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Environment
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Coastal populations set to age sharply in the face of climate migration, FSU researcher finds
Environment

Coastal populations set to age sharply in the face of climate migration, FSU researcher finds

As climate change fuels sea level rise, younger people will migrate inland, leaving aging coastal populations — and a host of consequences — in their wake, a study by Florida State University researchers finds. While destination cities will work to sustainably accommodate swelling populations, aging coastal communities will confront stark new challenges, including an outflow of vital human infrastructure such as health care workers, said Associate Professor of Sociology Matt Hauer, lead author of the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of ...

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Bottled water can contain hundreds of thousands of previously uncounted tiny plastic bits, study finds
Environment

Bottled water can contain hundreds of thousands of previously uncounted tiny plastic bits, study finds

In recent years, there has been rising concern that tiny particles known as microplastics are showing up basically everywhere on Earth, from polar ice to soil, drinking water and food. Formed when plastics break down into progressively smaller bits, these particles are being consumed by humans and other creatures, with unknown potential health and ecosystem effects. One big focus of research: bottled water, which has been shown to contain tens of thousands of identifiable fragments in each container. Now, using newly refined technology, researchers have entered a whole ...

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Colorado State researcher leads global study of extreme drought impacts on grasslands and shrublands
Environment

Colorado State researcher leads global study of extreme drought impacts on grasslands and shrublands

EMBARGO: THIS CONTENT IS UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 3 P.M. U.S. EASTERN STANDARD TIME ON JANUARY 8. INTERESTED MEDIA MAY RECIVE A PREVIEW COPY OF THE JOURNAL ARTICLE IN ADVANCE OF THAT DATE OR CONDUCT INTERVIEWS, BUT THE INFORMATION MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, OR POSTED ONLINE UNTIL AFTER THE RELEASE WINDOW. A global study organized and led by Colorado State University scientists shows that the effects of extreme drought – which is expected to increase in frequency with climate change – has been greatly underestimated for grasslands and shrublands. The findings – published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – quantify the impact of extreme ...

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Environment

Migrants can be ‘transformative force’ for sustainable development

Well-managed migration can enable migrants to boost sustainable development, research shows. Sustainable development means enhancing wellbeing in ways that equitably meet needs of present and future generations. Migration is often viewed as a threat to this – and to stability and security – while the benefits for migrants and host nations and regions are overlooked. The new research – a set of studies published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – shows new policies are needed for managing migration to maximise sustainability, and to minimise involuntary displacement due to conflict or disasters. The ...

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Protecting coral ‘nurseries’ as important as safeguarding established coral reefs
Environment

Protecting coral ‘nurseries’ as important as safeguarding established coral reefs

When imagining corals, the picture that comes to mind is usually a stationary one: a garden of rock-like structures covering sections of the ocean floor. Reef conservation efforts typically focus on preserving established coral and protecting them from known stressors such as pollution, overfishing and runoff from coastline populations. However, new research near Miloliʻi in the southwestern part of Hawai’i Island shows that identifying and protecting marine ecosystems, both down-current and up-current of coral reefs, specifically areas where coral larvae are more likely to survive and thrive, is crucial to future coral conservation and restoration efforts—especially ...

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Environment

Exploring dimensions of justice in climate science

How can climate policy be made more just and fair? IIASA researchers have synthesized different dimensions of justice into a framework that can be used by climate scientists and policymakers, explaining how previous research has neglected many potential justice positions and how these can be implemented in policy contexts. Dealing with climate change is not just about the environment – it is also about justice and fairness. This includes how we transition to cleaner ways of living, the different impacts on various groups of people, and who is responsible ...

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Environment

After COP28 “insider” climate activists will become increasingly important, study suggests.

Climate campaigners will increasingly adopt “insider activist” roles, working to change or challenge their organisations from the inside rather than the outside, a new study says. Research led by the University of Exeter identifies different types of climate activists. As well as “insiders”, there are others who seek to undermine, or even damage, climate-recalcitrant organisations they are members of in the hope of change. The study says the growing climate backlash against traditional outside climate activism and rise of corporate “greenwashing” means collaborating or ...

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Arctic cold snap transforms into a blessing
Environment

Arctic cold snap transforms into a blessing

The recent cold spell has plunged the nation into a deep freeze, resulting in the closure of 247 national parks, the cancellation of 14 domestic flights, and the scrapping of 107 cruise ship voyages. While the cold snap brought relief by significantly reducing the prevalence of particulate matter obscuring our surroundings, a recent study indicates that, besides diminishing particulate matter, it is significantly contributing to the heightened uptake of carbon dioxide by the East Sea. According to research conducted by a team of researchers ...

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Environment

Titan’s “magic islands” likely honeycombed hydrocarbon icebergs

WASHINGTON — Titan’s “magic islands” are likely floating chunks of porous, frozen organic solids, a new study finds, pivoting from previous work suggesting they were gas bubbles. The study was published in Geophysical Research Letters, AGU’s journal for high-impact, short-format reports with immediate implications spanning all Earth and space sciences. A hazy orange atmosphere 50% thicker than Earth’s and rich in methane and other carbon-based, or organic, molecules blankets Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Its surface is covered with dark dunes of organic material and seas of liquid methane and ethane. ...

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Historic urban Landscape Paradigm—A tool for balancing values and changes in the urban conservation process
Environment

Historic urban Landscape Paradigm—A tool for balancing values and changes in the urban conservation process

Today, for the first time in human history, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. Coincidentally, within the field of cultural heritage conservation, increasing international interest and attention over the past two decades has been focused on urban areas. This is timely because the pressure for economic development and for the prioritizing of engagement with the global economy have accompanied rapid urbanization. In many societies, economic development has privileged modernization efforts leading to the loss of traditional communities. ...

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Environment

Human histories shape the global biodiversity data used to make future decisions

Global biodiversity data used to make major policy and conservation investment decisions reflect legacies of social and political inequities. In a Policy Forum, Melissa Chapman and colleagues highlight this issue and its implications for global conservation policy and planning. The rapid rise of global biodiversity data repositories like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) – a data repository that synthesizes billions of species observations across the globe – has led to unprecedented insight into large-scale biodiversity patterns worldwide. Not only are ...

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Environment

Studies reveal the evolutionary origin of unique traits in pitcher plants and marine snails

In a pair of studies, researchers use different approaches to investigate how complex and innovative phenotypic traits evolve in plants and animals. “The amazing breadth of plant and animal diversity across the globe has evolved by circuitous paths, and resolving the complex history of genomes and traits unlocks new depths for understanding evolution,” writes Kathryn Elmer in a related Perspective. Although biological traits are constantly changing in populations, the emergence of a trait ...

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AURA appoints Christoph Keller as next National Solar Observatory Director
Environment

AURA appoints Christoph Keller as next National Solar Observatory Director

The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is pleased to announce that Dr. Christoph Keller has been appointed as the next Director of the National Science Foundation’s National Solar Observatory (NSO) succeeding Dr. Valentin Pillet, who will be retiring as Director in 2024. Previously Dr. Keller was Director of Science at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. He will begin his five-year term on May 6, 2024. “Christoph Keller is an outstanding choice for the next NSO Director,” ...

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PolyU researchers develop nature-inspired advanced materials to achieve 99.6% solar reflectivity
Environment

PolyU researchers develop nature-inspired advanced materials to achieve 99.6% solar reflectivity

Scientific researchers draw inspiration from nature’s brilliance as they seek to develop transformative solutions to unresolved challenges. Prof. WANG Zuankai, Associate Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Chair Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), has meticulously explored the intricacies of nature and made remarkable findings with very significant real-world applications. His recently published research on cooling ceramic successfully translates novel discovery into sustainable applications. Findings from his research project “Hierarchically structured passive radiative cooling ceramic with high ...

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Greener and feasible production: Enzymatic methods for mono- and diacylglycerol synthesis in the food industry
Environment

Greener and feasible production: Enzymatic methods for mono- and diacylglycerol synthesis in the food industry

MAGs, predominantly in 1(3)-MAG form, and DAGs, with 1,3-DAGs as the more stable isomer, are crucial in food, cosmetic, and other industries. While MAGs are vital emulsifiers, comprising 75% of global production, DAGs are known as functional cooking oils that can reduce body fat and serum TAGs. However, their natural concentration in oils is low, prompting extensive research into their chemical and environmentally-friendly enzymatic production. Recently, a review published in the Grain & Oil Science and Technology journal on 2 November 2023, has shed light on the advancements in enzymatic production methods with special efforts on practical and ...

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Re-calibrating the sail plan for Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders in ocean sciences
Environment

Re-calibrating the sail plan for Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders in ocean sciences

In Hawaiʻi and across much of Oceania, Pacific Islanders celebrate the connections between their islands and the ocean that surrounds them. “As descendants of the ocean, the dearth of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) in ocean science seems inconsonant,” writes a team of authors that includes University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa faculty, students, and alumni in an article in a special issue of the journal Oceanography, “Building Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Ocean Sciences. The authors ask, “Where are all our island people in the ...

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Environment

First dive survey of Lake Tahoe’s lakebed finds high amounts of plastic and other litter

Plastic litter is a growing problem around the world, and new research shows that the bottom of Lake Tahoe is no exception. In one of the first studies to utilize scuba divers to collect litter from a lakebed, 673 plastic items were counted from just a small fraction of the lake. In the study, published in the November issue of the journal Applied Spectroscopy, researchers from DRI and the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center teamed up with the nonprofit Clean Up the Lake to take a close look at the litter. First, ...

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New research shows “Juvenile T. rex” fossils are a distinct species of small tyrannosaur
Environment

New research shows “Juvenile T. rex” fossils are a distinct species of small tyrannosaur

A new analysis of fossils believed to be juveniles of T. rex now shows they were adults of a small tyrannosaur, with narrower jaws, longer legs, and bigger arms than T. rex. The species, Nanotyrannus lancensis, was first named decades ago but later reinterpreted as a young T. rex. The first skull of Nanotyrannus was found in Montana in 1942, but for decades, paleontologists have gone back and forth on whether it was a separate species, or simply a juvenile of the much larger T. rex. Dr Nick Longrich, from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University ...

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How tomato plants use their roots to ration water during drought
Environment

How tomato plants use their roots to ration water during drought

Plants have to be flexible to survive environmental changes, and the adaptive methods they deploy must often be as changeable as the shifts in climate and condition to which they adapt. To cope with drought, plant roots produce a water-repellent polymer called suberin that blocks water from flowing up towards the leaves, where it would quickly evaporate. Without suberin, the resulting water loss would be like leaving the tap running. In some plants, suberin is produced by endodermal cells that line the vessels inside the roots. But in others, like tomatoes, suberin is produced in exodermal cells that sit just below ...

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Environment

Targeted household cleaning can reduce toxic chemicals post-wildfire, Portland State research shows

After the last embers of a campfire dim, the musky smell of smoke remains. Whiffs of that distinct smokey smell may serve as a pleasant reminder of the evening prior, but in the wake of a wildfire, that smell comes with ongoing health risks. Wildfire smoke is certainly more pervasive than a small campfire, and the remnants can linger for days, weeks and months inside homes and businesses. New research from Portland State’s Elliott Gall, associate professor in Mechanical and Materials Engineering, examined how long harmful chemicals found in wildfire smoke can persist and the ...

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Understanding climate mobilities: New study examines perspectives from South Florida practitioners
Environment

Understanding climate mobilities: New study examines perspectives from South Florida practitioners

Understanding Climate Mobilities: New study examines perspectives from South Florida practitioners As climate change continues to impact people across South Florida, the need for adaptive responses becomes increasingly important. A recent study led by researchers at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, assessed the perspectives of 76 diverse South Florida climate adaptation professionals. The study titled, “Practitioner perspectives on climate mobilities in South Florida” was published in the December issue of the Journal Oxford Open Climate Change, and explores the expectations and concerns of practitioners from the ...

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Evolution might stop humans from solving climate change, says new study
Environment

Evolution might stop humans from solving climate change, says new study

Central features of human evolution may stop our species from resolving global environmental problems like climate change, says a new study led by the University of Maine. Humans have come to dominate the planet with tools and systems to exploit natural resources that were refined over thousands of years through the process of cultural adaptation to the environment. University of Maine evolutionary biologist Tim Waring wanted to know how this process of cultural adaptation to the environment might influence the goal of solving global environmental problems. ...

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Environment

Reducing inequality is essential in tackling climate crisis, researchers argue

In a report just published in the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers argue that tackling inequality is vital in moving the world towards Net-Zero – because inequality constrains who can feasibly adopt low-carbon behaviours. They say that changes are needed across society if we are to mitigate climate change effectively. Although wealthy people have very large carbon footprints, they often have the means to reduce their carbon footprint more easily than those on lower incomes. The researchers say there is ...

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Future labor losses due to heat stress in China under climate change scenarios
Environment

Future labor losses due to heat stress in China under climate change scenarios

Climate change is the biggest global health threat in the 21st century, and the rising temperatures have undermined the health and safety of the working population, as well as caused labor losses, which are closely tied to social-economic development. Although the future temperatures increase in China has been forecasted by state-of-the-art climate change projections, to what extent the influence on labor has not been well studied. In a paper published in Science Bulletin, a Chinese research team presents evidence of future labor losses due to heat stress in China under climate change scenarios. This study was led by Cunrui Huang, a professor at the Vanke School of Public ...

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Environment

A carbon-lite atmosphere could be a sign of water and life on other terrestrial planets, MIT study finds.

Scientists at MIT, the University of Birmingham, and elsewhere say that astronomers’ best chance of finding liquid water, and even life on other planets, is to look for the absence, rather than the presence, of a chemical feature in their atmospheres. The researchers propose that if a terrestrial planet has substantially less carbon dioxide in its atmosphere compared to other planets in the same system, it could be a sign of liquid water — and possibly life — on that planet’s surface. What’s more, this new signature is within the sights of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). While scientists have proposed ...

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