So-called foraminifera are found in all the world’s oceans. Now an international study led by the University of Hamburg has shown that the microorganisms, most of which bear shells, absorb phosphate from the water that pollutes the oceans to an unprecedented extent. The work has been published in the scientific journal “Nature”. Phosphate Use in Agriculture and Its Environmental Impact Phosphate is one of the main components of many fertilizers. It stimulates the growth of many crops – but is…
Groundwater and multilevel cooperation in recovery efforts mitigated water crisis after flooding. Converting Disasters into Opportunities Society is often vulnerable to disasters, but how humans manage during and after can turn devastation into opportunities for improved resilience. An Alternative Water Source: Private Wells For instance, private wells are attracting attention as an alternative resource for securing water for daily use and consumption in the event the water supply is cut off after a disaster. However, there are few records on…
Microorganisms are everywhere and have been influencing the Earth’s environment for over 3.5 billion years. Researchers from Germany, Austria and Taiwan have now deciphered the role they play in the formation of lime – for the first time in the deep sea rather than in the laboratory. The basis was a five-meter-long lime core obtained during an expedition. The team of authors has now published their results in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. Correlation between Microorganisms and Mineral Formation…
Analysis of three decades of aerial survey data reveals major changes 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…
To stay healthy, plants balance the energy they put into growing with the amount they use to defend against harmful bacteria. The mechanisms behind this equilibrium have largely remained mysterious. Soil Bacteria: The Unexpected Key to Plant Immunity Now, engineers at Princeton have found an answer in an unexpected place: the harmless, or sometimes beneficial, bacteria that cluster around plants’ roots. In an article published Dec. 24 in the journal Cell Reports, researchers showed that some types of soil bacteria can influence a…
The evolution of the lunar dynamo is crucial for understanding the Moon’s deep interior structure, thermal history, and surface environment. A recent study by Chinese scientists conducted paleomagnetic analyses on basalts returned by the Chang’e-6 mission and revealed a significant reinforcement of the lunar dynamo approximately 2.8 billion years ago (Ga). This groundbreaking work was published in Nature. Previous paleomagnetic studies of nearside lunar samples have established a general timeline for the evolution of the Moon’s magnetic field. However, limited spatial…
Academics from Northumbria University are part of an international research team which has used data from satellites to track changes in the thickness of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Global warming is causing the Ice Sheet to melt and flow more rapidly, raising sea levels and disturbing weather patterns across our planet. Because of this, precise measurements of its changing shape are of critical importance for tracking and adapting to the effects of climate warming. Scientists have now delivered the first…
Method could advance neuromorphic computing for AI. How does the Earth generate its magnetic field? While the basic mechanisms seem to be understood, many details remain unresolved. A team of researchers from the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Sandia National Laboratories (USA) and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission has introduced a simulation method that promises new insights into the Earth’s core. The method, presented in PNAS, simulates not only the behavior of atoms,…
Glacial melting, heat waves, and changing precipitation patterns call for strategic and transnational water management Constant, rigorous resource use has negatively impacted our environment, extending beyond national borders. Climate change is reshaping the Alpine region, where melting glaciers and shifting precipitation patterns endanger rivers and groundwater reserves. The EU-co-funded “Waterwise” project, helmed by the Interreg Alpine Space program, and in collaboration with Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HKA) and 11 other partners from seven Alpine countries—France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria,…
By studying sulphur in magmatic fluids at extreme pressures and temperatures, a UNIGE team is revolutionising our understanding of gold transport and ore deposit formation. When one tectonic plate sinks beneath another, it generates magmas rich in volatiles such as water, sulphur and chlorine. As these magmas ascend, they release magmatic fluids, in which sulphur and chlorine bind to metals such as gold and copper, and transport these metals towards the surface of the Earth. As the extreme conditions relevant…
Thematic focus in Environmental Research Letters initiated by the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence deals with social resilience over the past 5,000 years. According to data from the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service, the global average temperature in 2024 will almost certainly exceed the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average temperature as set in the Paris Climate Agreement for the first ever time. Against this backdrop, researchers from the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence at Kiel University, the Ludwig…
In April 2021, two tropical cyclones, Seroja and Odette, collided in the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia. Two researchers from the University of Oldenburg have now studied how this rare phenomenon affected the ocean. According to their case study, the rendezvous caused an unusual cooling of the surface water and an abrupt change in the direction of the combined storm. Since the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones are increasing as a result of global warming, it is possible that…
New study shows seal moms prefer slow and steady icebergs, while seals prefer faster ice in better foraging grounds later in the year. Harbor seals in icy regions use icebergs shed by glaciers as safe platforms to give birth, care for young and molt. New research finds that as glaciers change with the climate, the resulting changes in size, speed and number of icebergs affect seals’ critical frozen habitat. Mother seals prefer stable, slower-moving bergs for giving birth and caring…
Geoscientists led by Universities of Leicester and Southampton create new climate record for early Antarctic ice ages. Periods of sudden melting in the Antarctic ice sheet have been unearthed in a new climate record from over 20 million years ago by geoscientists led by the University of Leicester and the University of Southampton. Published in the journal Nature Communications, the new study reveals how sensitive our planet’s early ice ages were to the effect of the Earth’s eccentric orbit around the…
Researchers find a potential explanation for the unusually sudden temperature rise in 2023: reduced low-level cloud cover limits Earth’s ability to reflect solar radiation. Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, heatwaves at sea – 2023 set a number of alarming new records. The global mean temperature also rose to nearly 1.5 degrees above the preindustrial level, another record. Seeking to identify the causes of this sudden rise has proven a challenge for researchers. After all, factoring in the effects of anthropogenic…
What was the cause of the great Tōhoku earthquake of 2011, and how can we better understand geological processes in order to protect coastal infrastructure in the long term – for example, from a tsunami like the one 13 years ago? These questions are currently the focus of a scientific expedition as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), in which researchers from the MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen are participating. Since…
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