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Environment
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Environment

Biochar and iron additives show promise for reviving degraded peatlands and locking away carbon

Restoring degraded peatlands could play a vital role in tackling climate change, according to a new study led by researchers from Bangor University and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. The study shows that combining rewetting with biochar and iron sulphate additions can significantly slow down carbon loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from drained agricultural peat soils. Peatlands, though covering less than 3% of the Earth’s surface, store more carbon than all the world’s forests combined. However, decades of ...

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Environment

Decoding dangers of Arctic sea ice with seismic, radar method

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sea ice coverage in the Arctic Ocean is at one of its lowest levels on record, yet there’s no unanimity on when that ice will disappear completely during summer months. Understanding the traits and movements of the remaining ice is a persistent challenge for scientists, but a study by researchers at Penn State has provided a new tool to explore ice characteristics and interactions along with coastal conditions. Using radar images, fiber-optic sensing and seismic sensors, the team in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) identified different ...

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Environment

Study finds humans outweigh climate in depleting Arizona's water supply

A study led by University of Arizona researchers shows that decades of groundwater pumping by humans has depleted Tucson-area aquifers far more than natural climate variation. Published in the journal Water Resources Research, the study provides the first multi-millennial reconstruction for the region that places human impacts on groundwater into long-term context. "This is the first time we've been able to get a record of the water table through time," said Jennifer McIntosh, senior author and the Thomas Meixner Endowed Chair of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences in the College of Science. Since the ...

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Environment

Research shows how Dust Bowl-type drought causes unprecedented productivity loss

EMBARGO: THIS CONTENT IS UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 2 P.M. U.S. EASTERN STANDARD TIME ON OCT. 16, 2025. 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 research effort led by Colorado State University shows that extreme, prolonged drought conditions in grasslands and shrublands would greatly limit the long-term health of crucial ecosystems that cover nearly half the planet. ...

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Environment

Extreme, multi-year droughts drive cumulative collapse in terrestrial productivity

Although many ecosystems can weather several years of moderate drought, consecutive years of extreme dryness push them past a tipping point, resulting in dramatic declines in plant growth, researchers report. The findings – borne from a global experiment spanning six continents – reveal threats to Earth’s grasslands and shrublands as climate extremes intensify. Although most droughts are brief and moderate, the most ecologically and economically damaging events are both prolonged and extreme. Evidence suggests such extreme events are becoming more frequent with ongoing climate change. However, the effects of multi-year ...

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Environment

New study finds large fluctuations in sea level occurred throughout the last ice age, a significant shift in understanding of past climate

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Large changes in global sea level, fueled by fluctuations in ice sheet growth and decay, occurred throughout the last ice age, rather than just toward the end of that period, a study publishing this week in the journal Science has found. The findings represent a significant change in researchers’ understanding of how the Pleistocene – the geological period from about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago and commonly known as the last ice age – developed, said Peter Clark, a paleoclimatologist at Oregon State University ...

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Environment

Palm oil isn’t necessarily less sustainable than other oils, say conservationists

Palm oil isn’t inherently bad, and olive oil isn’t inherently good, conservation scientists say in an opinion paper publishing October 16 in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports Sustainability. They argue that the vegetable oil industry is haunted by narratives and myths about different types of oil crops, but the reality is much more nuanced. Almost all oils—including soybean, olive, coconut, and sesame oil—are associated with biodiversity and human rights issues in some contexts, depending on crop management and supply chains. The researchers call ...

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Environment

Nickel-substituted polyoxometalate-CdS single-cluster photocatalysts for efficient plastic waste degradation coupled with H2 production

Plastic waste management is a critical global challenge, with less than 10% of annual plastic production being recycled. Traditional methods like incineration and landfilling pose environmental risks, prompting scientists to explore photocatalytic alternatives. A team led by Prof. Zhi-Ming Zhang has now developed a groundbreaking Ni-POM@CdS catalyst that addresses this issue by coupling plastic waste (polylactic acid, PLA) degradation with hydrogen (H2) production—a clean energy source. The team published their research result in Polyoxometalates on July 28, 2025. This study reveals why the Ni-POM@CdS ...

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Environment

Pusan National University study finds pollution shifts rainfall from land to sea in Southeast Asia

Tiny airborne particles known as aerosols, from biomass burning, urban pollution, and industrial emissions, can dramatically alter rainfall, cloud formation, and atmospheric stability. A new study led by Professor Kyong-Hwan Seo of Pusan National University, Korea, shows that aerosols profoundly reshape precipitation over the Maritime Continent, a region including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and surrounding seas, where millions rely on predictable rainfall for water, food, and flood protection. Published online in npj Climate and Atmospheric ...

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Environment

Climate whiplash effects due to rapidly intensifying El Niño cycles

A new study published in the journal Nature Communications reveals that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a key driver of global climate variability, is projected to undergo a dramatic transformation due to greenhouse warming. Using high-resolution climate models (Figure 1), a team of researchers from South Korea, the USA, Germany, and Ireland found that ENSO could intensify rapidly over the coming decades and synchronize with other major climate phenomena, reshaping global temperature and rainfall patterns by the end of the 21st century. The study projects an abrupt shift within the next 30-40 years from irregular El Niño-La ...

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Environment

New research submarine after Ran got lost under the ice

The deal is done for the new underwater vehicle that will replace Ran, the submarine that was lost under a glacier in Antarctica in 2024. A large donation means that researchers at the University of Gothenburg can plan for new expeditions. The autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Ran contributed to groundbreaking research, education and technological development for six years. The most groundbreaking results were achieved during risky missions under the floating glaciers of Antarctica. It was also during one such mission that Ran was ...

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Environment

Unlocking the power of gold: a breakthrough in green chemistry

Acetaldehyde is a key chemical intermediate traditionally produced via the ethylene-based Wacker oxidation process, which is both costly and environmentally harmful. Selective oxidation of bioethanol to acetaldehyde offers a greener and more sustainable alternative, yet most reported catalysts struggle with the usual trade-off between activity and selectivity, typically yielding less than 90% acetaldehyde. Notably, Liu and Hensen demonstrated a specific Au0-Cu+ synergy in the state-of-the-art Au/MgCuCr2O4 catalyst, achieving over 95% AC yield at 250oC with stable performance for over ...

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Environment

Biochar shows big promise for climate-friendly soil management

Turning agricultural and organic waste into biochar could help store more carbon in the soil and slow climate change, according to a new study published in Biochar. Researchers from Prairie View A&M University reviewed recent findings showing that biochar improves soil health, boosts microbial diversity, and captures carbon that would otherwise enter the atmosphere as greenhouse gases. Biochar is a charcoal-like material produced by heating plant or animal waste under limited oxygen conditions. The review found that when added to soil, biochar acts as a long-lasting carbon sink and enhances several soil processes ...

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Environment

New biochar innovation captures stubborn metal pollutants from water

A team of researchers in China has developed a new low-cost biochar material that can efficiently remove persistent metal complexes from water, offering a promising tool for improving water quality and environmental safety. The study, published in Biochar X, describes how ferromanganese oxide-modified biochar can capture copper–citrate complexes, which are difficult to remove using conventional water treatment methods. These metal–organic complexes are common in industrial wastewater and pose serious environmental and health concerns due ...

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Environment

​​​​​​​Climate change drove extreme wildfire seasons across the Americas, making burned areas around 30 times larger

Human-driven climate change made wildfires in parts of South America and Southern California many times larger and more destructive, according to an annual assessment by international experts. According to climate models, the Los Angeles wildfires in January were twice as likely and 25 times larger, in terms of burned area, in the current climate than they would have been in a world with no human-caused global warming. It also made last year’s burning in the Pantanal-Chiquitano region in South America 35 times larger, while also driving record-breaking fires in the Amazon and Congo. However, it is still too early to tell ...

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Environment

At least eight bat species commute or forage over pig farms in Northern Italy

At least eight bat species commute or forage over pig farms in Northern Italy, and the frequent absence of physical barriers and biosafety measures preventing contact between bats or bat feces and pigs could increase exposure risks to the diverse coronaviruses that circulate in these species Article URL: http://plos.io/4mQ5Scy Article title: A multi-disciplinary approach to identify spillover interfaces of bat coronaviruses to pig farms in Italy Author countries: Italy, U.K. Funding: The present work was supported by the First International ICRAD call under grant agreement N◦ 862605, ID 95 ConVErgence. END ...

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Environment

Ancient teeth reveal mammalian responses to climate change in Southeast Asia

Strictly embargoed until 15 October, 2025 at 14:00 (2:00 pm) U.S. Eastern Time A new study published in Science Advances and led by the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology uncovers how flexibility made the difference between survival and extinction. By analyzing fossil teeth from Vietnam and Laos, an international team reconstructed the diets and habitats of extinct, extirpated, and still-living species. The results show that animals with varied diets and habitats were more likely to endure, while narrow specialists largely disappeared. The team examined 141 fossil teeth dating from 150,000 to 13,000 years ago and combined them with existing records. Using stable isotope analysis ...

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Environment

Starting university boosts recycling and greener travel, a University of Bath study finds

Starting university doesn’t just change where students live or study; it can also lead to changing their habits. New research from the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) at the University of Bath shows that young people are more likely to adopt sustainable behaviours, like recycling and active travel, during major life transitions. The study, published in PLOS Climate, tracking hundreds of 16–24-year-olds, examined two “moments of change”: the move from school to university and the sudden disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both events reshaped daily routines, offering opportunities ...

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Environment

How cilia choreograph their “Mexican wave”, enabling marine creatures to swim

New research has unravelled the mystery of how microscopic cilia coordinate to move and propel marine creatures through water. Cilia are tiny, hair-like protrusions found in many organisms, including humans and many aquatic animals. Almost all marine plankton have a life stage where they have cilia, which act like microscopic oars, fundamental to the organism’s ability to feed, move and disperse through water, avoid predators, and select suitable habitats. Proper coordination of cilia is essential for the normal physiology of many organisms, from single cells to humans. Yet despite decades of research, the mechanisms ...

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Environment

How the uplift of East Africa shaped its ecosystems: Climate model simulations reveal Miocene landscape transformation

The uplift of East Africa during the Miocene epoch dramatically transformed the region’s climate and ecosystems, promoting the expansion of grassland and reshaping habitats for mammals and early hominoids. This is revealed in a new study published in Science Advances by researchers at Stockholm University, ETH Zurich, and the Swedish Museum of Natural History. ”Our results show that tectonic uplift, combined with declining CO₂ during the Middle Miocene Climate Transition, substantially reduced forest cover and ...

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Environment

Locking carbon in trees and soils could help ‘stabilize climate for centuries’ – but only if combined with underground storage

New study on a ‘portfolio approach’ to carbon removal enables firms to mix expensive tech-based solutions that inject carbon deep underground with lower-cost and currently more available nature-based options. The research can identify which corporate portfolios could best stabilise global temperatures over centuries and suggests that, with the right ‘buffer’, even those projects at higher risk of carbon re-release – such as forests and biochar – could help towards this long-term goal. However, ...

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Environment

Australia’s rainforests first to switch from carbon sink to source

The trunks and branches of trees in Australia's tropical rainforests – also known as woody biomass – have become a net source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, according to a new international study. According to the team behind the Nature study, which includes experts from The Australian National University (ANU), Australia’s wet tropics are the first globally to show this response to climate change. The rising temperature, air dryness and droughts caused by human-driven climate change are likely the major culprits. Usually, tropical forests absorb more carbon than they release – what's known as a carbon sink. Woody ...

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Environment

Solar-powered lights keep sea turtles out of fishing nets

Studies have shown that lighted nets can reduce bycatch of sea turtles and sharks, but the idea has faced many hurdles to adoption. The batteries are short lived, expensive to replace and raise disposal concerns. The lights are too heavy and prone to snagging nets. Fishers find them difficult to work with. To get past these hurdles, researchers at Arizona State University collaborated with a team of coastal gillnet fishers to develop solar-powered lights that function as buoys, like any others threaded onto the float line of a fishing net. The LED lights flash on and off to conserve energy and can stay active for over five days with no sunlight. The net-illuminating gear is highly effective ...

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Environment

Divine punishment as an ancient tool for modern sustainability

Throughout human history, many cultures have developed belief systems that tied nature to the supernatural, fostering practices that preserved and sustained their environments. Forest spirits, river gods, or deities were often seen as guardians of natural domains, and exploiting nature carried the risk of retaliation from these beings. Today, with mounting concerns over the overexploitation of the world’s natural resources, can bringing back some of these supernatural beliefs help deter such behaviors? The underlying idea is that fear of retribution ...

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Environment

Concordia study links urban heat in Montreal to unequal greenspace access

Trees are essential to cooling down cities. However, a study by Concordia researchers at the Next Generation Cities Institute and the Loyola Sustainability Research Centre shows how tree distribution influences how some residents benefit more from them than others. In a paper published Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, the authors studied the layout of Montreal’s vegetation — its trees, shrubs and grass — and compared it to daytime temperature readings on the ground, or land surface. Using ...

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