Environment
press releases.

Environment8 Nov 2024

Biodiversity change amidst disappearing human traditions

A Branco Weiss Fellowship – Society in Science has been awarded to Dr Gergana Daskalova. The fellowship funds Daskalova’s research project “Biodiversity change amidst disappearing human traditions and changing socio-economics”. She joins the Department of Conservation Biology at the University of Göttingen to work together with Professor Johannes Kamp. The five-year fellowship, which is worth over €530,000, will enable Daskalova to investigate the ecological and human fingerprints of land abandonment. Considering the question from both a local and a global perspective, Daskalova’s research will reveal what happens to nature when people leave, ...

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Environment8 Nov 2024

Research update: Chalk-coated textiles cool in urban environments

As air temperatures stay elevated through fall months, people may still want clothes that cool them down while outside, especially if they live in cities that stay warmer than rural landscapes. Researchers who previously demonstrated a cooling fabric coating now report on additional tests of a treated polyester fabric in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. Fabric treated with the team’s chalk-based coating kept the air underneath up to 6 degrees Fahrenheit cooler in warmer urban environments. Researchers Evan D. Patamia, Megan K. Yee and Trisha L. ...

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Environment8 Nov 2024

How much climate change is in the weather?

Only a few weeks ago, massive precipitation produced by the storm “Boris” led to chaos and flooding in Central and Eastern Europe. An analysis conducted by the Alfred Wegener Institute shows that in a world without the current level of global warming Boris would have deposited roughly nine percent less rain. Such conclusions can be drawn thanks to a new modelling approach called ‘storylines’. How it can be used in near-real-time was just presented in the Nature journal Communications Earth & Environment. At the same time, the AWI team released a freely available online tool that ...

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Environment8 Nov 2024

Pioneering research reveals some of the world’s least polluting populations are at much greater risk of flooding fuelled by climate change

A new study has exposed for the first time how inhabitants of the smallest countries globally, contributing least to climate change, already bear the brunt of its devastating consequences and the burden is likely to worsen. The research, led by the University of Bristol, showed on average nearly one in five people (20%) in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) – totalling some 8.5million – are now exposed to coastal and inland flooding. For three of the 57 countries concentrated in the Pacific, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, ...

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Environment7 Nov 2024

Power of aesthetic species on social media boosts wildlife conservation efforts, say experts

Facebook and Instagram can boost wildlife conservation efforts through public awareness and engagement, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Communication. The findings based on the caracal – a wild cat native to Africa with distinctive tufted ears – demonstrate how social media can harness support for the predators, which some farmers shoot and poison. Results show that the mammal’s similarity to a domestic feline has attracted thousands of followers to internet feeds about caracal conservation. ...

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Environment7 Nov 2024

Could crowdsourcing hold the key to early wildfire detection?

The 2023 blaze in Lahaina, Hawaii, which claimed more than 100 lives and burned 6,500 acres of land across Maui, is a tragic example of how rapid wildfire spread can make effective response efforts impossible, resulting in the loss of life and property. What if technology could help people detect wildfires earlier? The solution could already be in your pocket: a mobile phone. USC computer science researchers have developed a new crowdsourcing system that dramatically slashes wildfire mapping time from hours to seconds using a network of low-cost mobile phones mounted on properties in high fire threat areas. In computer simulations, the system, FireLoc, detected blazes igniting ...

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Environment7 Nov 2024

Climate change: Significant increase in carbon dioxide emissions from private aviation

Annual emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from private aviation increased by 46% between 2019 and 2023, according to an analysis published in Communications Earth & Environment. The results also show that some individuals who regularly use private aviation may produce almost 500 times more CO2 in a year than the average individual, and that there were significant emissions peaks around certain international events, including COP 28 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Private aviation is highly energy-intensive, emitting significantly more CO2 per passenger than commercial flights, but is used by approximately 0.003% ...

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Environment7 Nov 2024

Planting trees in the Arctic could make global warming worse, not better, say scientists

Tree planting has been widely touted as a cost-effective way of reducing global warming, due to trees’ ability to store large quantities of carbon from the atmosphere. But, writing in the journal Nature Geoscience, an international group of scientists argue that tree planting at high latitudes will accelerate, rather than decelerate, global warming. As the climate continues to warm, trees can be planted further and further north, and large-scale tree-planting projects in the Arctic have been championed by governments and ...

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Environment7 Nov 2024

New study: Plastics pollution worsen the impacts of all Planetary Boundaries

“It’s necessary to consider the full life cycle of plastics, starting from the extraction of fossil fuel and the primary plastic polymer production” says lead article writer Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez at Stockholm Resilience Centre. Plastics are not as safe and inert as previously thought. The new research article written by an international team of researchers uses the planetary boundaries framework to structure the rapidly mounting evidence of the effects of plastics on the environment, health and human wellbeing. 500 million tons of plastics are now produced yearly but only nine percent get recycled globally. Plastics are everywhere: ...

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Environment7 Nov 2024

Microplastics impact cloud formation, likely affecting weather and climate

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Scientists have spotted microplastics, tiny pieces of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters, in some of the most pristine environments on Earth, from the depths of the Mariana Trench to the snow on Mt. Everest to the mountaintop clouds of China and Japan. Microplastics have been detected in human brains, the bellies of sea turtles and the roots of plants. Now, new research led by Penn State scientists reveals that microplastics in the atmosphere could be affecting weather and climate. The study, published today (Nov 7) in the journal Environmental Science and Technology: ...

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Environment7 Nov 2024

UVM scientists find space-for-time substitutions exaggerate urban bird–habitat ecological relationships

As bird populations dwindle across the globe, a new study from University of Vermont researchers suggests some species may be more flexible to habitat changes than previously understood, creating new opportunities for supporting populations through city planting efforts. The team’s findings were published in the Journal of Animal Ecology today. While studies have found bird populations are on the decline—Canada and the United States have lost nearly three billion birds over the last half century—measuring ...

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Environment6 Nov 2024

Climate change parching the American West even without rainfall deficits

Key takeaways Higher temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change turned an ordinary drought into an exceptional one that parched the American West from 2020–2022. A study by UCLA and NOAA scientists has found that evaporation accounted for 61% of the drought’s severity, while reduced precipitation accounted for 39%. The research found that since 2000, evaporative demand has played a bigger role than reduced precipitation in droughts, which may become more severe ...

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Environment6 Nov 2024

Power grids supplied largely by renewable sources experience lower intensity blackouts

New research into the vulnerability of power grids served by weather-dependent renewable energy sources (WD-RESs) such as solar and wind paints a hopeful picture as various countries around the globe attempt to meet their climate emissions targets – with the research showing grids with high penetration of WD-RESs tend to have reduced blackout intensities in the US. This research – just published in leading international journal Nature Energy – was conducted with US blackout data from 2001 to 2020, but the results are of great interest from the perspective of any country transitioning to power grids primarily ...

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Environment6 Nov 2024

Natural environment is declining: are companies doing their part to save it?

The natural environment across the globe is deteriorating, leading to crises like climate change, biodiversity loss, and water scarcity. Companies and industries play a major role in this decline, and they are expected to take responsibility for their environmental impact. A recent study by Probal Dutta from the University of Vaasa, Finland, suggests that companies can meet these expectations by openly sharing reliable, credible information about their activities, environmental performance, and effects on nature. Probal Dutta’s doctoral dissertation at the University ...

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Environment6 Nov 2024

Asteroid grains shed light on the outer solar system’s origins

Tiny grains from a distant asteroid are revealing clues to the magnetic forces that shaped the far reaches of the solar system over 4.6 billion years ago. Scientists at MIT and elsewhere have analyzed particles of the asteroid Ryugu, which were collected by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 mission and brought back to Earth in 2020. Scientists believe Ryugu formed on the outskirts of the early solar system before migrating in toward the asteroid belt, eventually settling into an orbit between Earth and Mars. The team analyzed Ryugu’s particles for signs of any ancient magnetic field that might have been present ...

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Environment5 Nov 2024

Bio-based fibers could pose greater threat to the environment than conventional plastics

Bio-based materials may pose a greater health risk to some of the planet’s most important species than the conventional plastics they are designed to replace, a new study has shown. Such materials are increasingly being advocated as environmentally friendly alternatives to plastics, and used in textiles and products including clothing, wet wipes and period products. However, microfibres of the materials are emitted into the environment through the laundry cycle, the application of sewage sludge as fertilisers, or the simple wear and tear of textile products. Despite increasing quantities of bio-based products being produced and sold all over the world, there has been ...

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Environment4 Nov 2024

Satellite imagery may help protect coastal forests from climate change

Sea-level rise caused by climate change poses a serious and often unpredictable threat to coastal forests, and new tools are needed to help mitigate damage and allocate conservation resources. A new study from North Carolina State University and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) details how satellite imagery may help identify forested areas that are being transformed into marshes and open water by sea-level rise, a process known as regime change. Marcelo Ardón, associate professor at NC State and co-author of a paper on the study, ...

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Environment4 Nov 2024

Small reductions to meat production in wealthier countries may help fight climate change, new analysis concludes

Scientists and environmental activists have consistently called for drastic reductions in meat production as a way to reduce emissions and, in doing so, combat climate change. However, a new analysis concludes that a smaller reduction, borne by wealthier nations, could remove 125 billion tons of carbon dioxide—exceeding the total number of global fossil fuel emissions over the past three years—from the atmosphere. Small cutbacks in higher-income countries—approximately 13% of total production—would reduce the amount of land needed for cattle grazing, the researchers note, allowing forests to naturally ...

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Environment4 Nov 2024

Fossil of huge terror bird offers new information about wildlife in South America 12 million years ago

**EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE MONDAY, NOV. 4, AT 1 A.M. ET** Researchers including a Johns Hopkins University evolutionary biologist report they have analyzed a fossil of an extinct giant meat-eating bird — which they say could be the largest known member of its kind — providing new information about animal life in northern South America millions of years ago. The evidence lies in the leg bone of the terror bird described in new paper published Nov. 4 in Palaeontology. The study was led by Federico J. Degrange, a terror bird ...

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Environment2 Nov 2024

Mathematical model illuminates how environment impacts life choices of salmon

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have created a mathematical model that models how the evolutionary strategies of organisms are affected by the environment. They studied salmonid fishes which choose either to migrate to the sea then return to lay eggs or stay in the river depending on their individual features. Their model correctly predicts how the proportion choosing to migrate changes with environmental conditions, predicting how environmental change can trigger eco-evolutionary responses. Salmonids (or salmon-like) fish are known to face a tough choice early in their lives. They can either stay where they are ...

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Environment1 Nov 2024

Fueling greener aviation with hydrogen

Despite ongoing efforts to curb CO2 emissions with electric and hybrid vehicles, other forms of transportation remain significant contributors of greenhouse gases. To address this issue, old technologies are being revamped to make them greener, such as the reintroduction of sailing vessels in shipping and new uses for hydrogen in aviation. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering have used computer modeling to study the feasibility and challenges of hydrogen-powered aviation. “While there is a long way to go for hydrogen aviation to be realized at scale, we hope that our ...

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Environment31 Oct 2024

Texas Tech researcher named Station Science Leader for Antarctica project

Summary: Texas Tech’s Natasja van Gestel has been named Station Science Leader by the National Science Foundation (NSF), enabling her to lead and coordinate research at Antarctica’s Palmer Station while advancing her work on climate change’s impact on glaciers. As a leader, she will oversee multiple scientific initiatives, manage resources and ensure compliance with the Antarctic Treaty’s regulations. Why This Matters: Climate Study: Her research contributes vital data on climate change effects in Antarctica, crucial for global climate assessments. International Collaboration: ...

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Environment31 Oct 2024

Study reveals acceleration in Pacific upper-ocean circulation over past 30 years, impacting global weather patterns

A new study published October 31, 2024, in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans has revealed significant acceleration in the upper-ocean circulation of the equatorial Pacific over the past 30 years. This acceleration is primarily driven by intensified atmospheric winds, leading to increased oceanic currents that are both stronger and shallower, with potential impacts on regional and global climate patterns, including the frequency and intensity of El Niño and La Niña events. The study provides a spatial view of these long-term trends from observations, adding at least ...

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Environment31 Oct 2024

Biodiversity law that forces builders to compensate for nature loss could be twice as effective, experts claim

Recent rules that require all new building and road projects in England to address and offset their impact on nature are excellent in principle but flawed in their implementation, leading environmental economists argue. Under Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), which became law this year, new building or infrastructure developments must achieve a 10% net gain in biodiversity or habitat. In a new study published in One Earth, experts criticise the implementation of the policy which forces the majority of off-setting to occur within or near development sites rather than where it might most ...

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Environment31 Oct 2024

A paper-aluminum combo for strong, sustainable packaging

Takeout containers get your favorite noodles from the restaurant to your dining table (or couch) without incident, but they are nearly impossible to recycle if they are made from foil-lined plastics. Research published in ACS Omega suggests that replacing the plastic layer with paper could create a more sustainable packaging material. The researchers used mechanical demonstrations and computer simulations to identify paper-aluminum laminate designs that won’t compromise on performance. Protective packaging, like containers made ...

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