Discovering the link between climate change and sea sponge loss. Sea sponges are essential to marine ecosystems. They play critical roles in the ocean, as they provide shelter and food to a plethora of marine creatures, recycle nutrients by filtering thousands of litres of sea water daily, and are hosts to microbes that may be the key to some of the most pressing medical challenges we face today. Now, scientists from UNSW have discovered that when a tropical sea sponge…
On Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze, the air is thin and contains very few pollutants. Ultrafine particles only exist there when they are transported through the atmosphere over long distances. A research team from the University of Bayreuth led by Prof. Dr. Anke Nölscher has now installed a new module for collecting ultrafine particles at the summit of the Zugspitze. The sampling at the Schneefernerhaus Environmental Research Station and the subsequent laboratory analyses are part of the Bavarian project network…
Fluid dynamics simulations show how harmful plastic particles collect inside the nose and at the back of the throat. Research shows humans might inhale about 16.2 bits of microplastic every hour, which is equivalent to a credit card over an entire week. And these microplastics – tiny debris in the environment generated from the degradation of plastic products – usually contain toxic pollutants and chemicals. Inhaled microplastics can pose serious health risks, so understanding how they travel in the respiratory…
The dispersal pathways of plastic waste in the southern North Sea have been investigated by an interdisciplinary research team led by the University of Oldenburg. A key part of the “Macroplastics” project was the participation of citizens. The volunteers could use a special website to report the discovery of wooden plates that the team had released in the open sea and along the coast. Two key findings are that there are no areas in the North Sea or the Skagerrak…
A team at Sandia National Laboratories is developing materials to tackle what has become one of the biggest problems in the world: human exposure to a group of chemicals known as PFAS through contaminated water and other products. Sandia is now investing more money to take their research to the next level. “It’s in the news constantly. It seems every day we hear of another product that is contaminated. We saw sparkling water with PFAS, toilet paper with PFAS, so…
Billions of tons of electronic waste are produced in the EU every year. With a novel approach, the new EU project “CircEl-Paper” could sustainably improve the recycling process for electronics in the future. Electronics that can be disposed of and even recycled using conventional paper recycling process? That is the goal of the EU project CircEl-Paper. For this purpose, the project is looking at the development of functional printed circuit boards based on paper technology. Such an approach, which enables…
… create hundreds of tonnes of waterborne microfiber pollution. A new study has revealed that drying laundry using a condenser tumble dryer leads to hundreds of tonnes of potentially harmful microfibers being released into waterways and oceans across the UK and Europe. Researchers from Northumbria University, worked in partnership with scientists at consumer goods giant Procter and Gamble on the study, which is published today (24 May) in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. The team found that while condenser dryers…
New study finds bio-based plastic and plastic-blend textiles do not biodegrade in the ocean. First-of-its-kind experiment off Scripps Pier finds only natural fibers degrade in the marine environment; plastic fabrics remain intact one year later. Plastic pollution is seemingly omnipresent in society, and while plastic bags, cups, and bottles may first come to mind, plastics are also increasingly used to make clothing, rugs, and other textiles. A new study from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, published May 24…
From mangroves to fjords, coastal ecosystems can take up or emit greenhouse gases. But globally, they’re a vital sink. A new greenhouse gas budget shows coastal ecosystems globally are a net greenhouse gas sink for carbon dioxide (CO2) but emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) counteract some of the CO2 uptake, according to international researchers led by Australia’s Southern Cross University. The new findings of the coastal greenhouse gas balance (CO2 + CH4 + N2O) in ten world…
Climate change, human consumption and sedimentation contributing to decline. More than 50 percent of the largest lakes in the world are losing water, according to a groundbreaking new assessment published today in Science . The key culprits are not surprising: warming climate and unsustainable human consumption. But lead author Fangfang Yao, a CIRES visiting fellow, now a climate fellow at University of Virginia, said the news is not entirely bleak. With this new method of tracking lake water storage trends…
At certain times in the year, more soot particles reach the Amazon rainforest from bush fires in Africa than from regional fires. The Brazilian rainforest is one of the world’s few continental regions with clean air. However, this is only true during the wet season, when the concentration of particulate matter is very low. During the dry season, it’s a different story: numerous deforestation fires burn within the Amazon rainforest, as an “arc of deforestation” eats into the rainforest from…
… from pharmaceutical pollutants. Researchers from Stockholm University have developed porous crystals made from pomegranate extract to capture and degrade pharmaceutical molecules found in local municipal wastewater. The research is published in the scientific journal Nature Water. Pharmaceutical compounds affect the human body to improve our health, but they can also have unintentional adverse effects for the wellbeing of wildlife. Hence wastewater treatment plants are facing the challenge of removing emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) such as active pharmaceutical ingredients, and…
For decades, a research team from the University of Jena has travelled regularly to the Antarctic. Its most recent observations of Antarctic wildlife paint a clear picture of climate change in the southernmost part of the world. If there were ever a prize for the longest journey to work, the Jena University team led by Christina Braun would stand a good chance of winning it. To reach their research area, the polar ornithologist and her team travel some 14,000 kilometres…
Reusable sponge can capture and recover critical metals and heavy-metal pollutants. Northwestern University engineers have developed a new sponge that can remove metals — including toxic heavy metals like lead and critical metals like cobalt — from contaminated water, leaving safe, drinkable water behind. In proof-of-concept experiments, the researchers tested their new sponge on a highly contaminated sample of tap water, containing more than 1 part per million of lead. With one use, the sponge filtered lead to below detectable…
Roboticists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have developed a jellyfish-inspired underwater robot with which they hope one day to collect waste from the bottom of the ocean. The almost noise-free prototype can trap objects underneath its body without physical contact, thereby enabling safe interactions in delicate environments such as coral reefs. Jellyfish-Bot could become an important tool for environmental remediation. Most of the world is covered in oceans, which are unfortunately highly polluted. One of…
Previously unknown group of bacteria in the deep sea regulates energy balance. A team of international researchers led by Federico Baltar of the University of Vienna and José M González of the University of La Laguna has identified a previously unknown group of bacteria, called UBA868, as key players in the energy cycle of the deep ocean. They are significantly involved in the biogeochemical cycle in the marine layer between 200 and 1000 meters. The results have now been published…
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