Environment

Snow Samples from Arctic Sea Ice (IMAGE)

Aug 15, 2019 10:30 AM EDT

Microplastic Drifting Down With The Snow

Over the past several years, microplastic particles have repeatedly been detected in sea-water, drinking water, and even in animals. But these minute particles are also transported by the atmosphere and subsequently washed out of the air, especially by snow - and even in such remote regions like the Arctic and the Alps. This was demonstrated in a study conducted by experts at the Alfred Wegener Institute and a Swiss colleague, recently published in the journal Science Advances.

Aug 15, 2019 10:14 AM EDT

Ice Sheets Impact Core Elements of the Earth's Carbon Cycle

The Earth's carbon cycle is crucial in controlling the greenhouse gas content of our atmosphere, and ultimately our climate. Ice sheets that cover about 10 percent of our Earth's land surface at present, were thought 20 years ago to be frozen wastelands, devoid of life and with suppressed chemical weathering - irrelevant parts of the carbon cycle.

Aug 15, 2019 10:03 AM EDT

New Study Reveals Unique Dietary Strategy of a Tropical Marine Sponge

Research conducted at the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) on a marine sponge in Kāneʻohe Bay, O?ahu revealed a unique feeding strategy, wherein the sponge animal acquires important components of its diet from symbiotic bacteria living within the sponge.

Aug 14, 2019 01:36 PM EDT

Arctic Could Be Iceless in September If Temps Increase 2 Degrees

Arctic sea ice could disappear completely through September each summer if average global temperatures increase by as little as 2 degrees, according to a new study by the University of Cincinnati.

Aug 14, 2019 01:26 PM EDT

Europe Has the Untapped Onshore Capacity to Meet Global Energy Demand

Europe has the capacity to produce more than 100 times the amount of energy it currently produces through onshore windfarms, new analysis from the University of Sussex and Aarhus University has revealed.

Aug 14, 2019 01:14 PM EDT

Hard-Working Termites Crucial to Forest, Wetland Ecosystems

Termites are unwelcome in your home. They can cause structural damage to the wood in frames, floors and other materials. It's nothing personal, though. They are really just looking for food sources.

Aug 13, 2019 04:24 AM EDT

Cold Winters Not Caused by Arctic Climate Change

Recent studies into the relationship between decreases in sea ice in the Arctic and ice-cold winters in the mid-latitudes, like the Polar Vortex cold waves in North America, seem to suggest that such a connection does indeed exist.

Aug 13, 2019 04:25 AM EDT

Icebergs Delay Southern Hemisphere Future Warming

New research, published today in the journal Nature Climate Change, has found that Antarctic icebergs can weaken and delay the effect of Global Warming in the Southern Hemisphere.

A Marine Scientist Collecting Coral Data (IMAGE)

Aug 13, 2019 04:25 AM EDT

Largest-Ever Study of Coral Communities Unlocks Global Solution to Save Reefs

The largest study ever conducted of its kind has identified where and how to save coral reef communities in the Indo-Pacific, according to an international group of scientists from WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and other conservation NGOs, government agencies, and universities. The study outlines three viable strategies that can be quickly enacted to help save coral reefs that are threatened by climate change and human impacts.

Tobacco Plant Stickiness Aid Plant Health, Helpful Bugs (IMAGE)

Aug 12, 2019 01:53 AM EDT

Tobacco Plant 'Stickiness' Aids Helpful Insects, Plant Health

Researchers at North Carolina State University have shown that "sticky" hairlike structures on tobacco leaves can help attract beneficial insects that scavenge on other insects trapped in the leaves, increasing leaf yield and reducing pest damage to plant structures.

Aug 12, 2019 01:48 AM EDT

Cover Crops, Compost And Carbon

Soil organic matter has long been known to benefit farmers. The carbon in this organic matter acts as a food source for soil microbes, which then provides other nutrients to the crops grown.

Kasey Fowler-Finn, Ph.D., Saint Louis University (IMAGE)

Aug 12, 2019 01:43 AM EDT

Despite Temperature Shifts, Treehoppers Manage to Mate

ST. LOUIS - During the mating season, male treehoppers--small plant feeding insects--serenade potential mates with vibrational songs sent through plant stems. If a female treehopper's interest is sparked, a male-female duet ensues until mating occurs.

Aug 09, 2019 03:12 AM EDT

Installing Solar Panels on Agricultural Lands Maximizes Their Efficiency, New Study Shows

CORVALLIS, Ore. - The most productive places on Earth for solar power are farmlands, according to an Oregon State University study.

Aug 09, 2019 03:10 AM EDT

New study in Science: Why Humans in Africa Fled to the Mountains During the Last Ice Age

People in Ethiopia did not live in low valleys during the last ice age. Instead, they lived high up in the inhospitable Bale Mountains. There they had enough water, built tools out of obsidian and relied mainly on giant rodents for nourishment.

Aug 09, 2019 03:10 AM EDT

Mega-Cloud from Canadian Wildfires Will Help Model Impacts of Nuclear War

Extreme wildfires in British Columbia, Canada, pumped so much smoke into the upper atmosphere in August 2017 that an enormous cloud circled most of the Northern Hemisphere - a finding in the journal Science that will help scientists model the climate impacts of nuclear war.