Environment
press releases.

Environment8 Jan 2025

Mediterranean sharks continue to decline despite conservation progress

Overfishing, illegal fishing and increasing marketing of shark meat pose significant threats to the more than 80 species of sharks and rays that inhabit the Mediterranean Sea, according to a new study. The research examined current levels of legislation in place to protect elasmobranch populations (which include sharks, rays and skates) within each of the 22 coastal states of the Mediterranean region. Across those countries – stretching from Spain and Morocco in the west to Israel, Lebanon and Syria in the east – the researchers identified more than 200 measures that concern elasmobranchs in some ...

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Environment8 Jan 2025

Dinosaurs roamed the northern hemisphere millions of years earlier than previously thought, according to new analysis of the oldest North American fossils

MADISON — How and when did dinosaurs first emerge and spread across the planet more than 200 million years ago? That question has for decades been a source of debate among paleontologists faced with fragmented fossil records. The mainstream view has held that the reptiles emerged on the southern portion of the ancient supercontinent Pangea called Gondwana millions of years before spreading to the northern half named Laurasia. But now, a newly described dinosaur whose fossils were uncovered by University of Wisconsin–Madison paleontologists is challenging ...

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Environment7 Jan 2025

Crop switching for climate change in China

A study of Chinese agriculture recommends planting areas currently growing maize and rapeseed with alternative crops to reduce environmental costs while maximizing food production as the climate changes. Chinese food production has nearly doubled since the 1980s, mainly thanks to intensified nutrient usage and irrigation. Given that China’s demand for food is forecast to increase further, Qi Guan and colleagues modeled the country’s agricultural system under varying climate change scenarios in the 21st century, using a dynamic global vegetation model. The authors created scenarios ...

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Environment7 Jan 2025

Method can detect harmful salts forming in nuclear waste melters

PULLMAN, Wash. – A new way to identify salts in nuclear waste melters could help improve clean-up technology, including at the Hanford Site, one of the largest, most complex nuclear waste clean-up sites in the world. Reporting in the journal Measurement, Washington State University researchers used two detectors to find thin layers of sulfate, chloride and fluoride salts during vitrification, a nuclear waste storage process that involves converting the waste into glass. The formation of salts can be problematic for waste processing and storage. “We were able to demonstrate a technique ...

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Environment7 Jan 2025

New strontium isotope map of Sub-Saharan Africa is a powerful tool for archaeology, forensics, and wildlife conservation

A team of researchers led by UC Santa Cruz recently released a sophisticated new map that reveals, for the first time, the unique “geologic fingerprints” for most of the African continent. The map will help archaeologists, conservation scientists, and forensics experts match artifacts and plant, animal, and human remains found at locations around the world back to their most likely region of origin within Africa, offering new insights on issues ranging from the history of the transatlantic slave trade to modern wildlife trafficking and human migration patterns. The research team’s ...

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Environment6 Jan 2025

A new way to determine whether a species will successfully invade an ecosystem

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- When a new species is introduced into an ecosystem, it may succeed in establishing itself, or it may fail to gain a foothold and die out. Physicists at MIT have now devised a formula that can predict which of those outcomes is most likely. The researchers created their formula based on analysis of hundreds of different scenarios that they modeled using populations of soil bacteria grown in their laboratory. They now plan to test their formula in larger-scale ecosystems, including forests. This approach could also be helpful in predicting whether probiotics or fecal microbiota treatments (FMT) would successfully combat infections of the human GI tract. “People ...

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Environment6 Jan 2025

How we classify flood risk may give developers, home buyers a false sense of security

Common methods of communicating flood risk may create a false sense of security, leading to increased development in areas threatened by flooding. This phenomenon, called the “safe development paradox,” is described in a new paper from North Carolina State University. Lead author Georgina Sanchez, a research scholar in NC State’s Center for Geospatial Analytics, said this may be an unintended byproduct of how the Federal Emergency Management Agency classifies areas based on their probability of dangerous flooding. Known as flood mapping, this classification system describes areas in terms of their likelihood of being flooded each year. These ...

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Environment6 Jan 2025

Efforts to reduce kids' screen time weakened by unequal access to green space

When children have a place to play outside, programs aimed at reducing their screen time use are more successful, according to a University of Michigan study. The study also found that such programs are less successful in neighborhoods where children have less access to green spaces, which include areas such as forests, shrubland, open spaces and grassland, according to lead author Ian-Marshall Lang, a researcher at U-M's School of Kinesiology and first author of the study. "Because prior studies have shown differences in the effectiveness of community ...

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Environment6 Jan 2025

Microplastics widespread in seafood people eat

The tiny particles that shed from clothing, packaging and other plastic products are winding up in the fish that people eat, according to a new study from Portland State researchers, highlighting a need for technologies and strategies to reduce microfiber pollution entering the environment. Building on previous research exploring the prevalence of microplastics in bivalves like Pacific oysters and razor clams, researchers in PSU’s Applied Coastal Ecology Lab — led by ...

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Environment6 Jan 2025

Lead pollution likely caused widespread IQ declines in ancient Rome, new study finds

Lead exposure is responsible for a range of human health impacts, with even relatively low levels impacting the cognitive development of children. DRI scientists have previously used atmospheric pollution records preserved in Arctic ice cores to identify periods of lead pollution throughout the Roman Empire, and now new research expands on this finding to identify how this pollution may have affected the European population. The study, published Jan. 6th in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), ...

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Environment6 Jan 2025

Climate extremes in 2024 ‘wreaking havoc’ on the global water cycle

2024 was another year of record-breaking temperatures, driving the global water cycle to new climate extremes and contributing to ferocious floods and crippling droughts, a new report led by The Australian National University (ANU) shows. The 2024 Global Water Monitor Report, involving an international team of researchers and led by ANU Professor Albert van Dijk, found rising temperatures are changing the way water moves around the planet, “wreaking havoc” on the water cycle. “Rising ...

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Environment6 Jan 2025

Prime apple growing areas in US face increasing climate risks

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Some of the most productive apple regions in America are facing big challenges from a changing climate, according to a Washington State University study. Researchers analyzed over 40 years of climate conditions that impact the growth cycle of apple trees from bud break and flowering through fruit development, maturation and color development. While many growing areas are facing increased climate risks, the top three largest apple producing counties in the U.S. were among the most impacted: Yakima in Washington, Kent in Michigan and Wayne ...

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Environment6 Jan 2025

Marked decrease in Arctic pressure ridges

In the Arctic, the old, multiyear ice is increasingly melting, dramatically reducing the frequency and size of pressure ridges. These ridges are created when ice floes press against each other and become stacked, and are a characteristic feature of Arctic sea ice, an obstacle for shipping, but also an essential component of the ecosystem. In a recently released study in the journal Nature Climate Change, experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute report on this trend and analyse observational data from three decades of aerial surveys. Satellite data from the last three decades documents the dramatic changes in Arctic sea ice due to climate change: the area covered in ice in summer ...

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Environment3 Jan 2025

The carbon in our bodies probably left the galaxy and came back on cosmic ‘conveyer belt’

Link to full release: https://www.washington.edu/news/2025/01/03/galaxy-carbon-conveyer-belt/ FROM: James Urton University of Washington 206-543-2580 jurton@uw.edu (Note: researcher contact information at the end) For immediate release Friday, Jan. 3, 2025 The carbon in our bodies probably left the galaxy and came back on cosmic ‘conveyer belt’ Life on Earth could not exist without carbon. But carbon itself could not exist without stars. Nearly all elements except hydrogen and ...

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Environment3 Jan 2025

AMS Science Preview: Tall hurricanes, snow and wildfire

The American Meteorological Society continuously publishes research on climate, weather, and water in its 12 journals. Many of these articles are available for early online access–they are peer-reviewed, but not yet in their final published form. Below is a selection of articles published early online recently. Some articles are open-access; to view others, members of the media can contact kpflaumer@ametsoc.org for press login credentials. JOURNAL ARTICLES The Impact of Snowoff Timing and Associated Atmospheric Drivers on the Alaska Wildfire Season Earth Interactions Earlier ...

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Environment3 Jan 2025

From CO2 to acetaldehyde: Towards greener industrial chemistry

Acetaldehyde is a vital chemical used in making everything from perfumes to plastics. Today, its production largely relies on ethylene, a petrochemical. But increasing environmental concerns are pushing the chemical industry to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, so scientists have been searching for greener ways to produce acetaldehyde. Currently, acetaldehyde is produced through the so-called “Wacker process”, a chemical synthesis method that uses ethylene from oil and natural gas with other chemicals such as strong acids, i.e. hydrochloric acid. The Wacker process not only has a large carbon footprint ...

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Environment3 Jan 2025

Growing divide: Agricultural climate policies affect food prices differently in poor and wealthy countries

“In high-income countries like the U.S. or Germany, farmers receive less than a quarter of food spending, compared to over 70 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa, where farming costs make up a larger portion of food prices,” says David Meng-Chuen Chen, PIK scientist and lead author of the study published in Nature Food. “This gap underscores how differently food systems function across regions.” The researchers project that as economies develop and food systems industrialise, farmers will increasingly receive a smaller share of consumer spending, a measure known as the ‘farm ...

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Environment2 Jan 2025

University of Maryland awarded $7.8 million to revolutionize renewable energy for ocean monitoring devices

University of Maryland researcher Stephanie Lansing received a Phase 1 $7.8M award from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop and test a biologically fueled energy source to power research and sensing devices throughout the world’s oceans. There is a vast array of ocean sensing devices that provide critical information for understanding marine environments, monitoring climate change and maintaining national security. Many of these sensors are currently powered by long underwater cables or lithium-ion batteries. Lansing is leading a large, collaborative effort that will overcome the need for batteries and ship-based or shore-based ...

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Environment2 Jan 2025

Canadian forests are more prone to severe wildfires in recent decades

Climate change is driving more intense wildfires in Canada, according to a new modeling study, with fuel aridity and rising temperatures amplifying burn severity, particularly over the last several decades. The findings underscore the growing impact of climate change on wildfire behavior, with the most severe effects concentrated in Canada’s northern forests. Fueled by ongoing climate change, Canada – one of the most forested and fire-prone regions in the Northern Hemisphere – is grappling with increasingly severe and prolonged wildfire seasons. ...

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Environment2 Jan 2025

Increased wildfire activity may be a feature of past periods of abrupt climate change, study finds

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study investigating ancient methane trapped in Antarctic ice suggests that global increases in wildfire activity likely occurred during periods of abrupt climate change throughout the last Ice Age. The study, just published in the journal Nature, reveals increased wildfire activity as a potential feature of these periods of abrupt climate change, which also saw significant shifts in tropical rainfall patterns and temperature fluctuations around the world. “This study showed that the planet experienced these short, ...

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Environment27 Dec 2024

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe makes history with closest pass to Sun

Operations teams have confirmed NASA’s mission to “touch” the Sun survived its record-breaking closest approach to the solar surface on Dec. 24, 2024. Breaking its previous record by flying just 3.8 million miles above the surface of the Sun, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe hurtled through the solar atmosphere at a blazing 430,000 miles per hour — faster than any human-made object has ever moved. A beacon tone received late on Dec. 26 confirmed the spacecraft had made it through the encounter safely and is operating normally. This pass, the ...

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Environment26 Dec 2024

Coupled decline in ocean pH and carbonate saturation during the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

Peking University, November 15, 2024: A research team led by Prof. Li Mingsong at Peking University has provided new insights into the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and its effects on ocean chemistry. This study, entitled “Coupled decline in ocean pH and carbonate saturation during the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum” published in Nature Geoscience reconstructs ocean acidification during this ancient climate event, offering parallels with current trends linked to human-driven CO2 emissions. Why It Matters: The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), 56 million years ago, was a major carbon release event that resulted in rapid global warming ...

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Environment26 Dec 2024

Land use changes and China’s carbon sequestration potential

Peking University, December 11, 2024: A team of researchers led by Professor Piao Shilong at the Institute of Carbon Neutrality of Peking University (PKU) has made significant advances in understanding how China’s land-use changes—such as forest planting—can contribute to the country’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Their study, published in Nature Communications, offers fresh insights into China’s carbon removal capacity through land-use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF), a key strategy for achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. Why it matters: As part of its commitment under the Paris Agreement, China has pledged to become carbon ...

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Environment26 Dec 2024

PKU scientists reveals phenological divergence between plants and animals under climate change

Peking University, December 19, 2024: A collaborative study led by Piao Shilong’s team and Zhang Yao’s team from the Institute of Carbon Neutrality at Peking University reveals the distinct mechanisms by which plants and animals respond to climate change in their life-cycle phenology. This research provides comprehensive global-scale evidence on the asynchronous phenological changes between plants and animals. Why it matters: Climate change has altered the timing of recurring biological cycles in both plants and animals. ...

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Environment24 Dec 2024

Call for papers: 14th Asia-Pacific Conference on Transportation and the Environment (APTE 2025)

Theme "Emerging Transportation Solutions for Building Efficient, Sustainable, Reliable, and Inclusive Transport Systems" We are pleased to announce the call for papers for the 14th Asia-Pacific Conference on Transportation and the Environment (APTE 2025), hosted by the School of Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, co-organized by Communications in Transportation Research, Journal of Intelligent and Connected Vehicles, and ETS-Data. The conference will be held from 9 to 11 August 2025, in Hangzhou, China. Objective The APTE 2025 conference provides a platform for scholars, professionals, and practitioners to share cutting-edge research, foster international ...

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