Earth News - Earth Science News, Earth Science, Climate Change https://phys.org/earth-news/ en-us Earth science research, climate change, and global warming. The latest news and updates from Phys.org Understanding wind and water at the equator are key to more accurate future climate projections: Study 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 Researchers provide unprecedented view into aerosol formation in Earth's lower atmosphere 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 Study suggests sinking land increases risk for thousands of coastal residents by 2050 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 Ice cores suggest 16th-century pandemics may have caused declines in atmospheric CO₂ 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 How does a river breathe? The answer could lead to a better understanding of the global carbon cycle 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 After decades of Arctic sea ice getting faster, models suggest a dramatic reversal is coming 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 We know the Arctic is warming—what will changing river flows do to its environment? 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 Soil toxic levels mostly minor after Marshall Fire in Boulder, Colorado 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 Arctic could become 'ice-free' within a decade, say scientists The Arctic could see summer days with practically no sea ice as early as the next couple of years, according to a new study out of the University of Colorado Boulder. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-arctic-ice-free-decade-scientists.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 11:00:01 EST news628851621 Opinion: Why hosting an Olympics competition in Tahiti is a really bad idea Last year, the International Olympic Committee announced that the South Pacific island of Tahiti will host the two-day surfing competition for the 2024 Paris Summer Games. The site in question, Teahupo'o, is revered among surfers for the legendary speed and ferocity of its waves; it is equally venerated by locals for the abundant food it provides, the pristine clarity of the lagoon where families swim and its vibrant reefs. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-opinion-hosting-olympics-competition-tahiti.html Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 09:51:30 EST news628854685 New 'digital twin' Earth technology could help predict water-based natural disasters before they strike The water cycle looks simple in theory—but human impacts, climate change, and complicated geography mean that in practice, floods and droughts remain hard to predict. To model water on Earth, you need incredibly high-resolution data across an immense expanse, and you need modeling sophisticated enough to account for everything from snowcaps on mountains to soil moisture in valleys. Now, scientists have made a tremendous step forward by building the most detailed models created to date. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-digital-twin-earth-technology-based.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 05 Mar 2024 05:00:08 EST news628837205 Geologists explore the hidden history of Colorado's Spanish Peaks If you've driven the mostly flat stretch of I-25 in Colorado from Pueblo to Trinidad, you've seen them: the Spanish Peaks, twin mountains that soar into the sky out of nowhere, reaching altitudes of 13,628 and 12,701 feet above sea level. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-geologists-explore-hidden-history-colorado.html Earth Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 17:51:04 EST news628797062 Antarctica's coasts are becoming less icy, researchers find An increase in pockets of open water in Antarctica's sea ice (polynyas) may mean coastal plants and animals could one day establish on the continent, University of Otago-led research suggests. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-antarctica-coasts-icy.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 04 Mar 2024 15:00:01 EST news628764602 Research finds evidence that reductions in sea ice are helping tree lines spread north A team of researchers from Alaska Pacific University, the University of Alaska Anchorage and, Northern Arizona University has found evidence that reductions in sea ice in the Arctic are helping white spruce trees move north and up mountainsides. In their study, published in the journal Science, the group compared tree-line spread in areas with reductions in sea ice and areas where little sea ice reduction has occurred. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-evidence-reductions-sea-ice-tree.html Environment Mon, 04 Mar 2024 12:10:01 EST news628775398 New analysis shows that the global freshwater cycle has shifted far beyond pre-industrial conditions A new analysis of freshwater resources across the globe shows that the updated planetary boundary for freshwater change was surpassed by the mid-twentieth century. In other words, for the past century, humans have been pushing the Earth's freshwater system far beyond the stable conditions that prevailed before industrialization. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-analysis-global-freshwater-shifted-pre.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 04 Mar 2024 09:52:03 EST news628768321 Mantle convection linked to seaway closure that transformed Earth's oceanographic circulation patterns Continental drift is a concept familiar to many, referencing the movement of Earth's continents due to shifting tectonic plates over millions of years, splitting one globe-spanning supercontinent into the configuration we see today. Alongside this there have been smaller land mass movements that have opened seaways, affecting ocean circulation patterns and climate. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-mantle-convection-linked-seaway-closure.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 04 Mar 2024 09:30:01 EST news628766254 Hidden 'star' sand dune mystery solved by ancient find Scientists have solved the mysterious absence of star-shaped dunes from Earth's geological history for the first time, dating one back thousands of years. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-hidden-star-sand-dune-mystery.html Earth Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 08:49:09 EST news628764535 Can volcanic super eruptions lead to major cooling? Study suggests no New research suggests that sunlight-blocking particles from an extreme eruption would not cool surface temperatures on Earth as severely as previously estimated. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-volcanic-super-eruptions-major-cooling.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 04 Mar 2024 08:47:35 EST news628764440 New study sheds light on 2020 extreme weather event that brought fires and snow to western US The same weather system that led to the spread of the devastating Labor Day wildfires in 2020 brought record-breaking cold and early-season snowfall to parts of the Rocky Mountains. Now, new research from Portland State is shedding light on the meteorology behind what happened and the impacts of such an extreme weather event. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-extreme-weather-event-brought-western.html Environment Sat, 02 Mar 2024 08:59:23 EST news628592355 In wake of powerful cyclone, remarkable recovery of Pacific island's forests After one of the most intense cyclones in world history tore through the Pacific island of Tanna in Vanuatu, new research led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa showed the resilience of the island's forests. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-powerful-cyclone-remarkable-recovery-pacific.html Environment Sat, 02 Mar 2024 08:58:23 EST news628592295 'Very worried': Scientists fret as Antarctic sea ice dwindles Sea ice levels in Antarctica have registered historic lows for three consecutive years, portending grave consequences for life on Earth as we know it. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-scientists-fret-antarctic-sea-ice.html Environment Sat, 02 Mar 2024 08:52:03 EST news628591917 Study shows glacier shrinkage is causing a 'green transition' Glacier-fed streams are undergoing a process of profound change, according to EPFL and Charles University scientists in a paper appearing in Nature Geoscience today. This conclusion is based on the expeditions to the world's major mountain ranges by members of the Vanishing Glaciers project. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-glacier-shrinkage-green-transition.html Earth Sciences Environment Fri, 01 Mar 2024 08:07:03 EST news628502821 Researchers use GPS-tracked icebergs in novel study to improve climate models Over the last four decades, warming climate and ocean temperatures have rapidly altered the Greenland Ice Sheet, creating concern for marine ecosystems and weather patterns worldwide. The environment has challenged scientists in their attempts to measure how water moves around and melts the ice sheet because equipment can be destroyed by icebergs floating near the glaciers. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-gps-tracked-icebergs-climate.html Earth Sciences Environment Fri, 01 Mar 2024 06:59:03 EST news628498741 Mercury rising: Study sheds new light on ancient volcanoes' environmental impact Massive volcanic events in Earth's history that released large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere frequently correlate with periods of severe environmental change and mass extinctions. A new method to estimate how much and how rapidly carbon was released by the volcanoes could improve our understanding of the climate response, according to an international team led by researchers from Penn State and the University of Oxford. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-mercury-ancient-volcanoes-environmental-impact.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 29 Feb 2024 15:56:07 EST news628444559 Study shows climate change disrupts seasonal flow of rivers Climate change is disrupting the seasonal flow of rivers in the far northern latitudes of America, Russia and Europe and is posing a threat to water security and ecosystems, according to research published in Science. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-climate-disrupts-seasonal-rivers.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 29 Feb 2024 14:00:01 EST news628421280 Wildfire smoke disproportionately affects California's Indigenous communities, new research shows Researchers using a novel method of measuring long-term wildfire smoke exposure have found that Indigenous communities in California are exposed to disproportionate amounts of dangerous particulate matter—sometimes far beyond what has been previously known. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-wildfire-disproportionately-affects-california-indigenous.html Environment Thu, 29 Feb 2024 12:27:05 EST news628432022 2023–24 El Niño likely to cause record-breaking average temperatures in some areas Several areas of the globe—including the Bay of Bengal, the Philippines, and the Caribbean Sea—are likely to experience record-breaking average surface air temperatures in the year period up to June 2024 as a result of the ongoing El Niño phenomenon. The modeling results, published in Scientific Reports, also suggest that there is an estimated 90% chance of record-breaking global mean surface temperatures occurring over the same period under a moderate or strong El Niño scenario. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-el-nio-average-temperatures-areas.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 29 Feb 2024 11:00:01 EST news628421291 Scientists create new idea on how to hack a warming planet: drying the upper atmosphere Government scientists have cooked up a new concept for how to potentially cool an overheating Earth: Fiddle with the upper atmosphere to make it a bit drier. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-scientists-idea-hack-planet-drying.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 29 Feb 2024 04:40:59 EST news628404053 Better air quality is linked to reduced suicide rates, study finds Researchers in the United States and China have discovered a curious link between air pollution and suicide rates that prompts us to reconsider how to approach this issue. China's efforts to reduce air pollution have prevented 46,000 suicide deaths in the country over just five years, the researchers estimate. The team used weather conditions to tease apart confounding factors affecting pollution and suicide rates, arriving at what they consider to be a truly causal connection. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-air-quality-linked-suicide.html Environment Wed, 28 Feb 2024 16:06:05 EST news628358762 An 80-mph speed record for glacier fracture helps reveal the physics of ice sheet collapse There's enough water frozen in Greenland and Antarctic glaciers that if they melted, global seas would rise by many feet. What will happen to these glaciers over the coming decades is the biggest unknown in the future of rising seas, partly because glacier fracture physics is not yet fully understood. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-mph-glacier-fracture-reveal-physics.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 28 Feb 2024 15:27:35 EST news628356453