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THE ORIGINAL COLLECTION · SINCE 2010

Environment
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Research announcements from universities, hospitals and scientific institutions. Explore the stories, people and discoveries behind the headlines.

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Reimagining the future of solar energy
Environment

Reimagining the future of solar energy

Scientists are always on the lookout for ways to make our world a better place, and one area they're focusing on is solar energy. One idea in this area is to make solar cells more efficient by concentrating more solar light onto them. While investigating this recently, a group of scientists at the Cavendish Laboratory and AMOLF (Amsterdam NL) have found that improving solar cells efficiency in this way is harder than we might think but have discovered other avenues by which it might be possible to improve solar energy capture anywhere on the planet. The researchers ...

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Unlocking the climate secrets of North China with ancient tree rings
Environment

Unlocking the climate secrets of North China with ancient tree rings

A recent study published in the Journal of Geographical Sciences in December 2023 reveals a novel method for reconstructing historical warm season temperatures in North China. Utilizing the blue intensity (BI) of tree rings of Picea meyeri, researchers have developed a 281-year chronology, offering unprecedented insights into the region’s climatic past. The escalating public concern over climate warming, due to its significant impacts on society, ecosystems, and the environment, underscores the importance of understanding long-term climatic conditions across different regions. As the limited observational records constrain our comprehensive grasp of climate change, tree-ring data prove ...

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Aston University wins funding to improve sustainability in the Philippines
Environment

Aston University wins funding to improve sustainability in the Philippines

Funding will prepare three scientists to improve sustainable development in their country The University has won British Council International Science Partnerships funding of £180,000 The University already has close ties with the sustainability sector in the Philippines. Aston University is to help tackle sustainability problems in the Philippines by offering training to three of the country’s early career researchers. The University has won British Council International Science Partnerships funding of £180,000 to host three scientists ...

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Revealing nature's secrets from space: satellite data unlocks drought's impact on Southwest China's carbon cycle
Environment

Revealing nature's secrets from space: satellite data unlocks drought's impact on Southwest China's carbon cycle

A new study reveals a significant increase in aboveground carbon (AGC) in Southwest China from 2013 to 2021, defying the adverse effects of extreme droughts. This achievement underscores the region's pivotal role as a carbon sink, attributed to extensive ecological projects and innovative remote sensing techniques. Over the past four decades, Southwest China has been a major carbon sink, significantly mitigating anthropogenic CO2 emissions. However, recent severe droughts, especially from 2009-2013 and in 2022, have drastically reduced its carbon ...

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Diverse habitats help salmon weather unpredictable climate changes
Environment

Diverse habitats help salmon weather unpredictable climate changes

Restored salmon habitat should resemble financial portfolios, offering fish diverse options for feeding and survival so that they can weather various conditions as the climate changes, a new study shows. The researchers looked at threatened spring-run Chinook salmon in tributaries of the Sacramento River. It found that restored sites that produce lots of fish may be especially vulnerable to changes such as drought. Such sites should be coupled with other varying sites that support the salmon population in diverse ways. “The fish need all the different ...

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Environment

New approach to plastic production, under more sustainable conditions

Researchers have developed a more sustainable method to do the work required to make plastics that are comparable to widely used low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastics. They say their method is industrially viable. LDPE is a soft, flexible, and lightweight plastic material that is widely used in a variety of commercial applications, including plastic films, bottles and other pliable products. LDPE’s unique properties are derived from its tree-branch-like molecular structure, bestowing flexibility. The material is also ductile due to its lower crystallinity. These properties set it apart from other, more linear varieties of polyethylene. ...

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Shade-grown coffee demonstrates the benefits of combining agriculture and conservation, an Oxford Brookes University study reveals
Environment

Shade-grown coffee demonstrates the benefits of combining agriculture and conservation, an Oxford Brookes University study reveals

Increasing shade cover over coffee plants can increase biodiversity and provide new ways to combine agriculture and conservation, a new study has revealed. Coffee grown in high shade, with more than 30% canopy cover, provides a home to more plant and animal species than coffee grown in the sun or on low shade farms with less than 30% canopy cover, the study found. Preserving biodiversity is good news for farmers as it means better natural pest control, and improved soil ...

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Aston University to shrink carbon footprint of industrial gas burners
Environment

Aston University to shrink carbon footprint of industrial gas burners

Aston University is working with an engineering company to make industrial gas burners less environmentally damaging It has entered a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) with Lanemark Combustion Engineering A KTP is a three-way collaboration between a business, an academic partner and a highly qualified researcher. Aston University is working with an engineering company to make industrial gas burners less environmentally damaging. The University has entered a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) with Lanemark Combustion Engineering to ...

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Environment

Ecology: Increasing sea temperatures associated with higher bull shark abundance

Increasing sea surface temperatures over the past 20 years in Mobile Bay — an estuary in the US state of Alabama — have coincided with five-fold increases in the abundance of juvenile bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas), according to a study published in Scientific Reports. Bull sharks are found globally in warm, shallow coastal waters in both fresh and saltwater environments. They help balance and maintain the health of coastal ecosystems by regulating prey populations. Along with great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) and tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), they are among the shark species that are most like to negatively interact with humans. Lindsay ...

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Olympic tower construction at Teahupo’o, Tahiti could damage reef ecosystem
Environment

Olympic tower construction at Teahupo’o, Tahiti could damage reef ecosystem

In preparation for the 2024 Olympic surfing competition, a new judging tower is being constructed in the reef lagoon at Teahupo’o, Tahiti. Researchers from the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa, UH Hilo, and Arizona State University and community partners in Tahiti recently published a study in Remote Sensing that assessed the potential impacts of the tower and emphasized the importance of protecting the valuable reef—both as an integral part of the ecosystem and a resource for the local community. “We ...

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UNH ingenuity offers unique way to track carbon emissions in bodies of water
Environment

UNH ingenuity offers unique way to track carbon emissions in bodies of water

DURHAM, N.H. — Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are not typically associated with water ways, like streams and rivers, but emerging research shows that water bodies play an important role in storing and releasing carbon dioxide. As many states look for cost-effective ways to mitigate climate change, scientists at the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of New Hampshire looked at a way to optimize CO2 sensors to better measure carbon dioxide emissions in lotic, or moving, bodies of water offering a new tool that can help provide valuable information for everything from land use to climate action plans. “These sensors, adapted for highly ...

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The future is likely less skiable, thanks to climate change
Environment

The future is likely less skiable, thanks to climate change

Annual snow cover days in all major skiing regions are projected to decrease dramatically as a result of climate change, with 1 in 8 ski areas losing all natural snow cover this century under high emission scenarios. These results are published in a new study in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Veronika Mitterwallner from the University of Bayreuth, Germany and colleagues. Popular skiing destinations experience the impacts of climate change, which include reduced snowfall in regions around the world. Despite the social, economic, and ecological significance of the skiing industry, little research exists on how ski area distributions are affected by climate change ...

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Climate change has significantly increased crop water demand in the San Joaquin Valley, and the shift since 2011 is a volume of water the size of a major reservoir
Environment

Climate change has significantly increased crop water demand in the San Joaquin Valley, and the shift since 2011 is a volume of water the size of a major reservoir

Climate change has significantly increased crop water demand in the San Joaquin Valley, and the shift since 2011 is a volume of water the size of a major reservoir. #### Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000184 Article Title: An invisible water surcharge: Climate warming increases crop water demand in the San Joaquin Valley’s groundwater-dependent irrigated agriculture Author Countries: United States Funding: This work was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) ...

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With discovery of roundworms, Great Salt Lake’s imperiled ecosystem gets more interesting
Environment

With discovery of roundworms, Great Salt Lake’s imperiled ecosystem gets more interesting

Scientists have long suspected nematodes, commonly known as roundworms, inhabit Utah’s Great Salt Lake sediments, but until recently, no one had actually recovered any there. It took a University of Utah postdoc with a hammer and loads of field experience to solve the puzzle. Along with biology professor Michael Werner, postdoctoral researcher Julie Jung announced in a study published March 13 that they discovered thousands of tiny worms in the lake’s microbialites, those reef-like structures that cover about a fifth of the lakebed. Their initial attempts failed to find nematodes in lakebed sediments, prompting Jung to take a hammer to samples ...

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Environment

Methane emissions from U.S. oil and gas operations cost the nation $10 billion per year

Oil and gas operations across the United States are emitting more than 6 million tons per year of methane, the main component of natural gas and the most abundant greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, according to Stanford-led research published March 13 in Nature. These emissions, which result from both intentional vents and unintentional leaks, amount to $1 billion in lost commercial value for energy producers. The annual cost rises to $10 billion when researchers account for harm to the economy and human well-being caused by adding this amount of heat-trapping methane ...

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Environment

Marine heat waves disrupt the ocean food web in the northeast Pacific Ocean

NEWPORT, Ore. – Marine heat waves in the northeast Pacific Ocean create ongoing and complex disruptions of the ocean food web that may benefit some species but threaten the future of many others, a new study has shown. The study, just published in the journal Nature Communications, is the first of its kind to examine the impacts of marine heat waves on the entire ocean ecosystem in the northern California Current, the span of waters along the West Coast from Washington to Northern California. The researchers found that the biggest beneficiary of marine heat waves is gelatinous zooplankton – predominantly ...

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Environment

Engineering Biology Research Consortium releases roadmap to mitigate, present and adapt to climate change

Engineering Biology for Climate & Sustainability is the fifth technical roadmap developed by the Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) and represents the first dedicated to innovations and opportunities towards overcoming a significant global challenge. The roadmap targets and challenges are aligned and were drawn from existing climate and sustainability literature, particularly those focused on long-term impacts and opportunities, including reports from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The roadmap consists of six themes ...

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Molecular simulations of ammonia mixtures support search for renewable fuels
Environment

Molecular simulations of ammonia mixtures support search for renewable fuels

Ammonia (NH3) is an important molecule with many applications. The end product of the famed Haber–Bosch process, it is commonly synthesized to capture nitrogen for fertilizers, and is used for refrigeration, in cleaning products, and in the production of pharmaceuticals. Recently, this modest molecule has also attracted interest as a potential resource for addressing one of today’s most pressing challenges — the need for reliable and abundant renewable fuels. Ammonia is stable and safe ...

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Environment

Supply chain disruptions will further exacerbate economic losses from climate change

UCL Press Release Under embargo until Wednesday 13 March 2024, 16:00 UK time / 12:00 US Eastern time Global GDP loss from climate change will increase exponentially the warmer the planet gets when its cascading impact on global supply chains is factored in, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in Nature, is the first to chart “indirect economic losses” from climate change on global supply chains that will affect regions that would have been less affected by projected warming temperatures. These previously unquantified disruptions in supply chains will further exacerbate projected economic losses due ...

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Environment

New research at Georgia Aquarium helps conserve endangered beluga whales in Alaska

ATLANTA – New data provided by studying the beluga whales at Georgia Aquarium helps close a key information gap about how much food these whales need to thrive. The information will inform important management decisions for their counterparts in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, which are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). A new study released in the Journal of Experimental Biology, led by Terrie M. Williams, Director of the Integrative Carnivore EcoPhysiology Lab, with her graduate student Jason John at the University of California-Santa Cruz in partnership ...

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Environment

Alaska dinosaur tracks reveal a lush, wet environment

A large find of dinosaur tracks and fossilized plants and tree stumps in far northwestern Alaska provides new information about the climate and movement of animals near the time when they began traveling between the Asian and North American continents roughly 100 million years ago. The findings by an international team of scientists led by paleontologist Anthony Fiorillo were published Jan. 30 in the journal Geosciences. Fiorillo researched in Alaska while at Southern Methodist University. He is now executive director of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. University ...

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Exploring arctic plants and lichens: An important conservation baseline for Nunavut’s newest and largest territorial park
Environment

Exploring arctic plants and lichens: An important conservation baseline for Nunavut’s newest and largest territorial park

Encompassing over 16 000 km2 of towering mountains, long fiords, lush valleys, and massive ice caps, Agguttinni Territorial Park is a protected area on northern Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. This park, and all of Nunavut, is Inuit Nunangat – Inuit homeland in Canada – and the park protects sites and biodiversity stewarded by Inuit since time immemorial. Agguttinni means “where the prevailing wind occurs” in the Inuktitut local dialect. The park includes important bird areas, key habitats for polar bears and caribou, and numerous important Inuit cultural sites. It is very remote: no roads lead to it, and access ...

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Environment

Global ecosystem contribute trillions in its services with key synergies and trade-offs

Trade-offs and synergies between ecosystem services constitutes an important topic in ecosystem management. The value of each service is substantially influenced by human activities, and changes will affect human decisions. Given the variability in trade-offs and synergies, the simultaneous optimization of multiple ecosystem services presents a considerable challenge. In a study published in Environmental Science and Ecotechnology, a team from the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, which has completed ...

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Scientists propose ten key components to foster climate-smart marine spatial planning globally
Environment

Scientists propose ten key components to foster climate-smart marine spatial planning globally

New study identifies ten key components that will promote the development and implementation of sustainable, equitable, climate-smart ocean planning initiatives around the globe. In a paper published March 12 in npj Ocean Sustainability, the researchers outlined guidelines to support marine managers and planners on how to develop climate-smart ocean plans and put them into action. Led by Catarina Frazão Santos, researcher and professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Ciências ULisboa) and honorary research associate at the University of Oxford, the team ...

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Aston University to train the UK’s next generation of decarbonization experts
Environment

Aston University to train the UK’s next generation of decarbonization experts

Consortium led by the University is to receive almost £11 million to open doctoral training centre Will focus on use of biomass to replace fossil fuels and removal of CO2 “…part of the UK’s biggest-ever investment in engineering and physical sciences doctoral skills”. Aston University is to train the next generation of scientists tasked to remove greenhouse gases from the environment. A consortium led by the University is to receive almost £11 million to open a doctoral ...

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