Most recent 40 articles: PHYS.ORG - Earth
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Ancient isolation's impact on modern ecology: How deep biogeographic divides drive divergent evolutionary paths - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 28) |
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Mar 28 · A new study led by Michigan State University researcher Peter Williams sheds light on the profound influence of deep geographic isolation on the evolution of mammals. Published in Nature Communications, the research reveals how long-lasting separation between continents has shaped distinct mammal communities around the globe. "Today's ecology was not inevitable. If there were different isolating factors long ago, we might have vastly different ecosystems today," said Peter Williams, the lead author of the study. Williams is a research associate in the Integrative Biology department and a postdoctoral researcher in MSU's Ecology, Evolution and Behavior program, or ... Read more ... |
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Milk on ice: Antarctic time capsule of whole milk powder sheds light on the enduring qualities of dairy products - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 28) |
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Mar 28 · Now, a new comparative study in the Journal of Dairy Science has peered back in time to demonstrate that—despite advancements in selective breeding and changes to farm practices—milk of the past and milk today share more similarities than differences and are still crucial building blocks of human nutrition. On New Year's Day in 1908, explorer Ernest Shackleton's British Antarctic Expedition aboard the ship Nimrod set sail from Lyttelton, New Zealand, on a quest to be the first to set foot on the South Pole. While the wharf was packed with well-wishers, the ship was packed with dairy: 1,000 pounds of dried whole milk powder, 192 pounds of butter, and two cases ... Read more ... |
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Saudi Aramco CEO calls energy transition strategy a failure - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 28) |
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Mar 28 · Pointing to the still paltry share of renewable energy in global supply, the head of Saudi Aramco described the current energy transition strategy as a misguided failure on Monday. "In the real world, the current transition strategy is visibly failing on most fronts," Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser said at the CERAWeek conference in Houston. Fossil fuels accounted for 82 percent of global consumption last year, according to a report from consultancy KPMG cited by Nasser, who noted that the International Energy Agency has said oil demand could hit a record this year. "This is hardly the future picture some have been painting," Nasser said. "All this ... Read more ... |
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Schools in the path of April's total solar eclipse prepare for a natural teaching moment - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 28) |
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Mar 28 · Seventh-grade student Henry Cohen bounced side to side in time to the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" playing in teacher Nancy Morris' classroom, swinging his arms open and closed across the planets pictured on his T-shirt. Henry and other classmates at Cleveland's Riverside School were on their feet, dancing during a session of activities tied to April's total solar eclipse. Second-graders invited in for the lessons sat cross-legged on the floor, laughing as they modeled newly decorated eclipse viewing glasses. Dioramas with softball-sized model earths and moons and flashlight "suns" occupied desks and shelves around the room. Henry said his shirt reflected his love of ... Read more ... |
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Imaging turbulence within solar transients for the first time - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · The Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe (WISPR) Science Team, led by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), captured the development of turbulence as a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) interacted with the ambient solar wind in the circumsolar space. This discovery is reported in the Astrophysical Journal. Taking advantage of its unique location inside the sun's atmosphere, the NRL-built WISPR telescope on NASA's Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission, operated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL), captured in unparalleled detail the interaction between a CME and the background ambient solar wind. To the surprise of the WISPR team, images from ... Read more ... |
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Anthropocene or not, it is our current epoch that we should be fighting for - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · Does this mean that humans haven't actually changed the planet? Not at all and while we may not officially be in a geological Anthropocene, the term will likely persist in reference to human environmental interference in years to come. As such, the wake of this vote is perhaps the best moment to consider a more essential question: what will we do next? Can we take the official rejection on an Anthropocene epoch as an implicit vote of confidence in our ability to return the planet to Holocene-like conditions? Is climate change reversible? As a limnologist, I can share insights from long-term research on lakes. And as one Canadian lake, Crawford Lake, had been selected as ... Read more ... |
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Two coral snakes recorded battling for prey in a scientific first - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · Kleptoparasitism, or food theft, is a well-documented behavior in many animal species, but is seldom reported among snakes in natural habitats. The observation, detailed in a recent study published in Herpetozoa by Henrik Bringsøe and Niels Poul Dreyer, showcases the two Micrurus mipartitus snakes engaging in a tug-of-war over the limbless amphibian. Elapid snakes are venomous and among the deadliest serpents in the world. There are more than 400 species comprising a very diverse group of snakes such as mambas, cobras, kraits, taipans, tiger snakes, death adders, sea snakes and coral snakes. The battle occurred in the dense rainforests of Valle del Cauca, ... Read more ... |
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Advancing towards sustainability: Turning carbon dioxide and water into acetylene - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · Such is the case of acetylene (C2H2), an essential hydrocarbon with a plethora of applications. This highly flammable gas is used for welding, industrial cutting, metal hardening, heat treatments, and other industrial processes. In addition, it is an important precursor in the production of synthetic resins and plastics, including PVC. Since the production of C2H2 requires fossil fuels as feedstock, a more environmentally friendly synthesis route is urgently needed. Against this backdrop, a research team based on an academia–industry collaboration between Doshisha University and Daikin Industries, Ltd., Japan, has been developing a new and promising strategy to produce ... Read more ... |
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Climate change is messing with how we measure time: Study - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · In a strange twist, global warming could even help out timekeepers by delaying the need for history's first "negative leap second" by three years, a study published on Wednesday suggested. Experts fear that introducing a negative leap second—a minute with only 59 seconds—into standard time could cause havoc on computer systems across the world. For most of history, time was measured by the rotation of the Earth. However in 1967, the world's timekeepers embraced atomic clocks—which use the frequency of atoms as their tick-tock—ushering in a more precise era of timekeeping. But sailors, who still relied on the sun and stars for navigation, and ... Read more ... |
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Europe's forgotten forests could be 21st century 'biodiversity hot spots' - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · According to new research, published in PLOS ONE, there is ample habitat for the Eurasian aspen, and these environments will continue to be suitable for this "keystone species" as the global climate warms. "The Eurasian aspen, and aspen species globally, are home to vast populations of other dependent plants and animals," said the study's lead author, Antonin Kusbach, an applied ecologist at Mendel University in Brno, Czechia, also known as the Czech Republic, where the team's research was conducted. "Additionally, aspen systems regenerate and colonize new areas quickly, so these types of forests are ideally adaptive to increased forest disturbances like fire, diseases, ... Read more ... |
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Five new hydrothermal vents discovered in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · The pace of discovery in the oceans leaped forward thanks to teamwork between a deep-sea robot and a human occupied submarine leading to the discovery of five new hydrothermal vents in the eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. Late last week, ocean scientists aboard the research vessel Atlantis returned to port in San Diego from a research expedition in the eastern Pacific Ocean. There, the team discovered the new deep-sea hydrothermal vent sites on the seafloor at 2,550 meters (8,366 feet, or 1.6 miles) depth. The venting fluids are all hotter than 300°C (570°F). The discovery was supported, and in many ways accelerated, by making use of the unique strengths offered by robotic and ... Read more ... |
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Food matters: Healthy diets increase the economic and physical feasibility of 1.5°C target - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · A new study published in Science Advances finds that a more sustainable, flexitarian diet increases the feasibility of the Paris Agreement climate goals in different ways. "The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions related to dietary shifts, especially methane from ruminant animals raised for their meat and milk, would allow us to extend our current global CO2 budget of 500 gigatons by 125 gigatons and still stay within the limits of 1.5°C with a 50% chance," says Florian Humpenöder, PIK scientist and co-lead author of a study. Putting a price on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the energy and land system is an important policy instrument to stay within the limits of ... Read more ... |
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Forest regeneration projects failing to offset carbon emissions - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · HIR projects are the world's fifth largest nature-based offset type by credit issuances, and the largest when projects involving avoided emissions are excluded. The analyzed projects are mostly located in dry outback areas in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia, and are being credited for regenerating native forests in areas that are largely uncleared. The projects do not involve any tree planting. They are mainly claiming to regenerate native forests from soil seed stock, and suppressed seedlings, by reducing livestock and feral animal numbers. The study assessed if woody vegetation cover increased in the 'credited areas' of the projects, where ... Read more ... |
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Future of 1 billion people in South Asia hinges on water pact, says new analysis - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · The three rivers provide food and water security to nearly a billion people in some of Asia's most vulnerable communities, as well as underpinning industry and industrial policies in one of the most densely populous and geopolitically sensitive zones in the world. In a series of reports, scientists call for joint action to tackle what they see as a lack of planning, research, cooperation and data sharing in these basins, highlighting growing pressures on water resources in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region from population growth and rising temperatures. The reports, released by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and the Australian Water Partnership ... Read more ... |
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Long-period oscillations control the sun's differential rotation: Study - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · In addition, advances in helioseismology (i.e., probing the solar interior with the help of solar acoustic waves) have established that this rotational profile is nearly constant throughout the entire convection zone. This layer of the sun stretches from a depth of approximately 200,000 kilometers to the visible solar surface and is home to violent upheavals of hot plasma which play a crucial role in driving solar magnetism and activity. While theoretical models have long postulated a slight temperature difference between solar poles and equator to maintain the sun's rotational pattern, it has proven notoriously difficult to measure. After all, observations have to "look ... Read more ... |
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Mighty microbes: Soil microorganisms are combating desertification - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · Consequently, there is an ever-pressing requirement for management strategies to alleviate desertification and its impacts. A new review of current research into combating desertification, published in Earth-Science Reviews, has identified soil microbes as critical to this mission. Waqar Islam, an Associate Professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and colleagues explain how a diverse community of bacteria, fungi, archaea and other microorganisms play vital roles in promoting soil health, ultimately impacting ecosystem functions and sustainable land management. Desertification results from the interplay of both climate change and anthropogenic activities. Increasing ... Read more ... |
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More investment needed for climate science in Africa to improve weather forecasting and save lives - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · In a paper published in Nature, the researchers say African weather and seasonal forecasting is being held back by gaps in understanding of the science behind weather systems in the tropics. Around half the population of Africa does not have access to any early warnings of hazardous weather, and massive improvements in global weather and climate science and services have not been reflected on the continent. Organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the World Bank, and the United Nations are keen to rectify this and have spent many millions of pounds on the delivery of weather radars to African nations, but few of them have delivered useful data ... Read more ... |
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Newly uncovered history of a key ocean current carries a warning on climate - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · In recent decades it has been speeding up, but scientists have been unsure whether that is connected to human-induced global warming, and whether the current might offset or amplify some of warming's effects. In a new study, an international research team used sediment cores from the planet's roughest and most remote waters to chart the ACC's relationship to climate over the last 5.3 million years. Their key discovery: During past natural climate swings, the current has moved in tandem with Earth's temperature, slowing down during cold times and gaining speed in warm ones―speedups that abetted major losses of Antarctica's ice. This suggests that today's speedup ... Read more ... |
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Quantifying community resilience to riverine hazards in Bangladesh - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · A recent study, published in Global Environmental Change, evaluated the resilience of 35 such communities in the country. Strong evidence on rising climate-related risks, along with first evidence of adaptation limits, is challenging conventional approaches to managing disaster and climate-related risk in populations around the world. In hot spot locations, addressing increasingly existential risks requires a step change toward transformational approaches to disaster risk management and climate change adaptation. The recent study led by 2022 IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) alumna, Amelie Paszkowski from Oxford University, in collaboration with Reinhard ... Read more ... |
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Researchers add virtual spatial displacement to extreme flooding scenarios - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · In a recent study, a team of researchers led by Bruno Merz and Sergiy Vorogushyn from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences proposes a new strategy to motivate society to discuss appropriate risk management strategies: They are developing a series of hypothetical extreme flooding scenarios in Germany by shifting previously observed precipitation events by a few tens of kilometers in space and then calculating their effects using a flood model. Such scenarios are not improbable, as the actual precipitation could have fallen several dozen kilometers away. This results in events that are more than twice as severe as the most devastating flood in Germany since 1950. It ... Read more ... |
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Researchers demonstrate that forests trap airborne microplastics, acting as terrestrial sinks - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · Think of microplastics, and you might think of the ones accumulating in the world's oceans. However, they are also filling the sky and the air we breathe. Now, it has been discovered that forests might be acting as a sink for these airborne microplastics, offering humanity yet another crucial service. In a study recently published in Environmental Chemistry Letters, a multi-institutional research group led by Professor Miyazaki Akane of Japan Women's University has used a new technique to measure the levels of microplastics adhering to the leaves of trees, revealing that forests are potentially acting as terrestrial sinks for these particles. Microplastics have come into ... Read more ... |
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Researchers find the more flood driving factors there are, the more extreme a flood is - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · The result: precipitation was the sole determining factor in only around 25% of the almost 125,000 flood events. Soil moisture was the decisive factor in just over 10% of cases, and snow melt and air temperature were the sole factors in only around 3% of cases. In contrast, 51.6% of cases were caused by at least two factors. At around 23%, the combination of precipitation and soil moisture occurs most frequently. However, when analyzing the data, the UFZ researchers discovered that three—or even all four—factors can be jointly responsible for a flood event. For example, temperature, soil moisture, and snow depth were decisive factors in around 5,000 ... Read more ... |
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Satellite data shows how drought changes wildfire recovery in the West - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · The West has been witnessing a trend of increasing number and intensity of wildland fires. Historically a natural part of the region's ecology, fires have been exacerbated by climate change—including more frequent and intense droughts—and past efforts to suppress fires, which can lead to the accumulation of combustible material like fallen branches and leaves. But quantifying how fire and drought jointly affect ecosystems has proven difficult. In the new study, researchers analyzed over 1,500 fires from 2014 to 2020 across the West, and also gathered data on drought conditions dating back to 1984. They found that droughts make it harder for grasslands and ... Read more ... |
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Scientists discover that the natural purification of groundwater is enhanced by nitrate - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · A team of researchers including Dr. Seunghak Lee, Jaeshik Chung, and Sang Hyun Kim from the Water Resources Cycle Research Center has discovered that the natural purification of groundwater is enhanced by nitrate, a known pollutant. In order to apply ASR techniques in practice, it is very important to predict and manage the quality of recharged water, and this research is expected to mark a turning point in the water quality management strategy of ASR systems. The study is published in the journal Water Research. In addition to storing water resources, ASR techniques have the added benefit of improving water quality through various reactions in the ground. The organic ... Read more ... |
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Study finds decline in the stability of water yield in watersheds - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · These changes directly or indirectly impact the hydrological processes of the watershed system. The water yield of the watershed system may experience persistent disturbances by enhanced extreme climate events and human activities under global warming, challenging both system components and system balance. The water yield or hydrological system of the watershed continuously dynamic changes since human activities and climate change alter the balance state of this system, potentially leading it to disruption, restoration, or transformation into a new state. Therefore, the stability of the water yield in the watershed system is the capacity to restore its original state or ... Read more ... |
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The stunning echo of 800-year-old explosion - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · Ever since, scientists have tried to find the supernova's remnant. At first it was thought that this could be the nebula around the pulsar (dead star) 3C 58. However closer investigations revealed that the pulsar is older than supernova 1181. In the last decade, another contender was discovered; Pa 30 is a nearly circular nebula with a central star in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is pictured here combining images from several telescopes. This composite image uses data across the electromagnetic spectrum and shows a new spectacular view of the supernova remnant, allowing us to marvel at the same object that appeared in our ancestors' night sky more than 800 years ... Read more ... |
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Your emotional reaction to climate change may impact the policies you support, study finds - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 27) |
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Mar 27 · Emotional reactions to climate change may lead to specific policy preferences, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS Climate by Teresa A. Myers of George Mason University and colleagues. A politician, public speaker, or journalist may opt for an emotional appeal when communicating about climate change. Indeed, research shows that emotional investment can raise awareness of important issues and galvanize an otherwise apathetic public. However, existing research has not explored the unique links between specific emotions and support for types of climate policies. Myers and colleagues explored whether five common emotional reactions to climate ... Read more ... |
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Extreme weather forecasts: Algorithm 'nudges' existing climate simulations closer to future reality - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · To estimate Boston's future risk of extreme weather such as flooding, policymakers can combine a coarse model's large-scale predictions with a finer-resolution model tuned to estimate how often Boston is likely to experience damaging floods as the climate warms. But this risk analysis is only as accurate as the predictions from that first, coarser climate model. "If you get those wrong for large-scale environments, then you miss everything in terms of what extreme events will look like at smaller scales, such as over individual cities," says Themistoklis Sapsis, the William I. Koch Professor and director of the Center for Ocean Engineering in MIT's Department of Mechanical ... Read more ... |
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A nanoscale look at how shells and coral form reveals that biomineralization is more complex than imagined - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · They also found variety in the types of building blocks present. Scientists expected to see "amorphous" precursors, minerals that lack a repeating atomic structure. They did—but they also found "crystalline" precursors, minerals that are more structured and orderly. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications. "One fascinating observation is that coral skeletons and mollusk mother-of-pearl form with exactly the same precursors, yet they evolved completely separately from one another," said Pupa Gilbert, a visiting faculty scientist at Berkeley Lab and professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She noted that the two species began making ... Read more ... |
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Accelerating China's transition to carbon neutrality and clean air - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · A recent report published in Environmental Science and Ecotechnology, reveals the Synergetic Roadmap on Carbon Neutrality and Clean Air for China. This comprehensive report offers a detailed analysis and updates on China's ambitious efforts to synergize air pollution control with carbon neutrality objectives. At the core of the 2022 Roadmap Report is a detailed strategy targeting key sectors such as energy, industry, and transportation, marking significant strides towards sustainability in China. A hallmark achievement detailed in the report is the dramatic increase in renewable energy usage, with non-fossil fuel sources outpacing coal for the first time, heralding a ... Read more ... |
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Albedo can reduce climate benefit of tree planting: New tool identifies locations with high climate-cooling potential - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · This new study by researchers at Clark University in the United States alongside scientists from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and ETH-Zurich, published today in the journal Nature Communications, provides a global analysis of where restoration of tree cover is most effective at cooling the global climate system, considering not just the cooling from carbon storage but also the warming from decreased albedo. Because comprehensive maps of the consequences of albedo change were not previously available, these carbon-only estimates tend to identify too many options in landscapes—particularly semi-arid settings and snowy, boreal regions—where changes in albedo would ... Read more ... |
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Behavior of ant queens found to be shaped by their social environments - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · The common perception is that the queen's only task is to lay eggs—and that this attribute is an inherent trait, not influenced by external factors. In contrast, recent research undertaken at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has demonstrated that in certain ant colonies, the social environment can play a crucial role in shaping the behavioral specialization of the queens. "With regard to the ant species we studied, it is social factors that control whether queens become specialized or not. Our findings challenge the widely accepted notion of social insect queens as inherently specialized egg-laying machines," stated Dr. Romain Libbrecht. Concept of insect ... Read more ... |
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Climate change will see Australia's soil emit CO2 and add to global warming, research shows - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · New Curtin University research has shown the warming climate will turn Australia's soil into a net emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2), unless action is taken. "A warming climate will make Australian soil a net emitter of atmospheric CO2" was published in NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Science. Soil helps to keep the planet cool by absorbing carbon, however as the climate gets warmer its ability to retain carbon decreases - and in some instances can start to release some carbon back into the air. A global research team - led by Professor Raphael Viscarra Rossel from Curtin's School of Molecular and Life Sciences - predicted the changes in the amount of carbon in Australia's ... Read more ... |
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Curbside collection improves organic waste composting, reduces methane emissions - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · Most organic household waste ends up in landfills, where it generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Composting food and garden waste instead of sending it to landfills can significantly reduce methane emissions and help mitigate global warming. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores the effects of curbside compost collection programs in New South Wales, Australia. "Governments around the world are interested in composting organic waste and reducing their methane emissions, and they are looking for ways to make waste collection more convenient for households. As municipal composting services were being rolled out in Australia, we wanted to ... Read more ... |
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Geometry-adaptive electrocatalysis: Proposed approach could double efficiency of energy conversion technologies - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · Oxygen electrocatalysis involves reactions, such as oxygen evolution and reduction reaction, which are crucial in various electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems like water splitting, fuel cells, and metal-air batteries. These reactions involve breaking and forming multiple chemical bonds, which typically have high activation energies. This makes it difficult to find catalysts that can effectively lower these energy barriers and facilitate the reactions. To overcome these limitations and accelerate the transition to a hydrogen economy, a novel paradigm for catalyst design is required. Despite theoretical constraints, the research team has discovered a practical ... Read more ... |
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How much difference can one degree of warming make? - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · A new study of long-term warming experimental results, led by Northern Arizona University ecologist Andrew Richardson, found that even slight increases in temperature in the boreal forests can lead to a significant reduction in snowpack. The research is published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. Less snowpack means more light and heat is absorbed into the soil, which further increases the ground temperature, resulting in warmer air temperatures and more snowmelt. This means that the boreal forest, which stretches across the northern half of three continents and is home to many critical ecosystems, is changing even faster than scientists ... Read more ... |
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Invasive Pacific oyster proliferation during Blob marine heat wave portends similar events as seas warm - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · In the absence of any studies on effects of this marine heat wave on the populations of Pacific oysters in this area, a research team from the University of Washington, Pacific Lutheran University, and Harbor WildWatch has explored this topic. Their work is published in Frontiers in Marine Science. Pacific oysters (Magallana gigas, formerly Crassostrea gigas) are native to the Pacific coast of Asia. Farming of this species began in 1919 in south Puget Sound and is now substantial across the region. Recently, wild populations have begun to establish in the area, but "we do not yet know how oysters perform outside of aquaculture on rocky shores of south Puget Sound," the ... Read more ... |
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New computational technique enhances accuracy of measurements in nuclear geoscience - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · A study demonstrates the computational approach, the Fast Forward Computational Method (FFCM), recently published in the Journal of Nuclear Science and Techniques, has been developed to significantly enhance the accuracy of nuclear measurements in complex environments. This innovative method addresses the challenges posed by conventional techniques in interpreting geological formations. FFCM leverages perturbation theory and the Rytov approximation to model detector responses with unparalleled speed and accuracy by constructing an extensive data library of simulated scenarios. This modeling accounts for various environmental perturbations, effectively minimizing errors in ... Read more ... |
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New nearby mini-Neptune exoplanet discovered - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a new mini-Neptune exoplanet orbiting a nearby star. The newfound alien world, designated TOI-4438 b is about 2.5 times larger than the Earth. The finding was detailed in a paper published March 14 on the pre-print server arXiv. NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has identified more than 7,000 candidate exoplanets (TESS Objects of Interest, or TOI), of which 417 have been confirmed so far. Since its launch in April 2018, the satellite has been conducting a survey of about 200,000 of the brightest stars near the sun with the aim of searching for transiting exoplanets - ranging from small, rocky ... Read more ... |
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New roadmap to prevent pandemics centers on protecting biodiversity - PHYS.ORG - Earth  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · An international team of 25 scientists has proposed a roadmap for how to prevent the next pandemic by conserving natural areas and promoting biodiversity, thereby providing animals with enough food, safe havens and distance to limit contact and the transfer of pathogens to humans. Pandemics begin when disease-harboring animals, such as bats, come in close proximity with people, livestock or other animals and pass on new pathogens. Viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1, Nipah, Hendra and possibly Ebola have all fatally spilled over from bats to humans, sometimes through an intermediate host. "The world is focused on how can we detect and then contain a novel pathogen ... Read more ... |
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