Feature Channels: Environmental Science

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The following articles are freely available online from Physics Today (www.physicstoday.org), the world's most influential and closely followed magazine devoted to physics and the physical science community.

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Restoring oyster reefs is not an easy task, but by digging deep and examining centuries-old reefs, marine restoration professionals may stand a better chance at bringing oysters back, said a new Cornell University and Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) study published in the August issue of the Journal of Shellfish Research.

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Forest Rangers from Gunung Leuser National Park and WCS– Indonesia Program’s SMART (Spatial Management and Reporting Tool) Patrol Unit announced the arrest of six bird poachers in Tegapan Village in Gunung Leuser National Park (GLNP), Stabat Area, Sumatera, in Indonesia.

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Farmington Hills, MI - Every day we are impacted by recycled materials. We dry our hands with recycled paper towels, drink our coffee from recycled paper cups, and even drink our water from recycled plastic bottles. But what about building materials?

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Droughts and heat waves are happening simultaneously with much greater frequency than in the past, according to research by climate experts at the University of California, Irvine. Their findings appear today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Columbia engineers have developed a new approach, opposite to climate models, to correct inaccuracies using a high-resolution atmospheric model that more precisely resolves clouds and convection and parameterizes the feedback between convection and atmospheric circulation. The new simulation strategy paves the way for better understanding of the water and carbon cycles in the Amazon, enabling researchers to learn more about the role of deforestation and climate change on the forest.” (PNAS Online Early Edition 8/31)

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Large volcanic eruptions inject considerable amounts of sulphur in the stratosphere which, once converted into aerosols, block sun rays and tend to cool the surface of the Earth down for several years. An international team of researchers has just developed a method, published in Nature Geoscience, to accurately measure and simulate the induced drop in temperature.

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Turning carbon dioxide from certain power plants into a more valuable chemical would reduce emissions while creating a revenue return. Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh derived a metal-free catalyst that does the trick without the need for expensive, extreme conditions.

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Berkeley Lab researchers have incorporated molecules of porphyrin CO2 catalysts into the sponge-like crystals of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) to create a molecular system that not only absorbs carbon dioxide, but also selectively reduces it to CO, a primary building block for a wide range of chemical products.

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No matter where you live, soils protect the natural environment around you

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The milkweed plants growing in 40 cube-shaped chambers on a hilltop at the University of Michigan Biological Station provide a glimpse into the future that allows researchers to ask a question: How will monarch butterflies fare?

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Grenada, Spain's climate and layout is like that of many cities in the Mediterranean area, which has the highest occurrence of pollen allergies in the world. The researchers hope their efforts will lead to fantastic urban green spaces that don’t cause allergic reactions for 30% of the city’s population.

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Targeted punishments could provide a path to international climate change cooperation, new research in game theory has found.

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In early August, biologist Peter Ward returned from the South Pacific with news that he encountered an old friend, one he hadn’t seen in over three decades. The University of Washington professor had seen what he considers one of the world’s rarest animals, a remote encounter that may become even more infrequent if illegal fishing practices continue.

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With the ongoing extreme drought in California posing a threat to the state’s levee systems, there is an urgent need to invest in research regarding the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure under extreme climatic events. Mississippi State University Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Farshid Vahedifard and his coauthors warn that current drought conditions pose “a great risk to an already endangered levee system” in a letter published Aug. 21 in Science magazine.

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Transmission lines that funnel power from hydroelectric dams and wind turbines across Eastern Washington affect greater sage grouse habitat by isolating fragile populations and limiting movement, a new study finds.

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A 20-year plan to dramatically reduce phosphorus levels of agricultural water entering the Florida Everglades is working.

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/PRNewswire/ -- Californians are overwhelmingly interested in climate change and how it will affect their state as evidenced by the SOLD OUT crowd of more than 600 registered participants at the "California Climate Change Symposium 2015: Using Climate Science to Plan for a Resilient Future," August 24-25 at the Sacramento Convention Center. At the two-day symposium, co-hosted by the California Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate scientists and policy-makers will share cutting-edge research addressing the impacts of climate change.

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Graphene could lead to greener more fuel efficient cars in the future by converting heat into electricity.

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Changing climate conditions have caused dramatic changes in groundwater levels. This study aimed at understanding the changes in soil wetting and drying that occur as snow melts in mountainous, snow-packed regions. The study examined subsurface water content levels in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. In these regions, soils do not freeze during the winter and remain wet beneath the snowpack.

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A booming economy and population led China to emerge in 2006 as the global leader in fossil-fuel carbon emissions, a distinction it still maintains. But exactly how much carbon China releases has been a topic of debate, with recent estimates varying by as much as 15 percent.

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Post-doctoral Researcher Yun-Ya Yang, working with Associate Professor Gurpal Toor, studied areas along rural and urban parts of the Alafia River, in Hillsborough County, near Tampa. They found 17 pharmaceuticals. But they say these types of chemicals are not confined to the Alafia River or urban-area rivers in Florida.

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Edited by Riley E. Dunlap and Robert J. Brulle, the forthcoming book, Climate Change and Society: Sociological Perspectives, breaks new theoretical and empirical ground by presenting climate change as a thoroughly social phenomenon, embedded in behaviors, institutions, and cultural practices.

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Hurricane season started June 1, and Broward College has several experts available to discuss issues surrounding hurricane preparation and awareness, including:

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Researchers at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory have found that a contaminated mixture called Aroclor 1268 has spread beyond a former chemical plant, now a Superfund site, near Brunswick.

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Paper shows how to directly harness the atmosphere’s elephantine memory to produce temperature forecasts that are somewhat more accurate than conventional numerical computer models. This new method shows that the so-called pause in global warming since 1998 can be well explained with the help of historical atmospheric data.

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Researchers from the University of California, Irvine and NASA have uncovered a remarkably strong link between high wildfire risk in the Amazon basin and the devastating hurricanes that ravage North Atlantic shorelines. The climate scientists’ findings appear in the journal Geophysical Research Letters near the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s calamitous August 2005 landfall at New Orleans.

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Indiana University paleobotanist David Dilcher and colleagues in Europe have identified a 125 million- to 130 million-year-old freshwater plant as one of earliest flowering plants on Earth.

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By combining information about power plant operation with real-time air quality predictions, researchers have created a new capability to minimize the human health effects of air pollution resulting from electric power generating facilities.

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Scientists designed a new, on-site method for studying potential impacts rising sea levels can have on vital wetlands, said a researcher who led a study publishing Aug. 17 describing the modifiable apparatuses.

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Global Temperature Report: July 2015

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Native North Americans have long adorned themselves and their homes with fragrant sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata), a native plant used in traditional medicine, to repel biting insects, and mosquitoes in particular. Now, researchers report that they have identified the compounds in sweetgrass that keep these bugs at bay. The team will describe their approach at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

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The use of solar energy in the U.S. is growing, but panels on rooftops are still a rare sight. They cost thousands of dollars, and homeowners don’t recoup costs for years. But scientists may have a solution. At the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, they report the development of a unique, “green” antenna that could potentially double efficiencies of certain solar cells and make them more affordable.

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Highly efficient, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) could slash the world’s electricity consumption. They are already sold in stores, but are expensive, and many of them give off “harsh” light. But researchers will report today that they have developed a less expensive, more sustainable white LED with a warm glow. The scientists will discuss their research at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

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Finding a technology to shift carbon dioxide (CO2), the most abundant anthropogenic greenhouse gas, from a climate change problem to a valuable commodity has long been a dream. Now, a team of chemists says they have developed a technology to economically convert atmospheric CO2 directly into highly valued carbon nanofibers for industrial and consumer products. They will present the research at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

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Sunlight can be brutal. It wears down even the strongest structures, including rooftops and naval ships, and it heats up metal slides and bleachers until they’re too hot to use. To fend off damage and heat, scientists have developed an environmentally friendly paint out of glass that bounces sunlight off metal surfaces — keeping them cool and durable. The researchers present their work at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

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In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers have determined that natural sunlight triggers the release of smog-forming nitrogen oxide compounds from the grime that typically coats buildings, statues and other outdoor surfaces in urban areas. The finding confirms previous laboratory work using simulated sunlight and upends the long-held notion that nitrates in urban grime are “locked” in place. The scientists will present their findings at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

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Cross contamination in commercial processing facilities that prepare spinach and other leafy greens for the market can make people sick. But researchers are reporting a new, easy-to-implement method that could eliminate or reduce such incidences. The scientists will present their work at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

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DePaul University faculty experts are available to provide insight and commentary on the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina from a variety of angles including climate change, race relations and social enterprise.

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The following experts are available to discuss a variety of topics related to the mine waste spill that has impacted the Animas River in southwestern Colorado. These experts are available for media interviews; this list is not intended to serve as public contact information. For more information or to contact a Colorado State University expert on any of the following topics, call the communications coordinator listed for each expert.

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Researchers have shown that the greenhouse gas appears in streams by way of two different sources — either as a direct pipeline for groundwater and carbon-rich soils, or from aquatic organisms releasing the gas through respiration and natural decay.

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A new book provides a road map for organizations and corporations to improve their environmental sustainability programs through better communication.

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If it’s cool you want, look no further than the University of California, Irvine. For the second year in a row, the campus is No. 1 in Sierra magazine’s annual “Cool Schools” ranking of the nation’s greenest colleges. It’s the first time any university has repeated a No. 1 appearance and the sixth year UCI has placed among the top 10.

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NSU researchers find that current efforts to reduce lionfish populations aren't enough - much more must be done.

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The time since the introduction of a non-native marine species best explains its global range, according to new research by an international team of scientists led by University of Georgia ecologist James E. Byers. The study also contains a warning: The vast majority of marine invaders have not yet finished spreading.

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Wind energy pricing is at an all-time low, according to a new report released by the U.S. Department of Energy and prepared by Berkeley Lab. The prices offered by wind projects to utility purchasers averaged under 2.5¢/kWh for projects negotiating contracts in 2014, spurring demand for wind energy.

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A newly released study from WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) offers hope of conservation to the world’s low-profile and more unloved members of the animal kingdom. The study, which appears in the international conservation journal, Oryx, demonstrates that a “Wisdom of Crowds” method can successfully be used to determine the conservation status of species when more expensive standard field methods are not feasible.