Oxygen is essential for the development of higher life. However, it was hardly present in the oceans of the young Earth. It was not until the evolution of photosynthetic bacteria that the oceans saw a significant increase in oxygen levels. By measuring tungsten isotope composition, an international research team with the participation of scientists from the University of Cologne’s Institute of Geology and Mineralogy has now laid the foundation for a more precise determination of the development of oxygen levels…

Fraunhofer IFAM develops concept for energy-efficient debinding processes … The Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Dresden is constantly working on optimizing its processes. Particularly in processes in which near-net-shape components are manufactured, the high energy demand is addressed and solutions are found to reduce energy consumption. In binder-based additive manufacturing processes, for example, organic binders have to be removed from the component by thermal treatment, a process which has so far been very energy-intensive. Researchers…

– an underestimated problem? The images leave no one cold: giant vortices of floating plastic trash in the world’s oceans with sometimes devastating consequences for their inhabitants – the sobering legacy of our modern lifestyle. Weathering and degradation processes produce countless tiny particles that can now be detected in virtually all ecosystems. But how dangerous are the smallest of them, so-called nanoplastics? Are they a ticking time bomb, as alarming media reports suggest? In the latest issue of the journal…

In a recent article in Sustainability, scientists from Reykjavik University (RU), the University of Gothenburg, and the Icelandic Meteorological Office describe their finding of microplastic in a remote and pristine area of Vatnajokull glacier in Iceland, Europe’s largest ice cap. Microplastics may affect the melting and rheological behaviour of glaciers, thus influencing the future meltwater contribution to the oceans and rising sea levels. This is the first time that the finding of microplastic in the Vatnajökull glacier is described. The…

An ‘accidental discovery’ confirms what simulations show … Analysis of data from a lightning mapper and a small, hand-held radiation detector has unexpectedly shed light on what a gamma-ray burst from lightning might look like – by observing neutrons generated from soil by very large cosmic-ray showers. The work took place at the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Cosmic Ray Observatory in Mexico. “This was an accidental discovery,” said Greg Bowers, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and lead…

Heidelberg geographers draw up full inventory of barely researched aufeis (icing) fields. Seasonally occurring fields of aufeis (icing) constitute an important resource for the water supply of the local population in the Upper Indus Basin. However, little research has been done on them so far. Geographers at the South Asia Institute of Heidelberg University have now examined the spreading of aufeis and, for the first time, created a full inventory of these aufeis fields. The more than 3,700 accumulations of…

Hidden structures reveal 13 million years of seafloor spreading. It is 2,250 kilometers long, but only 355 kilometers wide at its widest point – on a world map, the Red Sea hardly resembles an ocean. But this is deceptive. A new, albeit still narrow, ocean basin is actually forming between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Exactly how young it is and whether it can really be compared with other young oceans in Earth’s history has been a matter of dispute…

At the Seismological Society of America’s 2021 Annual Meeting, researchers shared how they are using fiber optic cable to detect the small earthquakes that occur in ice in Antarctica. The results could be used to better understand the movement and deformation of the ice under changing climate conditions, as well as improve future monitoring of carbon capture and storage projects, said Anna Stork, a geophysicist at Silixa Ltd. Stork discussed how she and her colleagues are refining their methods of…

Artificial Intelligence tools enable researchers to ‘shake hands’ with ancient scribes. The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered some seventy years ago, are famous for containing the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and many hitherto unknown ancient Jewish texts. But the individual people behind the scrolls have eluded scientists, because the scribes are anonymous. Now, by combining the sciences and the humanities, University of Groningen researchers have cracked the code, which enables them to discover the scribes behind the…

How plastic affects life in the ocean is one of the pressing questions in marine research. A new study by the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) looks at the impact of microplastics on corals. Microplastic particles are 5 mm and smaller. They are formed in the ocean as plastic waste decomposes through friction, salt, bacteria or UV radiation. Another source that has received little attention to date is paints and varnishes from ships, which leave behind considerable amounts…

Geology experts of TU Freiberg analyze the quality of Swedish ores. Research work on the Per Geijer iron ore deposits of Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB) near Kiruna is ongoing at TU Freiberg until August 2021. The results already show a very promising raw material potential for the associated supply of the iron and steel industry. Iron ore is the basis for the production of iron and steel – the world’s most important materials for the construction of buildings, machines, tools, cars,…

Rhode Island considers naming the local coral as a state emblem. As the Rhode Island legislature considers designating the Northern Star Coral an official state emblem, researchers are finding that studying this local creature’s recovery from a laboratory-induced stressor could help better understand how to protect endangered tropical corals. A new study published today in mSystems, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, investigates antibiotic-induced disturbance of the coral (Astrangia poculata) and shows that antibiotic exposure significantly altered the…

To illustrate the effects of climate change on nature at a glance, scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are now presenting Green Warming Stripes for the first time. Annette Menzel, Professor of Ecoclimatology at the TUM, explains in an interview how we can interpret them and what they mean. We understand that Green Climate or Warming Stripes can illustrate nature’s responses to global warming, but how can we decode the colored stripes? Blue colors represent years with cold…

How seagrass can help to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Oceans are among the largest carbon stores on our planet. An important factor are marine plants such as seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and salt marshes, which sequester carbon in the soil. In the German Baltic Sea, for example, seagrass meadows currently store around 3 to 12 megatons. This is significantly more than was previously known, as the first results from Dr. Angela Stevenson from GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean…

Research could help scientists better estimate Earth’s carbon budget. A team led by University of Minnesota researchers has discovered that deep-sea bacteria dissolve carbon-containing rocks, releasing excess carbon into the ocean and atmosphere. The findings will allow scientists to better estimate the amount of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere, a main driver of global warming. The study is published in The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal that is part of the Nature family of…

Expedition investigates matter fluxes and food webs in the world’s largest river plume. As the world’s largest river, the Amazon contributes about one-fifth of the global freshwater input to the ocean, and its river plume, which extends thousands of kilometres into the tropical North Atlantic, influences diverse ecosystems there. To better understand the fate of this gigantic river plume from its mouth to open ocean expanses and its influence on plankton food webs, the research vessel METEOR is embarking on…