Rising lake water temperatures threaten the survival of marimo, unique algal balls found only in cold lakes. Kobe University researchers clarified that the warmer it gets, the more the inward decomposition outpaces the outward growth of these life forms, making them increasingly fragile. Moss balls, or “marimo” in Japanese, are popular pet water plants that are not a moss but a special growth form of filamentous algae. They are found naturally in lakes in northern Japan and cold lakes of…

Google Street View cars equipped with instrumentation sampled air quality at a scale fine enough to capture variations within neighborhoods in the Salt Lake Valley. A new atmospheric modeling method identified pollution emission sources. In 2019, University of Utah atmospheric scientists, the Environmental Defense Fund and other partners added a new tool to their quiver of air quality monitors—two Google Street View cars, Salt Lake Valley’s roving sentinels that would detect hyper-local air pollution hotspots. In the ensuing months John…

Robert Reinecke of Mainz University contributed scientific modeling and expertise to the 2022 report / Joint research within the Rhine-Main Universities Alliance. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently presented its second report on the status of global water resources. According to this report, large parts of the world experienced drier conditions in 2022 than those recorded on average for the equivalent periods over the last 30 years. “Nearly 40 percent of the territories examined were suffering from drier than normal…

Researchers from the University of Bremen and the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency have compared long-term data on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation from two different latitudes and discovered a statistical correlation. Their aim was to investigate how the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has developed over a period of 25 years, based on moored observation stations. This data will help to refine climate models in the future. The study has been published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. In addition…

SwRI-contributed study suggests impact-driven mixing of mantle materials could create current mantle composition. Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Simone Marchi collaborated on a new study finding the first geophysically plausible scenario to explain the abundance of certain precious metals — including gold and platinum — in the Earth’s mantle. Based on the simulations, or model, scientists found that impact-driven mixing of mantle materials scenario that could prevent the metals from completely sinking into the Earth’s core. Early in its evolution, about…

Utrecht geologist unexpectedly finds remnants of a lost mega-plate. Utrecht University geologist Suzanna van de Lagemaat has reconstructed a massive and previously unknown tectonic plate that was once one-quarter the size of the Pacific Ocean. Her colleagues in Utrecht had predicted its existence over 10 years ago based on fragments of old tectonic plates found deep in the Earth’s mantle. Van de Lagemaat reconstructed lost plates through field research and detailed investigations of the mountain belts of Japan, Borneo, the…

… raises concerns. Study finds nearly twice the amount of nitrogen is entering the Reef from groundwater compared to river waters. Scientists using natural tracers off Queensland’s coast have discovered the source of previously unquantified nitrogen and phosphorous having a profound environmental impact on the Great Barrier Reef. The findings, published today in Environmental Science and Technology, indicate current efforts to preserve and restore the health of the Reef may require a new perspective. Composite showing pristine coral alongside eutropohied…

Presidents lay foundation for new lab building on Cabo Verde. The international Cape Verde Atmospheric Observatory (CVAO) is being further expanded: The President of the Republic of Cabo Verde José Maria Neves and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier laid the foundation for a new laboratory building on São Vicente, one of the Cape Verde Islands off Africa, on Thursday. The island in the tropical Atlantic has become an international focal point of climate research in recent years. The atmospheric observatory has…

New publication: Researchers simulate past ocean conditions in flume-tank experiments. Ocean currents determine the structure of the deep-sea ocean floor and the transport of sediments, organic carbon, nutrients and pollutants. In flume-tank experiments, researchers from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen have simulated how currents shape the seafloor and control sediment deposition. This will help in reconstructions of past marine conditions. They have now published their results in the Nature journal Communications Earth &…

Biodegradable bags not currently recommended. Bags made from biodegradable materials for collecting organic household waste have been available on the market for several years. Now researchers in a large-scale pilot study have conducted an extensive investigation into whether these bags fully decompose. In addition, this — the first of its kind — study also took a look into the consumers interest in using biode-gradable bags. The project was coordinated by the Fraunhofer ICT in collaboration with the University of Bayreuth,…

U Bremen Research Alliance partners develop future mars station. Aggressive space radiation, a toxic atmosphere, temperatures averaging minus 65 degrees Celsius, and very low atmospheric pressure: living conditions on Mars are everything but friendly. The Bremen-based “Humans on Mars” initiative is researching radically new solutions for surviving in this extreme setting. Numerous members of the U Bremen Research Alliance are involved with their expertise: the DLR Institute of Space Systems, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM,…

The combination of chemical and physical stressors that bacteria face during wastewater treatment can impact the transfer of genes between them. But while certain combinations of stressors significantly increase the gene-transfer rate, other combinations reduce it, KAUST researchers have discovered. The finding could inform best practice design and management of wastewater treatment for reuse. Globally, many regions are considering treated wastewater as a potentially invaluable freshwater source. “As part of the Saudi Vision 2030, water reuse and treatment rates need…

Whilst a blueberry with a fungal infection might end up in most people’s compost bin, for a team of researchers in the US, it has provided a key to tackling the unsustainable use of insecticides. In a new study published in the SCI journal Pest Management Science, the team explored how blueberries infected with a specific fungus, Colletotrichum fioriniae, emit odours which repel spotted-wing drosophila – a fruit fly that is a destructive pest of berries and cherries. By recreating…

Optical studies on desert dust for “sharper” satellite images. In September, a new research group begins its work in Leipzig at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS): The junior research group led by Dr. Moritz Haarig aims to understand the influence of the complex shape of mineral dust particles on the scattering of light in order to better quantify the impact of mineral dust on weather and climate. “OLALA” (Optical Lab for Lidar Applications) is supported by the Leibniz…

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have conducted a comprehensive life cycle, cost and carbon emissions analysis on 3D-printed molds for precast concrete and determined the method is economically beneficial compared to conventional wood molds. Precast concrete is used in building construction and produced by pouring the material into a reusable mold. For decades, these molds have been made from wood — a technique that requires a highly specialized skillset. As an alternative, molds made from fiber-reinforced polymer composites can be 3D printed….

The Chinese Academy of Sciences Earth System Model (CAS-ESM2.0), a sophisticated Earth modeling tool, has achieved a major breakthrough in fully coupled atmospheric CO2 simulation, as revealed in the latest report published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences on Sept. 22. The study was conducted by researchers from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Normal University and Stony Brook University. Their findings highlight CAS-ESM2.0’s exceptional capability in two-way coupling of terrestrial and marine carbon cycles, along with atmospheric CO2,…