Many of the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that end up in the ocean boomerang back to shore after they are re-emitted into air with the crashing of waves, according to a study by researchers at Stockholm University published today in Environmental Science & Technology. The findings suggest that this sea-to-air transport process is a significant contributor to PFAS air pollution in coastal areas. “The common belief was that PFAS would eventually wash off into the oceans where they would stay…
New study shows: Tropical seagrass meadows absorb in some cases significantly less carbon dioxide than long thought. To avert the worst consequences of climate change, humanity needs to considerably reduce the amount carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere over the coming years. To this end, a common suggestion is to restore natural CO2 reservoirs on the coasts that have been destroyed in many locations during the past decades. This includes mangrove forests, salt marshes and what are…
Tropical forests are vanishing at an alarming rate through deforestation, but also have the potential to regrow naturally on abandoned lands. A study published this week in Science shows that regrowing tropical forests recover surprisingly fast. After 20 years, characteristic attributes have recovered by an average of nearly 80% of old-growth forest values. The study led by Wageningen University with support from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) concludes that natural regeneration is a low-cost, nature-based solution for…
IN4climate.NRW develops solutions for a circular economy. The circular economy – or closed-loop recycling of raw materials – can contribute significantly to defossilisation and achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agree-ment. It also saves valuable resources. The IN4climate.NRW federal state initiative provides an overview of the current status and presents a vision of the circular economy in energy-intensive industries in its current discussion paper “Circular Economy in the Basic Materials Industry: Opportunities and Requirements for a Successful Transformation”. Based…
The number of young corals can reveal how reefs are recovering from coral bleaching. A new study from the University of Bremen, which was recently published in “PLOS ONE” journal, has shown this. The warming of the oceans due to climate change and the subsequent increase in frequency and severity of coral bleaching are the worldwide biggest threats to coral reefs. Thus, how quickly coral reefs can recover from such bleaching is of great interest and the number of young…
Retreating glaciers in the Pacific mountains of western North America could produce around 6,150 kilometers of new Pacific salmon habitat by the year 2100, according to a new study. Scientists have ‘peeled back the ice’ from 46,000 glaciers between southern British Columbia and south-central Alaska to look at how much potential salmon habitat would be created when underlying bedrock is exposed and new streams flow over the landscape. Modeling glacier retreat under different climate change scenarios, researchers discovered that, under…
The movement of water masses in the ocean, its circulation, is an essential component of the global climate system. In a study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), researchers were able to show that circulation in the deep ocean was significantly slowed down during the last glacial period. Analyses of sediment samples show that the decomposition of organic carbon in the water masses of the deep sea consumed the oxygen available there. Scientists…
Red Sea phytoplankton blooms change seasonally and interannually in response to climatic events. A KAUST study has analyzed satellite data over two decades and its findings will underpin other investigations into how climate change could impact this marine ecosystem. Phytoplankton are water-living, microscopic organisms that use chlorophyll to convert light into energy. This process involves absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, similar to plants. “Phytoplankton are at the base of the marine food web and play a key role in…
Melting causes accelerated ice loss at tidewater glaciers, releasing pressurized bubbles. As the world’s temperatures rise, tidewater glaciers are receding and melting, releasing air trapped in the ice. Scientists can listen to the release of the air and potentially use the sounds to help them gauge the impact of climate change on the ice floes. During the 181st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, which will be held Nov. 29-Dec. 3, Hayden Johnson, from the University of California, San…
An international group of researchers led by the Paul Scherrer Institute and the Heriot-Watt University has carried out in-depth analyses of the climate impact of blue hydrogen. This is produced from natural gas, with the CO2 resulting from the process captured and stored. The study, published in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal Sustainable Energy & Fuels, concludes that blue hydrogen can play a positive role in the energy transition – under certain conditions. Hydrogen is an energy carrier of…
Coastal organisms thrive on floating plastic debris in the “great pacific garbage patch”. Coastal plants and animals have found a new way to survive in the open ocean—by colonizing plastic pollution. A new commentary published Dec. 2 in Nature Communications reports coastal species growing on trash hundreds of miles out to sea in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, more commonly known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” “The issues of plastic go beyond just ingestion and entanglement,” said Linsey Haram,…
The Arctic Ocean has been getting warmer since the beginning of the 20th century – decades earlier than records suggest – due to warmer water flowing into the delicate polar ecosystem from the Atlantic Ocean. An international group of researchers reconstructed the recent history of ocean warming at the gateway to the Arctic Ocean in a region called the Fram Strait, between Greenland and Svalbard. Using the chemical signatures found in marine microorganisms, the researchers found that the Arctic Ocean…
Researchers take a granular look at global inputs and impacts of human wastewater in coastal ecosystems. The tendency for most of us when it comes to human wastewater is out of sight, out of mind. Rarely do we consider what happens after we flush that toilet or turn off that tap. However, researchers at UC Santa Barbara have turned their attention and considerable computational power to the subject and its impacts on global coastal ecosystems. The results aren’t pretty, but…
After 200 years of absence due to historic human pressures that once threatened their existence, New Zealand sea lions are returning to New Zealand’s mainland in an emerging story of conservation success and complex opportunities. Dr. Jan O. Engler, a post-doctorate at Chair for Computational Landscape Ecology at Technische Universität Dresden, joined an international team of ecologists and conservationists to map suitable habitats for these endangered New Zealand sea lions and help managers welcome them home. Led by Michigan State…
Researchers find that most coralline algae are negatively affected by ocean acidification, but some species may be more resilient than others. Scientists have long suspected that coralline algae are particularly sensitive to changes in ocean chemistry. Now, researchers have found that most species of coralline algae studied are negatively affected by ocean acidification. In a new study published in Global Change Biology, an international team, including researchers from the University of Tsukuba, revealed that lower seawater pH is associated with…
Coral reef ecosystems are severely threatened by climate change. The urgent need to address the issue is driving a new era of innovation in reef science, shown by a global multidisciplinary exploration of different approaches to enhance coral resilience. An international team including KAUST professors Manuel Aranda and Raquel Peixoto, with adjunct professor Chris Voolstra, have proposed an adaptive framework to increase the resilience of corals in the face of climate change. The team proposes integrating current approaches that center…
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