https://phys.org/earth-news/environment en-us The latest news on the environment, environmental issues, earth science and space exploration. Soils in northern freshwater wetlands, called peatlands, are cold, water-saturated, and acidic. These conditions slow microbes' decomposition of organic matter into greenhouse gases. This process stores carbon in the soil. Researchers use the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) experiment to warm air and soil in a northern Minnesota bog to simulate the effects of climate change on the carbon cycle. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-peatland-soil-warmer-climate-elevated.html Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:32:29 EST news628965147 Deep sea and sediments bring iron to Antarctic waters. The iron that fertilizes the waters around Antarctica mostly comes from the deep, upwelling waters and the sediments around the continent. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-deep-sea-sediments-iron-antarctic.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:15:03 EST news628964102 Land–atmosphere interactions play a crucial role in shaping Earth's climate system, profoundly influencing weather patterns, climate variables, and ecological processes. Despite being located at similar latitudes, the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and Yangtze River region (YRR) represent two distinct climate zones, garnering significant attention in this field. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-net-high-elevation-tibetan-plateau.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:36:02 EST news628961761 Getting climate models to mimic real-time observations when it comes to warming is critical—small discrepancies can lead to misunderstandings about the rate of global warming as the climate changes. A new study from North Carolina State University and Duke University finds that when modeling warming trends in the Pacific Ocean, there is still a missing piece to the modeling puzzle: the effect of wind on ocean currents in the equatorial Pacific. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-equator-key-accurate-future-climate.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:27:03 EST news628961221 After more than seven years of development, MethaneSAT recently launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. A collaboration between the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the Environmental Defense Fund and other partners, MethaneSAT will be capable of spotting methane emissions from space, producing data from high-resolution images that can cover hundreds of square kilometers at a time. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-qa-edge-methane.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:46:12 EST news628958766 More than 6,000 people died and at least 11,000 reportedly disappeared in the aftermath of the destructive flood that hit Libya on September 10 2023. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-countries-conflict-zones-recover-lessons.html Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 12:40:01 EST news628950854 A Special Issue of the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology co-edited by Yale School of Public Health Associate Professor Dr. Nicole Deziel, Ph.D., presents the latest research on exposure, health, and justice issues surrounding chemical contamination in drinking water. This Special Issue includes 17 articles authored by experts from around the globe and across multiple disciplines including environmental engineering, hydrology, exposure science, epidemiology, toxicology, and climate science. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-critical-chemical-contamination.html Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 12:39:25 EST news628951159 As the austral summer draws to a close, we are preparing to fly over the Southern Alps to survey glaciers. This annual flight supports the longest scientific study of Aotearoa New Zealand's icescapes—and it shows that all of our glaciers have retreated since 1978. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-frozen-reveal-nz-glaciers-extinct.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 11:30:01 EST news628945566 Eighty-five percent of the Earth's air resides in the lowest layer of its atmosphere, or troposphere. Yet, major gaps remain in our understanding of the atmospheric chemistry that drives changes in the troposphere's composition. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-unprecedented-view-aerosol-formation-earth.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 11:15:53 EST news628946148 Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, North and South America, Europe—and the Maritime Continent. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-heard-maritime-continent-australia-channels.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 11:10:01 EST news628943431 One in 50 people living in two dozen coastal cities in the United States could experience significant flooding by 2050, according to Virginia Tech-led research. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-thousands-coastal-residents.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 11:00:01 EST news628942548 Changes in human activity may have led to atmospheric CO2 levels declining in the 16th century, due to large-scale land use changes in the Americas during New World-Old World contact between 1450 and 1700 CE, suggests a Nature Communications paper. The findings are based on data from an Antarctic ice core, dated up to about 500 years old. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-ice-cores-16th-century-pandemics.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 10:59:10 EST news628945149 Morocco experienced record heat this winter, including the hottest January since measurements began, the country's meteorological department told AFP, placing the blame on climate change. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-morocco-winter-meteorologists.html Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 10:23:42 EST news628943017 New York has begun rolling out a large-scale organic waste collection program, but the landmark initiative has upset many of the local groups that previously handled composting, who say they now face critical funding cuts. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-york-composting-ambitious-controversial.html Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 04:18:36 EST news628921111 It may have deadly animals and wild weather, but Palm Cove in Australia's northeast has been named the world's best beach, beating rivals in Hawaii, Greece and Fiji. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-crocs-cyclones-magnificent-melaleucas-aussie.html Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 04:15:15 EST news628920912 A series of atmospheric rivers drenched California in February, with record amounts of rainfall and hurricane-force winds sweeping across parts of the state. At one point, weather agencies posted flood watches for nearly the entirety of California's coast. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission captured data on some of the flooding near the community of Manchester, roughly 105 miles (169 kilometers) north of San Francisco. The satellite is a collaboration between NASA and the French space agency, CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales). https://phys.org/news/2024-03-satellite-coastal-california-storms.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 17:12:04 EST news628881123 Green walls can strip pollution from the air—and some plants do it better than others, according to new research from the University of Surrey. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-explores-mixtures-species-green-walls.html Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:39:03 EST news628879141 A small patch of ice among bare rock is all that remains of Venezuela's last glacier, which the government hopes to restore to its former glory using a geothermal blanket. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-icy-reception-venezuela-glacier.html Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:40:47 EST news628875643 The gnarled icon of the Old West—ominously featured in movies as gunslingers square off on dusty streets and townsfolk shake behind curtained windows—rolled in over the weekend and kept rolling until blanketing some homes and streets in suburban Salt Lake City. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-iconic-west-tumbleweeds-blanket-suburban.html Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:39:38 EST news628875573 Take a deep breath. Pay attention to how air moves from your nose to your throat before filling your lungs with oxygen. As you exhale your breath, a mix of oxygen and carbon dioxide leaves your nose and mouth. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-river-global-carbon.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:35:04 EST news628875301 Will ice floating in the Arctic Ocean move faster or slower over the coming decades? The answer to this question will tell us whether marine transportation can be expected to get more or less hazardous. It might also have important implications for the rate of ice cover loss, which is hugely consequential for Northern Indigenous communities, ecosystems, and the global climate system. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-decades-arctic-sea-ice-faster.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:20:03 EST news628874401 Climate interventions do not lead to more climate action among Dutch, but they do raise awareness about climate change. That can be derived from the Climate Intervention Webapp, a database that has mapped the most effective strategies for promoting climate beliefs and actions for more than 60 countries. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-dutch-people-climate-beliefs-easily.html Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 14:25:03 EST news628871101 How do you map something that is both invisible and odorless? Researchers at the University of Oslo have trained drones to find the best places to measure greenhouse gases on their own. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-drones-greenhouse-gas-sources.html Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:52:31 EST news628869148 The sinking of a bulk carrier off Yemen after a Huthi missile attack poses grave environmental risks as thousands of tonnes of fertilizer threaten to spill into the Red Sea, officials and experts warn. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-yemen-environmental-disaster-sunken-ship.html Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:19:31 EST news628867165 Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently combined satellite data, field observations, and sophisticated numerical modeling to paint a picture of how 22.45 million square kilometers of the Arctic will change over the next 80 years. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-arctic-river-environment.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:00:04 EST news628866001 In the four years since the Black Summer bushfires, Australia has become more focused on how best to prepare for, fight and recover from these traumatic events. But one issue has largely flown under the radar: how the emissions produced by bushfires are measured and reported. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-dangerously-world-grim-reality-australia.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:41:04 EST news628864861 A key solution for carbon capture and storage is under our feet. We're investigating the interactions between plants, microbes, and geological features in soil with the goal of using healthy soil ecosystems to pull carbon from the atmosphere and stash it underground for a long time, at a low cost. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-video-stashing-carbon-haul-healthy.html Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:40:01 EST news628864642 Global warming caused by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases is already affecting our lives. Scorching summers, more intense heat waves, longer drought periods, more extended floods, and wilder wildfires are consequences linked to this warming. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-global-frequency-intensity-cold.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:39:04 EST news628864741 In the weeks following the devastating 2021 Marshall Fire, researchers from CU Boulder sifted through burned and unburned areas to test soils for toxic metals. Today, they report that although concentrations of toxic metals were somewhat higher on burned properties than unburned ones, those concentrations were lower than levels of concern for human health. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-soil-toxic-minor-marshall-boulder.html Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:38:33 EST news628864702 The concept of the metropolitan area is pivotal in studying innovation economics and ecological conservation. Recent scholarly perspectives challenge the traditional view of urban development as merely spatial expansion. Instead, they highlight the role of innovative agglomeration, redefining the essence of urban studies. This shift calls for a new paradigm: the eco-metropolis model. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-revolutionizing-urban-landscapes-eco-metropolis.html Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:14:03 EST news628863241