Environment
press releases.

Environment2 Feb 2026

Unexpected climate feedback links Antarctic ice sheet with reduced carbon uptake

A new study in Nature Geoscience reveals that changes in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) closely tracked marine algae growth in the Southern Ocean over previous glacial cycles, but not in the way scientists expected. The key factor is iron-rich sediments transported by icebergs from West Antarctica. Iron acts like fertilizer for algae. But when analyzing a sediment core taken from the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean in 2001, more than three miles below the water’s surface, researchers were surprised to find that a high iron supply did not accelerate marine algae growth. “Normally, an increased supply of iron in the Southern Ocean would stimulate algae ...

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Environment30 Jan 2026

Waste neem seeds become high-performance heat batteries for clean energy storage

As renewable energy expands worldwide, one challenge remains stubbornly unresolved: how to store heat efficiently and sustainably when the sun is not shining or demand fluctuates. A new study shows that agricultural waste, specifically discarded neem seeds, can be transformed into a powerful and environmentally friendly thermal energy storage material. Researchers have developed a biochar based phase change material that can capture, store, and release heat with high efficiency while also locking carbon away. The work demonstrates how the temperature used to produce biochar strongly ...

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Environment30 Jan 2026

New species of ladybird beetle discovered on Kyushu University campus

Fukuoka, Japan—University campuses are often places of learning and discovery, but rarely do researchers find a new species living right on their doorstep. However, that is exactly what happened when a research team from Kyushu University discovered a new species of ladybird beetle, Parastethorus pinicola, on a pine tree at Kyushu University’s Hakozaki Satellite. The discovery, published in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae, was part of a three-year study that revises the classification of the tribe Stethorini —a group of tiny ladybirds known for preying on spider mites—in Japan for the first time ...

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Environment30 Jan 2026

Land-intensive carbon removal requires better siting to protect biodiversity

The study, published in Nature Climate Change and led by scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) analysed future projections across five large-scale modelling projects, as well as considering 135,000 species and 70 biodiversity hotspots, to produce spatial mapping of where land-based carbon removal may be sited in the future. The authors’ approach allows for a risk–risk assessment, not only focusing on overlaps between biodiversity areas and land allocated to carbon dioxide removal (CDR), but also showing the positive impacts of ...

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Environment30 Jan 2026

Microwaves help turn sugar industry waste into high-performance biochar

Agricultural waste from the global sugar industry could become a powerful tool for clean energy, pollution control, and sustainable materials, thanks to new research showing how microwave technology can dramatically improve biochar production. In a study published in Sustainable Materials and Chemicals, researchers report that microwave-assisted pyrolysis can be precisely optimized to convert sugarcane bagasse, the fibrous residue left after sugar extraction, into highly porous biochar with exceptional surface ...

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Environment30 Jan 2026

From craft dust to green gold: Turning palm handicraft waste into high value bio based chemicals

Mannan rich palm handicraft waste, such as tagua nuts and bodhi roots, can be turned into valuable green chemicals instead of being burned or discarded, according to a new study. “In many parts of the world, polished palm seeds are carved into jewelry and religious beads, but the cutting and drilling leave behind piles of fine powder that usually end up as waste,” said first author Bin Hu of North China Electric Power University. “Our work shows that this overlooked by product can become a promising feedstock for clean chemical production.” The researchers examined two popular palm based handicraft materials: tagua nuts from Ecuador, sometimes called “vegetable ...

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Environment29 Jan 2026

As fossil fuel use declines, experts urge planning and coordination to prevent chaotic collapse

As the world shifts toward renewable energy sources, some experts warn that a lack of planning for the retirement of fossil fuels could lead to a disorderly and dangerous collapse of existing systems that could prolong the transition to green energy. In a study published in the journal Science, University of Notre Dame researchers Emily Grubert and Joshua Lappen argue that fossil fuel systems might be far more fragile than current energy models assume. “Systems designed to be large and growing behave differently when they shrink,” said Grubert, associate professor of sustainable energy policy at ...

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Environment29 Jan 2026

To reduce CO2 emissions, policy on carbon pricing, taxation and investment in renewable energy is key

A new peer-reviewed study evaluating climate policies in 40 countries over a 32-year period finds that carbon pricing and taxation—combined with investments in renewable energy and research—are among the most effective tools governments can use to reduce CO₂ emissions. Drawing on successful examples such as Sweden and Norway, which have implemented a broad mix of climate policies at varying levels of stringency, the authors conclude that countries benefit most from a comprehensive and diverse policy toolkit rather than reliance on a single measure. The research team—comprising experts from the University of Barcelona, ...

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Environment29 Jan 2026

Kissing the sun: Unraveling mysteries of the solar wind

Using data collected by NASA's Parker Solar Probe during its closest approach to the sun, a University of Arizona-led research team has measured the dynamics and ever-changing "shell" of hot gas from where the solar wind originates. Published in Geophysical Research Letters, the findings not only help scientists answer fundamental questions about energy and matter moving through the heliosphere – the volume of space controlled by the sun's activity – which affects not just the Earth and moon, but all ...

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Environment29 Jan 2026

Accounting for fossil energy’s “minimum viable scale” is central to decarbonization

In a Policy Forum, Joshua Lappen and Emily Grubert discuss the unseen infrastructural threats that may arise as fossil energy systems are phased out. According to the authors, acknowledging and planning for limits in the “minimum viable scale” of fossil fuel systems is essential to achieving a safe, just, and credible transition to a low-carbon energy future. The global energy transition relies on two parallel processes – building new low-carbon systems while carefully winding down the fossil-fuel infrastructure ...

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Environment29 Jan 2026

Concordia study finds snow droughts in western and southern Canada could affect nearly all Canadians

Researchers at Concordia have developed a new method of measuring the amount of usable water stored in snowpacks. The comprehensive technique, known as snow water availability (SWA), uses satellite data and climate reanalysis techniques to calculate snow depth, snow density and snow cover across a wide swath of Canada and Alaska. “SWA quantifies how much water is available where snowpack exists. Knowing where the snowpack is located is critically important because where its water ultimately ends up after melting depends on where the snowpack was initially located,” says the study’s corresponding ...

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Environment29 Jan 2026

Ecology: Svalbard polar bears insulated against sea ice loss

The body conditions of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) populations around the Norwegian island of Svalbard have improved despite sea ice losses, according to research published in Scientific Reports. The findings differ from previously published observations of polar bear population declines coinciding with sea ice loss across the Arctic. Previous research has recorded temperature increases in the Barents Sea region surrounding Svalbard of up to two degrees Celsius per decade since 1980. However, following a 2004 census, the Barents ...

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Environment29 Jan 2026

Fossilized plankton study gives long-term hope for oxygen depleted oceans

Key findings Arabian Sea was better oxygenated 16 million years ago than it is today, despite warmer climate conditions. Monsoons, ocean circulation, and ocean gateways play an important role, adding complexity as we try to predict future ocean oxygenation. In the very long-term, future sea oxygenation may improve, with unknown consequences for marine biology. A new study suggests the world’s oxygen depleted seas may have a chance of returning to higher oxygen concentrations in the centuries to come, despite our increasingly warming climate. Researchers at the University of Southampton (UK) and Rutgers University ...

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Environment29 Jan 2026

Conveying the concept of blue carbon in Japanese media: A new study provides insights

Blue carbon refers to organic carbon captured and stored by the marine and vegetated coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests, salt marshes, and seagrass meadows. These ecosystems act as powerful carbon sinks, sequestering carbon from the atmosphere efficiently like terrestrial forests. Recent focus on marine conservation has identified the blue carbon concept as an important factor, contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation. While there is a rising interest in blue carbon among businesses and ...

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Environment29 Jan 2026

New Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution study cautions that deep-sea fishing could undermine valuable tuna fisheries

Woods Hole, Mass. (January 28, 2026) — A new study led by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), along with international partners, finds that proposed commercial fishing in the deep ocean could have serious consequences for bigeye tuna, one of the world’s most valuable and widely consumed fish. The study in Fisheries Management and Ecology shows that large-scale harvesting of mesopelagic fish –small, deep-sea species that live hundreds of meters below the surface –could reduce the food available to bigeye tuna, ultimately harming tuna populations ...

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Environment29 Jan 2026

Study maps the climate-related evolution of modern kangaroos and wallabies

The study, published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, resolves longstanding questions about when, and why, these iconic Australian marsupials diversified. First author PhD researcher Clelia Gauthier, from QUT’s School of Biology and Environmental Science, said the researchers found that the kangaroo family tree expanded in two major bursts over the past nine million years. “The first was during a late Miocene period of increasing dryness around 7-9 million years ago, and again in the Early Pliocene as grasslands began to emerge across the continent around 5-4.5 million years ago,” Ms Gauthier said. “Our ...

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Environment29 Jan 2026

Early-life pollution leaves a multigenerational mark on fish skeletons

By combining developmental assessments with advanced metabolomic profiling, the study reveals how early-life chemical stress rewires metabolism, disrupts growth programs, and leaves a hidden legacy of skeletal deformities. Benzo[a]pyrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon widely detected in aquatic environments worldwide. Although its toxicity to developing fish has been documented, most studies focus on immediate or single-generation effects. In natural ecosystems, however, early-life exposure often coincides with sensitive developmental windows, raising concerns about inherited impacts ...

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Environment29 Jan 2026

A lost world: Ancient cave reveals million-year-old wildlife

Australian and New Zealand scientists have unearthed the remains of ancient wildlife in a cave near Waitomo on Aotearoa's North Island, the first time a large number of million-year-old fossils have been found – including an ancestor of the large flightless kākāpō parrot. The discovery of fossils from 12 ancient bird species and four frog species has opened a rare window into how New Zealand looked about 1 million years ago. It indicates that New Zealand’s ancient wildlife was significantly impacted by catastrophic climate changes and volcanic eruptions. This resulted in frequent extinctions and species replacements well before human arrival, according to new ...

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Environment28 Jan 2026

Innovation Crossroads startup revolutionizes wildfire prevention through grid hardening

Witching Hour, a hard tech startup and member of Cohort 2025 of Innovation Crossroads, is wielding the support of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop technology that reduces wildfire risk by retrofitting powerlines with insulation in fire-prone areas. ORNL is the site of the Powerline Conductor Accelerated Testing Facility, one of the only facilities in the country where companies can try out new transmission line technologies for long time periods in a real-world environment. In 2025, wildfires across the United States cost ...

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Environment28 Jan 2026

Evasive butterfly mimicry reveals a supercharged biodiversity feedback loop

Key points Scientists constructed a family tree for butterflies in the genus Adelpha, which are native to North and South America and display perplexing color patterns that may represent an unusual case of evasive mimicry. They found the first known correlation between latitude and the rate of mimicry evolution in butterflies, consistent with a longstanding theory of biodiversity that can trace its origin to Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection. The tree helps ...

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Environment28 Jan 2026

Microplastics are found in a third of surveyed fish off the coasts of remote Pacific Islands

A third of fish living in the remote coastal waters of the Pacific Island Countries and Territories are contaminated with microplastics, with especially high rates in Fiji, according to an analysis publishing January 28, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Jasha Dehm at the University of the South Pacific and colleagues. Microplastic pollution in marine environments is a global issue impacting ecosystems and human health. Despite their remoteness, the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) may be particularly vulnerable to microplastic pollution because of rapid urbanization ...

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Environment28 Jan 2026

Pesticides significantly affect soil life and biodiversity

Seventy percent of soils in Europe are contaminated with pesticides. A Europe-wide study co-led by researchers of the University of Zurich now shows that their effects on soil life are substantial, as pesticides suppress various beneficial soil organisms. To protect soil biodiversity, the findings should be taken into account in current pesticide regulations. Life beneath our feet is essential for maintaining critical ecosystem functions and services like food production, carbon storage, erosion control and water regulation. An international study now provides the first comprehensive quantitative evidence of the prevalence and impact of agricultural pesticides in European soils. According ...

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Environment28 Jan 2026

Fast-growing trees are taking over the forests of the future and putting biodiversity and climate resilience under pressure

Trees play a central role in life on Earth. They store CO₂, provide habitats for animals, fungi, and insects, stabilize soils, regulate water cycles, and supply resources that humans rely on – from timber and food to recreation and shade on a hot day. But the world’s forests are entering a new era, characterized by homogenization, biodiversity loss, and weakened ecosystems. This is shown by a comprehensive international study recently published in the leading journal Nature Plants. The researchers analyzed more ...

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Environment28 Jan 2026

How do native and non-native plants affect endangered plant species in cities?

Research in the Journal of Applied Ecology has identified threats to endangered plants in an urban area, generating information that can be used to guide effective conservation strategies across major cities. For the study, investigators in Germany analyzed data on 1,231 populations of 201 endangered plant species within Berlin’s Flora Protection Program. Threats were categorized and their relative importance was quantified at both population and species levels, and across habitat types. Biological threats—especially ...

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Environment28 Jan 2026

Counting the carbon cost of E-waste

As the world upgrades to the latest gadgets, our old smartphones, refrigerators, and televisions are fueling the fastest-growing waste stream on the planet: E-waste. While recycling is often seen as a purely "green" endeavor, a groundbreaking study published in Carbon Research reveals that the process of dismantling these electronics carries its own significant carbon price tag. Led by Dr. Mo Zhang from Nankai University, the research team provides the first comprehensive look at the carbon footprint of China’s E-waste dismantling industry. By meticulously tracking ...

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