Earth’s average surface temperature in 2022 tied with 2015 as the fifth warmest on record, according to an analysis by NASA. Continuing the planet’s long-term warming trend, global temperatures in 2022 were 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit (0.89 degrees Celsius) above the average for NASA’s baseline period (1951-1980), scientists from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York reported. “This warming trend is alarming,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Our warming climate is already making a mark: Forest fires are…
At the Atelier Natália Gromicho in Lisbon, objects by an artist who donates a large number of his unique pieces to non-profit campaigns for the benefit of selected nature conservation projects can be purchased for the first time in an art exhibition from 4 to 11 February 2023. The artist, Bruno Wilbert, born in Germany in the year 1956, has been living on the island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean for 4 years. The impressive nature on this island…
Measurements conducted by the Hessian Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology (HLNUG) in recent years have shown that Frankfurt International Airport is a major source of ultrafine particles and that these can disperse over long distances across the city. In collaboration with experts at the HLNUG, researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have now discovered that the ultrafine particles partly consist of synthetic jet oils. The research team has deduced that emissions from lubrication oils must be lowered in addition…
Plastics are ubiquitous in our society, found in packaging and bottles as well as making up more than 18% of solid waste in landfills. Many of these plastics also make their way into the oceans, where they take up to hundreds of years to break down into pieces that can harm wildlife and the aquatic ecosystem. A team of researchers, led by Young-Shin Jun, professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University…
Assistant Professor David Rounce of Civil and Environmental Engineering led an international effort to produce new projections of glacier mass loss through the century under different emissions scenarios. The projections were aggregated into global temperature change scenarios to support adaptation and mitigation discussions, such as those at the recent United Nations Conference of Parties (COP 27). His work showed that the world could lose as much as 41 percent of its total glacier mass this century—or as little as 26…
Bladderwrack in the Baltic Sea emits significant amounts of methane, which, to some extent, can offset the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide by these algae. This is shown by a new study from Askö Laboratory, where the fluxes of greenhouse gases between surface waters and the atmosphere were measured continuously over several seasons. “It was a bit surprising that methane was emitted from the bladderwrack, since this algae grows on hard substrates and not on soft sediments, where methane is…
From the road to the plate. Chemicals from tyre wear could get into our vegetables via sewage sludge and waste water. Wind, sewage sludge, and waste water carry tyre wear particles from roads onto farmland. A new lab study shows: The pollutants contained in the particles could get into the vegetables grown there. Researchers at the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CMESS) at the University of Vienna have investigated whether chemicals released from tyres find their way into…
Used and damaged cars are often disposed of via energy-intensive scrapping processes — even when many of their parts are still fully functional. In the EKODA project, Fraunhofer researchers are developing a better alternative: First, they examine each component in a complex testing procedure. Then they use an evaluation system to generate recommendations for how these components could be reused. This strategy optimizes the lifespan of the individual parts, making it possible to establish a sustainable circular economy in the…
Brown algae take up large amounts of carbon dioxide from the air and release parts of the carbon contained therein back into the environment in mucous form. This mucus is hard to break down for other ocean inhabitants, thus the carbon is removed from the atmosphere for a long time, as researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen now show. They reveal that the algal mucus called fucoidan is particularly responsible for this carbon removal and…
Engineers at the University of Illinois Chicago have built a machine that captures carbon from flue gas and converts it to ethylene. The device integrates a carbon capture system with an ethylene conversation system for the first time. And, the system not only runs on electricity, but it also removes more carbon from the environment than it generates – making it what scientists call net-negative on carbon emissions. Among manufactured chemicals worldwide, ethylene ranks third for carbon emissions after ammonia…
Emissions from copper-based antifouling paints are a well-known environmental problem. As much as 40 percent of copper inputs to the Baltic Sea come from antifouling paints on ships and leisure boats. According to a new study from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, this is completely unnecessary. When the researchers compared copper-based antifouling paint with biocide-free silicone-based paint, they found that the environmentally friendly alternative was best at keeping the fouling at bay. ‘This means that we now have a great…
Pitt engineer Lei Fang launches NSF-funded project to understand effect of active matter on transport barriers. Imagine a school of fish swimming through the open water. The way the water flows affects how the school of fish moves and how much energy the fish expend; however, their movement affects the way the water flows, too. The interactions at play here are part of the field of fluid dynamics, which is critical to engineering solutions like directing wastewater, or mapping and…
Big egos, lack of staff training and policy enforcement are major barriers to island conservation. Published today in the journal People and Nature, a new study is the first to quantify the day-to-day barriers that conservation workers face as they try to conserve and manage island ecosystems around the world. Island nations are noted for their particularly high-levels of biodiversity and endemic species. However, they are also more vulnerable to biodiversity loss, having already experienced 61% of recent global extinctions….
Desiccation of tree foliage is a key factor in the spread of fires. However, during droughts, changes in the water content of forest canopies remain poorly understood. Scientists from INRAE and the CNRS have developed the first model to predict canopy water content during drought and heat waves. Their results, published in the journal New Phytologist, could enable the development of fire danger forecasting models that include the role of vegetation in their calculations. Climate change and increasing drought are…
… when aquatic environments change abruptly. A closed copper mine on the Baltic Sea coast just south of Västervik has helped researchers study the capacity of coastal diatoms to survive when the environmental conditions change. A thesis from the University of Gothenburg shows that diatom species survived discharges of copper into the sea due to their great genetic diversity. By having and retaining strains with broad genetic diversity across the generations, a species can cope with rapid environmental changes without…
Largest spatial assessment to date underscores need for enhanced management practices and coral restoration efforts in Florida. A new study found that 70 percent of Florida’s reefs are eroding and experiencing net loss of reef habitat. The research, conducted by an interdisciplinary group of scientists through the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Science, provides new information on the state of Florida’s world-famous coral reefs. “This…
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