling 744,500 acre-feet, according to the USDA. "Once full the stored water in Lake Tahoe typically provides sufficient supply to meet demand for three years even if snowpacks are below normal," the USDA report read. Strong precipitation in January, February and March led to winter snowpack above the median, according to the report. "April 1 snowpacks were 108%–244% of median across the region and May 1 snowpacks continue ... Read more ... |
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Loss and hope: US park rangers' climate crisis fight - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · American biologist Laura Brennan describes the coin-sized Karner blue butterfly as "very delicate and graceful" with a "lovely blue" coloring and "just a little speckling of orange." The species, declared endangered in 1992, used to flourish in Indiana Dunes National Park, where Brennan has worked for two decades. But the butterfly is now believed to have disappeared entirely from the midwestern US park - becoming a victim of rising temperatures fueled by human activity, among other stressors. Brennan and thousands of others in the National Park Service (NPS) are witnessing firsthand the consequences of the climate crisis and struggling to mitigate its ... Read more ... |
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More desalination is coming to Australia's driest states - but super-salty outflows could trash ecosystems and fisheries - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · Most cities didn't actually use them much. The drought broke in 2010, and desalinated water is expensive. The exception is Perth, which has been hit by declining rainfall, a drying climate and overuse of groundwater. The city will soon open its third desal plant. As climate change intensifies, other states are also looking to build more desal plants. In South Australia, for instance, there are plans to build one urgently in response to looming water shortages. The Eyre Peninsula, for instance, is expected to run out of drinking water within two years as groundwater runs dry. But beyond the expense, many of these plants bring environmental problems of their own. How ... Read more ... |
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New study examines the price tag of phasing-out coal - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · The study is published in the journal Nature Communications. This planned compensation globally amounts to USD 200 billion, but it excludes China and India, the two largest users of coal that currently do not have phase-out plans. The study shows that if China and India decide to phase out coal as fast as needed to reach the Paris climate targets and pay similar compensation, it would cost upwards of USD 2 trillion. To slow global warming, coal use needs to end. Many governments, mostly in Europe, have begun to phase-out coal, but these policies can harm companies, risk unemployment, and lead to economic hardship for coal-dependent regions. In response, some countries ... Read more ... |
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Non-photosynthetic vegetation helps improve accuracy of wind erosion impact assessment - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · It also helps to reduce wind erosion during this time. However, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) can generally reflect the fractional cover of PV, but it may not accurately reflect the fractional cover of NPV, leading to potential errors in estimating the fractional cover of NPV. In the study published in Geoderma, the researchers conducted short-term observations of wind erosion to estimate the fractional cover of NPV and calibrate the simulated results to reduce uncertainties in wind erosion simulations. They found that the mean values of NPV fractional cover in the MUSL from 2014 to 2017 were approximately 2.71 times higher than those estimated from ... Read more ... |
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Research team develops an impact-based forecasting system for improved early flood warning - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · Over the past years, great progress has been made in the spatiotemporal forecasting of flood events. It is thus now possible to predict maximum flood levels at locations of river gauges. Until now, however, estimates of the impacts of flooding on cities and municipalities were only rough or even completely inaccurate, especially for people at the lower river reaches away from gauge locations. However, this information is critical, as the affected population must be notified as quickly as possible in advance in order to initiate any necessary evacuation measures. "What is needed is a state-of-the-art early flood warning system that provides high-resolution flood forecasts in a ... Read more ... |
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Rivers rise again as rain batters flood-hit south Brazil - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · River levels rose again Sunday as strong rains lashed waterlogged southern Brazil, where flooding has killed 145 people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. Residents of the state of Rio Grande do Sul were bracing for more misery from the new rains, after two weeks of downpours saw rivers burst their banks, swallowing up towns and parts of the regional capital. More than two million people have been affected by the deluge, which experts link to climate change exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon. The levels of "practically all the major rivers in the state are tending to rise," state authorities said Sunday. The probability of further ... Read more ... |
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The power of ambiguity: Using computer models to understand the debate about climate change - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · Is it possible for a society initially characterized by heterogeneous views on climate change to reach a consensus despite prejudices and taking into account "noise"? A team led by Professor Agostino Merico, head of the working group Systems Ecology at ZMT, investigated this question in a study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. "Our model is based on realistic assumptions about how people change opinions and includes the cognitive processes affecting the dynamics of opinions in a society," says Merico. The model was fed with data from surveys conducted in the U.S. This data shows the presence of six opinion groups in the U.S. in relation to climate ... Read more ... |
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Tracing the origins of organic matter in Martian sediments - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 13) |
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May 13 · In one such analysis, sediments collected by the Curiosity rover from Gale Crater, believed to be an ancient lake formed approximately 3.8 billion years ago due to an asteroid impact, revealed organic matter. However, this organic matter had a significantly lower amount of the carbon-13 isotope (13C) relative to carbon-12 isotopes (12C) compared to what is found on Earth, suggesting different processes of organic matter formation on Mars. Now, a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience on May 9, 2024, elucidates this discrepancy. A research team, led by Professor Yuichiro Ueno from Tokyo Institute of Technology and Professor Matthew Johnson from the University of ... Read more ... |
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Brazil authorities warn of more floods, landslides as new rains hit south - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 12) |
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May 12 · New rains in waterlogged southern Brazil are expected to be heaviest between Sunday and Monday, authorities have warned, bringing fresh misery to victims of flooding that has killed 136 people so far. State authorities warned late Saturday of the risk of further rising waters and landslides. "We are still experiencing an emergency situation," Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said in a video on Instagram. Heavy rains last week caused rivers in the agricultural state to overflow, leaving 806 injured and 125 missing in addition to those killed, the civil defense agency said. "Many people see the rain and are traumatized. We've seen how scared people ... Read more ... |
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Second night of auroras seen 'extreme' solar storm - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 12) |
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May 12 · Auroras lit up skies across swaths of the planet for the second night in a row on Saturday, after already dazzling Earthlings from the United States to Tasmania to the Bahamas the day before. A powerful solar storm - which could continue into Sunday - has triggered spectacular celestial shows usually confined to the far northern reaches of the planet, hence their nickname of the "northern lights." "I have the sensation of living through a historic night in France... It was really charged, with solar particles and emotions," Eric Lagadec, an astrophysicist at the Observatoire de Cote d'Azur, wrote on social media after the first night. "Find good spots, away from ... Read more ... |
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Brazil's catastrophic weather spawns spate of conspiracy theories - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 11) |
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May 11 · The climate catastrophe that has struck southern Brazil, killing more than a hundred people and displacing nearly two million, has also spawned a spate of bizarre conspiracy theories, some involving jets' vapor trails and weather antennas in faraway Alaska. As often happens at times of disaster and great uncertainty, several of these theories have gone viral on social media. "What's happening in Rio Grande do Sul is definitely not natural," one woman said on the platform known as X. "Let's open our eyes!" She blamed something called HAARP - the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program - a US project that studies the ionosphere using huge antennas in ... Read more ... |
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Fresh rains pound Brazil's flood-hit south as evacuations double - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (May 11) |
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May 11 · The skies opened once again Friday in southern Brazil, offering little respite for those whose homes have been swallowed by floodwaters, while the number of people forced to evacuate doubled in 24 hours. Residents of the state of Rio Grande do Sul were bracing for a weekend of heavy rainfall, hitting just as waters that turned city streets into rivers had begun to subside. The deluge - which experts link to climate change exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon - has affected almost two million people, leaving 126 dead and 756 injured. Another 141 people are still missing, according to authorities. The state capital Porto Alegre, home to 1.4 million ... Read more ... |
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