Environment

Apr 27, 2019 11:06 AM EDT

3D Optical Biopsies within Reach thanks to Advance in Light Field Technology

Researchers have shown that existing optical fiber technology could be used to produce microscopic 3D images of tissue inside the body, paving the way towards 3D optical biopsies.

Subsurface Imaging Technology Helps Find Lost Graves (IMAGE)

Apr 27, 2019 10:58 AM EDT

Lost Graves Identified by New Archaeology Methods

Flinders University archaeologists are using cutting edge subsurface imaging technology to help assist community groups to map unmarked graves and manage their cultural heritage.

Apr 27, 2019 09:49 AM EDT

Improving the Lifetime of Bioelectrodes for Solar Energy Conversion

The use of proteins involved in the photosynthetic process enables the development of affordable and efficient devices for energy conversion. However, although proteins such as photosystem are robust in nature, the use of isolated protein complexes incorporated in semi-artificial electrodes are associated with considerably short long-term stability.

Apr 27, 2019 09:00 AM EDT

Diamonds Reveal How Continents are Stabilized, Key to Earth's Habitability

Washington, DC-- The longevity of Earth's continents in the face of destructive tectonic activity is an essential geologic backdrop for the emergence of life on our planet. This stability depends on the underlying mantle attached to the landmasses.

Apr 26, 2019 09:19 AM EDT

Mysterious Eruption Came from Campi Flegrei Caldera

Boulder, Colo., USA: The caldera-forming eruption of Campi Flegrei (Italy) 40,000 years ago is the largest known eruption in Europe during the last 200,000 years, but little is known about other large eruptions at the volcano prior to a more recent caldera-forming event 15,000 years ago.

Particle Injection Pumps in the Ocean Carbon Cycle (IMAGE)

Apr 26, 2019 09:03 AM EDT

New View of How Ocean 'Pumps' Impact Climate Change

Earth's oceans have a remarkable natural ability to pull carbon from the atmosphere and store it deep within the ocean waters, exerting an important control on the global climate.

Apr 26, 2019 08:49 AM EDT

Snowmelt Causes Seismic Swarm Near California's Long Valley Caldera

A spring surge of meltwater, seeping through vertically tilted layers of rock, caused a seismic swarm near California's Long Valley Caldera in 2017, according to research presented at the 2019 SSA Annual Meeting.

Apr 26, 2019 08:15 AM EDT

Ocean Acidification 'Could have Consequences for Millions'

Ocean acidification could have serious consequences for the millions of people globally whose lives depend on coastal protection, fisheries, and aquaculture, a new publication suggests.

Apr 25, 2019 11:32 AM EDT

Researchers Trace 3,000 Years of Monsoons Through Shell Fossils

The tiny shells at the bottom of Lake Nakaumi in southwest Japan may contain the secrets of the East Asia Summer Monsoon. This rainy season is fairly predictable, ushering in air and precipitation conducive to growing crops, but - sometimes without any hint - the pattern fails. Some areas of East Asia are left without rainfall, and their crops die. Other areas are inundated with rain, and their crops and homes flood.

Apr 25, 2019 11:18 AM EDT

Study: Microbes Could Influence Earth's Geological Processes as much as Volcanoes

By acting as gatekeepers, microbes can affect geological processes that move carbon from the earth's surface into its deep interior, according to a study published in Nature and co-authored by microbiologists at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The research is part of the Deep Carbon Observatory's Biology Meets Subduction project.

Apr 24, 2019 08:46 AM EDT

Scientists Create Largest Collection of Coral Reef Maps Ever Made

MIAMI--A study from scientists at the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation and the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science offers a new way to accurately map coral reefs using a combination of Earth-orbiting satellites and field observations.

Apr 23, 2019 08:18 AM EDT

Geomagnetic Jerks Finally Reproduced and Explained

Initially described in 1978, geomagnetic jerks are unpredictable events that abruptly accelerate the evolution of the Earth's magnetic field, and skew predictions of its behavior on a multi-year scale. Our magnetic field affects numerous human activities, ranging from establishing the direction in smartphones to the flight of low-altitude satellites

Fall Armyworm -- Spodoptera frugiperda (IMAGE)

Apr 23, 2019 07:55 AM EDT

Mixing Grass Varieties May Reduce Insect Infestations in Lawns

Annapolis, MD; A simple change in the choice of grass varieties for many lawns in the United States could be a key tool for fending off fall armyworm infestations, according to new research.

PA Annual Wastewater Generation by County 2017 (IMAGE)

Apr 22, 2019 09:55 AM EDT

PA Residents Shoulder Health Impacts of State's Oil and Gas Waste

OAKLAND, Calif. - More than 80 percent of all waste from Pennsylvania's oil and gas drilling operations stays inside the state, according to a new study that tracks the disposal locations of liquid and solid waste from these operations across 26 years. Numerous human health hazards have been associated with waste from oil and gas extraction, including potential exposure to compounds known to cause cancer.

Apr 22, 2019 09:20 AM EDT

Researchers Report High Performance Solid-State Sodium-Ion Battery

Solid-state sodium-ion batteries are far safer than conventional lithium-ion batteries, which pose a risk of fire and explosions, but their performance has been too weak to offset the safety advantages. Researchers Friday reported developing an organic cathode that dramatically improves both stability and energy density.