This study uses forest inventory data from over 25,000 plots to show that the prevalence of tree pests is jointly controlled by the diversity and phylogenetic composition of forests.
A new computer platform called TCL 3.0 represents a breakthrough in how scientists measure and monitor changes in tiger habitat and provides a framework for monitoring other wildlife species across the globe.
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology discovered that sea cucumbers — sediment-eating organisms that function like autonomous vacuum cleaners of the ocean floor — play an enormous role in protecting coral from disease. The problem is, they've been overharvested for more than 100 years, and they're now rare.
Researchers have shown that inedible species of butterfly that mimic each others’ colour patterns have also evolved similar flight behaviours to warn predators and avoid being eaten.
Among the vast expanse of Antarctica lies the Thwaites Glacier, the world’s widest glacier measuring about 80 miles on the western edge of the continent.
Eight new Pacific bee species and new insights into Fijian bird behaviour on Viti Levu Island have been described in new scientific studies led by Flinders University.
Deforestation, a critical consequence of human activity, has garnered significant attention due to its impact on environmental sustainability, biodiversity and climate change.
UNC Wilmington environmental sciences assistant professor Joni “Osku“ Backstrom and Mark Wilde-Ramsing, underwater archaeologist and former director of the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology, have traversed the lower Cape Fear and Brunswick rivers searching for archaeological evidence of the rice fields once situated along the rivers’ banks.
An interdisciplinary team of experts from the University of Notre Dame, in collaboration with the University of Maryland and University of Utah, have found a way to use artificial intelligence to analyze a household’s passive design characteristics and predict its energy expenses with more than 74 percent accuracy. By combining their findings with demographic data including poverty levels, the researchers have created a comprehensive model for predicting energy burden across 1,402 census tracts and nearly 300,000 households in Chicago.
Researchers have made significant strides in the field of environmental pollution mitigation by enhancing the effectiveness of vanadium-based catalysts through nitrogen-doped biomass carbon for the degradation of furan at lower temperatures. This innovative approach not only offers a more efficient means of breaking down harmful pollutants but also represents a significant step towards more sustainable and cost-effective environmental protection measures.
Copper smelting, a critical process in metal production, often leads to the generation of slag containing valuable metals. Traditionally, this slag has been discarded, causing environmental issues and resource loss. A recent study introduce a method for recovering copper, lead, and zinc from copper smelting slag, addressing both environmental concerns and resource recovery.
Utilization of crude glycerol generated as a by-product from biodiesel production process, for the production of high value-added products, represents an opportunity to overcome the negative impact of low glycerol prices in the biodiesel industry. In the present investigation, alternative ways of valorization of crude glycerol have been provided, by using this renewable material as substrate by natural yeasts of the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) species Yarrowia lipolytica.
As California and the west coast stare down yet another major winter storm, the threat of devastating flooding and mudslides is even more urgent. Drew Ellis, a climate science and meteorology expert at Virginia Tech, explains what causes these conditions.
Undersea anchors of ice that help prevent Antarctica’s land ice from slipping into the ocean are shrinking at more than twice the rate compared with 50 years ago, research shows.
Worsening human-induced climate change may have effects beyond the widely reported rising sea levels, higher temperatures, and impacts on food supply and migration – and may also extend to influencing mental distress among high schoolers in the United States.
It has been long assumed that Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats was formed as its ancient namesake lake dried up 13,000 years ago. But new research from the University of Utah has gutted that narrative, determining these crusts did not form until several thousand years after Lake Bonneville disappeared, which could have important implications for managing this feature that has been shrinking for decades to the dismay of the racing community and others who revere the saline pan 100 miles west of Salt Lake City. Relying on radiocarbon analysis of pollen found in salt cores, the study concludes the salt began accumulating between 5,400 and 3,500 years ago, demonstrating how this geological feature is not a permanent fixture on the landscape.
A study of more than 60,000 specimens of snakes and lizards worldwide reveals that snakes stand out alone in the evolution of reptiles. The team of scientists discovered that snakes evolved incredibly fast, as their ancestors shed limbs and adapted on multiple levels to live and spread out into thousands of species of snakes over 66 million years, up to today.
RUDN University ecologists and a professor from the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) have shown that the combustion of landfill gas in flares continues to pose a danger to the health of the environment and humans. Moreover, it is likely that the situation only gets worse after flaring
Researchers evaluated the prevalence, concentration and tissue distribution of essential and non-essential trace elements, including heavy metal toxicants in tissue (blubber, kidney, liver, skeletal muscle, skin) and fecal samples. Findings reveal how toxicant levels relate to their sex, breed, age and other demographic factors.
Historically "redlined" areas – neighborhoods with primarily Black or immigrant communities – are exposed to more air pollution than other urban neighborhoods. According to research published in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology, the cause could relate to nearby highways or industrial parks.
Tuna can build up high levels of methylmercury from feeding on contaminated prey. Despite efforts to reduce mercury emissions, researchers report in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters that levels in tuna appear to be unchanged.
In a world where human activities have left an indelible mark on ecosystems, the preservation of species and natural landscapes has become an urgent global concern.
Until recently, Orthacanthus gracilis could have been considered the “John Smith” of prehistoric shark names, given how common it was. Three different species of sharks from the late Paleozoic Era – about 310 million years ago – were mistakenly given that same name, causing lots of grief to paleontologists who studied and wrote about the sharks through the years and had trouble keeping them apart.
An innovative and more efficient way to produce fumaric acid that not only reduces carbon dioxide emissions, but also reuses waste resources to make biodegradable plastics.
A team at the University of Seville has studied trends in the flowering date of around fifty plant species over the last 35 years in Doñana National Park.
In a new study, researchers have developed a method for capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, powered by clean and relatively inexpensive geothermal energy.
Prof. Dr. Santi Pailoplee, Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, in collaboration with the Faculty of Archaeology, Silpakorn University, discovered a large number of rocks and rock formations on Khao Phanom Rung-Plai Bat, Chaloem Phra Kiat District, Buriram Province, which geologically signify human activity in the past, not natural formation.
Our planet’s lithosphere is broken into several tectonic plates. Their configuration is ever-shifting, as supercontinents are assembled and broken up, and oceans form, grow, and then start to close in what is known as the Wilson cycle.
Africa's forested areas – an estimated 14 % of the global forest area – are continuing to decline at an increasing rate – mostly because of human activities to convert forest land for economic purposes.
A modeling analysis led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory gives the first detailed look at how geothermal energy can relieve the electric power system and reduce carbon emissions if widely implemented across the United States within the next few decades.
In a study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, WashU researchers discovered that a common mineral called goethite — an iron-rich mineral that is abundant in soils that cover the Earth — tends to incorporate trace metals into its structure over time, binding the metals in such a way that it locks them out of circulation.
Wetlands are Earth’s largest natural source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is about 30 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere. A research team analyzed wetland methane emissions data across the entire Boreal-Arctic region and found that these emissions have increased approximately nine percent since 2002.
Irvine, Calif., Feb. 15, 2024 – Throughout human history, technologies have been used to make peoples’ lives richer and more comfortable, but they have also contributed to a global crisis threatening Earth’s climate, ecosystems and even our own survival.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced a call for nominations for the 2025 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award, one of the longest running and most prestigious science and technology awards given by the U.S. government.
Global warming may be interacting with regional rainfall and deforestation to accelerate forest loss in the Amazon, pushing it towards partial or total collapse.
The Amazon rainforest could approach a tipping point, which could lead to a large-scale collapse with serious implications for the global climate system.
The Wildlife Conservation Society was honored to be invited to participate in a high-level event today hosted by His Excellency Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, the President of the Republic of Mozambique, at Maputo National Park.
New research from Binghamton University, State University of New York might point the way to cooling steamy cities. A Binghamton professor has received a grant for his work pertaining to the urban heat island effect in cities.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have used new generative AI techniques to propose new metal-organic framework materials that could offer enhanced abilities to capture carbon