A new study updates the planetary boundary framework and shows human activities are increasingly impacting the planet and, thereby, increasing the risk of triggering dramatic changes in overall Earth conditions. For over 3 billion years, the interaction between life (represented by the planetary boundary, Biosphere Integrity) and climate have controlled the overall environmental conditions on Earth. Human activities, for example replacing nature with other land uses, changing the amount of water in rivers and in soil, the introduction of synthetic…
Scientists identify how the dissection of Arctic landscapes is changing with accelerating climate change. New research co-led by Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia shows that amplified global warming in the Canadian High Arctic drove a profound shift in the structure of a river network carved into a permafrost landscape in only 60 years. Documenting a powerful interplay among climate change, the freeze-thaw dynamics of polygonal ground and the delivery of surface water by floods as well…
… in the USA successfully concluded. For the first time, German researchers have measured the influence of clouds on short-term fluctuations of solar radiation in North America. They have used a globally unique network of radiation sensors that was designed and built at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), which has been deployed in the flat prairies of the Midwest of the USA from the beginning of June until the end of August this year. So-called pyranometers have recorded…
An emerging system which combines rapid imaging with artificial intelligence could help scientists build a comprehensive picture of present and historic environmental change – by swiftly and accurately analysing pollen. Pollen grains from different plant species are unique and identifiable based on their shape. Analysing which pollen grains are captured in samples such as sediment cores from lakes helps scientists understand which plants were thriving at any given point in history, potentially dating back thousands to millions of years. Up…
New research examines role of grasses for controlling climate change. In recent years, the escalating impact of global warming has prompted efforts to reverse troubling trends, often by planting trees to capture and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it. New research from a team led by Young Zhou, from the Quinney College of Natural Resources and the Ecology Center, shows that, in addition to trees, humble grasses also play an essential role in capturing carbon — more important than…
… show the calculations of researchers. An international team of researchers has used an extensive dataset of more than 2,000 coral reef sites to determine how fish populations and diversity of fish species are faring on the world’s ocean reefs. One finding of the study, recently published in Nature Communications, is that nearly two-thirds of the sites studied are overfished below reference points aimed at maximizing catch. Fishing has been going on in coral reefs for thousands of years. As…
Green spaces in Germany could contribute far more to biodiversity conservation. Around 40 per cent of Germany’s declining and endangered native plant species could be planted in private and public green spaces, making them suitable for conservation gardening. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Leipzig University, who have collected the latest data on endangered Red List species in all 16 of Germany’s federal states. Their findings have now been…
In the European research project ReSoURCE, experts from nine different companies and institutes are working together to develop sustainable solutions for the recycling of refractory materials. The German project partners are primarily providing laser know-how. Refractory materials withstand high temperatures beyond 1,500 °C. They are indispensable for industrial furnaces that produce glass or ceramics, non-ferrous metals and steels, for example. The service life for refractory products ranges from a few days to many years – depending on the materials, the…
Regulation of Negative Emissions Technologies Presents Many Challenges. The ocean will play a key role in efforts to tackle the climate crisis, according to scientists and IPCC. The use of “negative emissions technologies” to enhance carbon sequestration and storage in the ocean is increasingly being discussed. In a study published in the scientific journal “Frontiers”, RIFS researchers Lina Röschel and Barbara Neumann describe the challenges that these technologies present. The existing regulatory and institutional frameworks are inadequate for the governance…
New study shows: Climate change is affecting the seasonal vertical migration of zooplankton in the Arctic. Due to intensifying sea-ice melting in the Arctic, sunlight is now penetrating deeper and deeper into the ocean. Since marine zooplankton respond to the available light, this is also changing their behaviour – especially how the tiny organisms rise and fall within the water column. As an international team of researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute has now shown, in the future this…
Startup launches the next-generation environmental sensor platform. Agrela Ecosystems, a startup launched by Nadia Shakoor, PhD, principal investigator, at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center announced the pilot launch of its flagship product, PheNodeTM. This milestone marks the first step towards a full-scale commercial release set for 2025. PheNode is an advanced, scalable environmental sensor platform designed to empower users with customizable data collection and the rapid integration of new technologies. Already creating a buzz, the platform is now collecting data and generating…
Coral reefs in one part of the Pacific Ocean have likely adjusted to higher ocean temperatures which could reduce future bleaching impacts of climate change, new research reveals. A Newcastle University-led study focused on the Pacific Island nation of Palau and has shown that historic increases in the thermal tolerance of coral reefs are possible. The results demonstrate how this capacity could reduce future bleaching impacts if global carbon emissions are cut down. Drawing on decades of field observations, the…
New method for pollutants such as crude oil, glyphosate, microplastics and hormones. Pouring flecks of rust into water usually makes it dirtier. But researchers of FAU have developed special iron oxide nanoparticles they call “smart rust” that actually makes it cleaner. Smart rust can attract many substances, including oil, nano- and microplastics, as well as the herbicide glyphosate, depending on the particles’ coating. And because the nanoparticles are magnetic, they can easily be removed from water with a magnet along…
Giant dust storms in the Gulf of Alaska can last for many days and send tonnes of fine sediment or silt into the atmosphere, and it is having an impact on the global climate system, say scientists. The storms are so extensive they can be seen by satellites orbiting the Earth. An image captured by the Landsat satellite in 2020 shows dust blowing out of the valley and over Alaska’s south coast. Exactly how the dust may be influencing the global…
Tiny plastic particles can be found in the air over the oceans even far away from the coast. According to a new study, microplastics are not only carried by the wind, but also escape into the atmosphere from seawater. For the first time, German and Norwegian researchers led by the University of Oldenburg present data on the composition and sources of different types of plastic in the air over the North Atlantic and the origin of the particles. The results…
Combining his enjoyment of maths with his love for nature, Thomas Frölicher develops climate models to calculate the impact of greenhouse gases on the ocean. Why is there a poster featuring the children’s book Globi und die Energie on Thomas Frölicher’s office door? “The authors asked me to check some of the facts. And of course I said yes.” Although a professor of climate and environmental physics and the lead author of UN climate reports, he evidently doesn’t consider editing…
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