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Environment
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Microscopic defects in ice shape how massive glaciers flow, study shows
Environment

Microscopic defects in ice shape how massive glaciers flow, study shows

As they seep and calve into the sea, melting glaciers and ice sheets are raising global water levels at unprecedented rates. To predict and prepare for future sea-level rise, scientists need a better understanding of how fast glaciers melt and what influences their flow. Now, a study by MIT scientists offers a new picture of glacier flow, based on microscopic deformation in the ice. The results show that a glacier’s flow depends strongly on how microscopic defects move through the ice. The researchers found they could estimate ...

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Five projects will receive funding to advance understanding of ocean systems in a changing climate
Environment

Five projects will receive funding to advance understanding of ocean systems in a changing climate

Five global science and technology projects have been selected to join the Ocean Biogeochemistry Virtual Institute (OBVI) addressing gaps in ocean data and modeling efforts by improving the breadth of research in the field and expanding capacity to understand ocean resources. Schmidt Sciences, started by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, will bring together 60 scientists from 11 countries. The research will provide clarity on how much carbon dioxide the ocean can hold and the resilience of marine ecosystems in a rapidly warming world. OBVI, through a joint call for ...

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Environment

Altered carbon points toward sustainable manufacturing

By Shawn Ballard The recent spike in food prices isn’t just bad news for your grocery bill. It also impacts the sugars used in biomanufacturing, which, by the way, isn’t quite as green as scientists and climate advocates expected. Surging prices and increasing urgency for genuinely sustainable manufacturing has pushed researchers to explore alternative feedstocks. Feng Jiao, the Elvera and William R. Stuckenberg Professor in in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, developed a two-step process to convert carbon dioxide ...

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Researchers call for return of Sumas Lake following devastating 2021 floods
Environment

Researchers call for return of Sumas Lake following devastating 2021 floods

A new proposal has emerged in response to the November 2021 floods that swept Sumas Prairie in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, causing mass evacuations and millions in damages. Instead of rebuilding the dykes to manage water flows and prevent future floods, scientists at UBC, along with members of the Sumas First Nation and other research partners, suggest an alternative: let Sumas Lake, which was drained in the early 1920s and converted into the farmland known as Sumas Prairie, return to its natural state. This ...

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Arctic melting heavily influenced by little-studied meteorological phenomena, find scientists led by UMass Amherst
Environment

Arctic melting heavily influenced by little-studied meteorological phenomena, find scientists led by UMass Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. – A team of scientists led by François Lapointe, a research associate at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has combined paleoclimatic data from the last 2,000 years with powerful computer modeling and in-the-field research on lake sediments and tree rings to show that an understudied phenomenon, known as atmospheric blocking, has long influenced temperature swings in the Arctic. As temperatures warm due to climate change, atmospheric blocking will help drive ever-wilder weather events. The study focused ...

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Thawing permafrost: Not a climate tipping element, but nevertheless far-reaching impacts
Environment

Thawing permafrost: Not a climate tipping element, but nevertheless far-reaching impacts

Permafrost soils store large quantities of organic carbon and are often portrayed as a critical tipping element in the Earth system, which, once global warming has reached a certain level, suddenly and globally collapses. Yet this image of a ticking timebomb, one that remains relatively quiet until, at a certain level of warming, it goes off, is a controversial one among the research community. Based on the scientific data currently available, the image is deceptive, as an international team led by the Alfred Wegener Institute has shown in a recently released study. According to their findings, there is no single ...

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A greener, more effective way to kill termites
Environment

A greener, more effective way to kill termites

UC Riverside scientists have discovered a highly effective, nontoxic, and less expensive way to lure hungry termites to their doom. The method, detailed in the Journal of Economic Entomology, uses a pleasant-smelling chemical released by forest trees called pinene that reminds western drywood termites of their food. They follow the scent to a spot of insecticide injected into wood. “We saw significant differences in the death rates using insecticide alone versus the insecticide plus pinene,” said UCR entomologist Dong-Hwan Choe, who led the discovery. “Without pinene, we got about 70% mortality. When we added it in, it was over 95%. Native ...

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Environment

Overcoming barriers to heat pump adoption in cold climates and avoiding the 'energy poverty trap'

Converting home heating systems from natural gas furnaces to electric heat pumps is seen as a way to address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But a new University of Michigan study of 51 Southeast Michigan households shows that switching to efficient, cold-climate heat pumps would increase annual utility bills by an average of about $1,100. Home weatherization upgrades, such as adding attic insulation and sealing around doors and windows, could help reduce utility bills and make ...

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Fjords are effective carbon traps regardless of oxygen levels
Environment

Fjords are effective carbon traps regardless of oxygen levels

The fjords on Sweden’s west coast act as effective carbon traps regardless of whether the bottom water is oxygen-rich or not. This is the conclusion of a new study with researchers from the University of Gothenburg. Large quantities of plant parts sink to the bottom of fjords on the Swedish west coast where they form sediment. This buries organic carbon, which would otherwise contribute to ocean acidification and the greenhouse effect. When the plant parts are exposed to oxygen and other substances, the organic carbon begins to decompose into inorganic carbon, which can be dissolved into carbonic acid in the water. Research ...

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Trout in mine-polluted rivers are genetically ‘isolated’
Environment

Trout in mine-polluted rivers are genetically ‘isolated’

Trout living in rivers polluted by metal from old mines across the British Isles are genetically “isolated” from other trout, new research shows. Researchers analysed brown trout at 71 sites in Britain and Ireland, where many rivers contain metal washed out from disused mines. While trout in metal-polluted rivers appear healthy, they are genetically distinct – and a lack of diversity in these populations makes them vulnerable to future threats. By comparing the DNA of trout in rivers with and without metal pollution, the researchers found that metal-tolerant trout ...

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Historic iceberg surges offer insights on modern climate change
Environment

Historic iceberg surges offer insights on modern climate change

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — A great armada entered the North Atlantic, launched from the cold shores of North America. But rather than ships off to war, this force was a fleet of icebergs. And the havoc it wrought was to the ocean current itself. This scene describes a Heinrich Event, or a period of rapid iceberg discharge from the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last glacial maximum. These episodes greatly weakened the system of ocean currents that circulates water within the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC for short, brings warm surface water ...

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Cuckoos evolve to look like their hosts - and form new species in the process
Environment

Cuckoos evolve to look like their hosts - and form new species in the process

The theory of coevolution says that when closely interacting species drive evolutionary changes in each other this can lead to speciation - the evolution of new species. But until now, real-world evidence for this has been scarce. Now a team of researchers has found evidence that coevolution is linked to speciation by studying the evolutionary arms race between cuckoos and the host birds they exploit. Bronze-cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of small songbirds. Soon after the cuckoo chick hatches, it pushes the host’s eggs out of the nest. The host not only loses all its own eggs, but spends several ...

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Environment

New method makes hydrogen from solar power and agricultural waste

University of Illinois Chicago engineers have helped design a new method to make hydrogen gas from water using only solar power and agricultural waste, such as manure or husks. The method reduces the energy needed to extract hydrogen from water by 600%, creating new opportunities for sustainable, climate-friendly chemical production. Hydrogen-based fuels are one of the most promising sources of clean energy. But producing pure hydrogen gas is an energy-intensive process that often requires coal or natural gas and large amounts of electricity. In a paper for Cell Reports Physical Science, a multi-institutional ...

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Environment

Credibility makes or breaks the price: political commitment in long-term climate policy key for effective EU emissions trading system

“The price on emitting carbon that is harmful to the climate has risen sharply in the past; basically, it roughly increased tenfold over the last five years and two policy reforms. Our analysis implies that besides directly changing the ETS rules, the reforms also increased the long-term credibility of the EU ETS and thereby made firms more farsighted, aligning their market behaviour with long-term climate targets,” explains Joanna Sitarz, PIK scientist and first author of the study published in Nature Energy. “In ...

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Environment

Climate change: Reduced sulphur content in shipping fuel associated with increased maritime atmospheric warming

An 80% reduction in sulphur dioxide shipping emissions observed in early 2020 could be associated with substantial atmospheric warming over some ocean regions, according to a modelling study published in Communications Earth & Environment. The sudden decline in emissions was a result of the introduction of the International Maritime Organization’s 2020 regulation (IMO 2020), which reduced the maximum sulphur content allowed in shipping fuel from 3.5% to 0.5% to help reduce air pollution. Fuel oil used for large ships has a significantly higher percentage content ...

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Visible light-induced photocatalysis–self-Fenton degradation of P-Clphoh over graphitic carbon nitride by a polyethylenimine bifunctional catalyst
Environment

Visible light-induced photocatalysis–self-Fenton degradation of P-Clphoh over graphitic carbon nitride by a polyethylenimine bifunctional catalyst

The deep degradation of organic pollutants through solar light-coupled photocatalysis and the Fenton reaction (Photo-Fenton) holds significant importance in the field of water purification. In this study, a novel bifunctional catalyst (Fe-PEI-CN) was synthesized by electrostatic self-assembly and hydrothermal methods, doping graphene-like carbon nitride (CN) with polyethyleneimine (PEI) and iron (Fe) species. This catalyst efficiently degraded p-chlorophenol (p-ClPhOH) by generating hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) during the photocatalytic process. The relationship between catalytic efficiency and structure was explored using various characterization techniques.Under ...

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A drying Salton Sea pollutes neighboring communities
Environment

A drying Salton Sea pollutes neighboring communities

When desert winds stir up dust from the Salton Sea’s exposed lakebed, nearby communities suffer from increased air pollution. The deterioration coincides with reduced flows into California’s largest lake, a new research paper in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics finds. Disadvantaged communities have been affected more than others in the areas near the Salton Sea, which has been shrinking for years, said the paper’s co-leading author Eric Edwards. He is an assistant professor of agricultural economics at University of California, Davis, who did the research while at North Carolina State University. “We ...

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Environment

Wild megalopolis: Study shows unexpected pockets of biodiversity pepper Los Angeles

UCLA biologists have some good news and some bad news for lovers of urban wildlife in Los Angeles. The good news? Unexpected pockets of biodiversity pepper the city. The bad news? It will be a challenge to elevate the level of overall biodiversity of the city. Of all the major taxonomic groups studied, only snails and slugs are ‘easy’ to find in Los Angeles, probably because of the abundance of landscaping, gardens and irrigation. The research points toward ways Angelenos — and people elsewhere — can make their city more hospitable not only to urban-tolerant species such as coyotes, but also to species that usually ...

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Rahimi Wins CAREER Award for Electrochemical Carbon Capture Research
Environment

Rahimi Wins CAREER Award for Electrochemical Carbon Capture Research

HOUSTON, May 29, 2024 – Mim Rahimi, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Houston, has received a National Science Foundation CAREER award for his research proposal focusing on liquid-liquid interfaces for electrochemical carbon capture research. His research proposal is “Leveraging Liquid-Liquid Interfaces for Innovative Electrochemical Carbon Capture.” It was selected for $537,719 in funding, with research running through August 2029. “The project ...

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Environment

Fatal attraction: When endangered species try to mate with domestic relatives, both wildlife and people lose

Sticks and stones aren’t enough to thwart biological attraction, but sometimes those are the only tools available to pastoralists trying to prevent wildlife from eloping with their livestock. A new study led by Colorado State University brings awareness to both the human impacts of these encounters – ranging from economic loss to death – and conservation concerns for the wild animals that are often endangered. Conserving threatened and endangered species is a globally recognized priority, but justice and equity for the marginalized pastoralist populations around the world who experience conflict with these species are often ...

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Lehigh University researchers secure $2.5M DOE grant to characterize, extract rare earth elements from utility waste
Environment

Lehigh University researchers secure $2.5M DOE grant to characterize, extract rare earth elements from utility waste

The waste generated by power generation utility companies could be a potential source of metals and minerals that are key components of modern electronics, batteries, vehicles, and the clean-energy industry as a whole. Zheng Yao, principal research scientist within Lehigh University’s Energy Research Center (ERC), and a multidisciplinary team of researchers recently received a $2.5 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to identify rare earth elements (REEs) and elements of interest (EOIs) in wastewater and solid waste streams, and to develop the technology that could extract those elements. The project team includes ...

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Risky path to meeting climate targets for Stockholm
Environment

Risky path to meeting climate targets for Stockholm

The Swedish capital Stockholm aims to capture more carbon dioxide than is emitted by 2030. Therefore, the city is investing in new technology at a combined heat and power plant. But it is a strategy that has been adopted without sufficient discussion of the risks, says researchers at Linköping university, Sweden. “Stockholm has a very ambitious climate policy. But there’s also been a kind of resignation. This new technology has appeared to offer the promise of a solution. And that’s perhaps why there’s been no critical discussion at all,” says researcher Alexander Olsson at the Department of Thematic ...

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Marine Protected Areas don’t line up with core habitats of rare migratory fish, finds new research
Environment

Marine Protected Areas don’t line up with core habitats of rare migratory fish, finds new research

62% of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) designated to protect rare migratory fish species are outside of their core habitats, according to a new modelling study. The findings are published in the British Ecological Society’s Journal of Applied Ecology. A team of researchers in France from the “Pole MIAME” that gathers diadromous fish experts from multiple research institutions (OFB, INRAE, Institut Agro and UPPA) have developed a new modelling approach that accurately predicts core and unsuitable habitats of rare and data-poor ...

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Ecological designed experiment method based on pragmatism: A case study of Haizhu Wetland Restoration Project in Guangzhou, China
Environment

Ecological designed experiment method based on pragmatism: A case study of Haizhu Wetland Restoration Project in Guangzhou, China

The advancement of urbanization and globalization has impacted every corner of the Earth， human activities have transformed over one-third of the planet’s ecosystems, including agricultural lands and urban areas. Thus, there is an urgent need to define and achieve the equilibrium of novel ecosystems. This study employed pragmatic designed experiments as its core method, integrating methodologies from empiricism, positivism, and romanticism to propose a semi-empirical ecological design framework that emphasizes learning by doing and research through practice. ...

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Environment

Scientists call for using consumption-based accounting of carbon emissions to increase fairness

A new study by Chinese scientists, released on May 29 in Shanghai, has called for the use of consumption-based accounting (“CBA”) emissions in calculating global carbon emissions in order to help make allocating responsibility for reducing emissions just and fair. The study, “Research Report on Consumption-based Carbon Emissions (2024)” (“the Report”), was jointly completed by scientists from several institutes under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) as well as from Tsinghua University. The ...

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