At least sixteen species of earthworms are now found in Vermont and elsewhere in New England. All are exotic and many are invasive. As they spread, they devour organic matter, disrupting forests and releasing carbon dioxide. But they also store carbon deep in the soil. So, do the worms, on balance, slow or accelerate climate change? Vermont researchers are on the case.
When early-foraging ant species are displaced by later-foraging ant species due to climate change, early blooming plant species suffer. The presence of effective dispersers is as important as abiotic requirements in shaping a plant's niche.
Scientists have fingerprinted a distinctive atmospheric wave pattern high above the Northern Hemisphere that can foreshadow the emergence of summertime heat waves in the United States more than two weeks in advance. The new research, led by scientists at NCAR, could potentially enable forecasts of the likelihood of U.S. heat waves 15-20 days out, giving society more time to prepare for these often-deadly events.
With ecological viability threatened, world resources draining and population burgeoning, the end is nigh. Or not, says Lawrence M. Cathles, Cornell professor of earth and atmospheric sciences in his article, “Future Rx: Optimism, Preparation, Acceptance of Risk,” in a special publication of The Journal of the Geological Society.
For the first time ever, scientists have documented a widespread extinction of bees that occurred 65 million years ago, concurrent with the massive event that wiped out land dinosaurs and many flowering plants. Their findings, published this week in the journal PLOS ONE, could shed light on the current decline in bee species.
Nitrogen and phosphorus export must be reduced via interdisciplinary cooperation
New discoveries, presented at the AVS Meeting in Long Beach, Calif., could impact applications ranging from artificial snowmaking to global climate models.
What's the best way to capture photovoltaic energy where snowfall is measured in feet?
A new study co-authored by Boston University Professor of Earth & Environment Ranga Myneni suggests the southern portion of the Amazon rainforest is at a much higher risk of dieback due to climate change than projections made in the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). If severe enough, the loss of rainforest could cause the release of large volumes of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It could also disrupt plant and animal communities in one of the regions of highest biodiversity in the world.
Almost a year after Hurricane Sandy, parts of New York and New Jersey are still recovering from billions of dollars in flood damage. Tufts University geologist Andrew Kemp sees the possibility of damage from storms smaller than Sandy in the future.
When it comes to economic growth and environmental impacts, it can seem like Newton’s third law of motion is the rule — for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction — and that in most cases, the economy prospers and the environment suffers.
An ambitious new study that includes Lisa Levin of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego describes the full chain of events by which ocean biogeochemical changes triggered by manmade greenhouse gas emissions may cascade through marine habitats and organisms, penetrating to the deep ocean and eventually influencing humans.
Paying extra bucks to “go green” in a hybrid car may pay off in self-esteem and image for older drivers, as well as give a healthy boost to the environment, according to a Baylor University study.
A new paper published in the journal Climate Dynamics suggests that ‘unpredictable climate variability’ behaves in a more predictable way than previously assumed. The paper’s authors, Marcia Wyatt and Judith Curry, point to the so-called ‘stadium-wave’ signal that propagates like the cheer at sporting events whereby sections of sports fans seated in a stadium stand and sit as a ‘wave’ propagates through the audience.
A study finds that hollow, land-based lava pillars in Iceland likely formed in a surprising reaction where lava met water without an explosion. Such formations are common deep under the ocean, but have not been described on land, the lead researcher says.
In a stroke of good luck, Drexel's Dr. Tracy Quirk captured detailed measurements of water level and salinity at a range of coastal wetland sites, even as they were overtaken by Hurricane Sandy. After the storm, she began working on an intensive year-long project, funded by the National Science Foundation, to evaluate ecosystem processes in New Jersey’s salt marshes before, during, and for a year following Hurricane Sandy. Quirk is beginning to analyze findings from the study now.
A new study of an April 2011 tornado outbreak apparently affirms some new theories about factors that might enhance tornado development.
September temperatures (preliminary)
Results of survey of University of Florida students gauging perceptions, level of fear re: climate change.
Examining a long-lived forest, researchers have measured mortality of Black Spruce trees in the northern forests of North America, and have found the dead trees aren’t being replaced by new ones. The result suggests trees might be storing more carbon than currently estimated.
Water vapor changes in the stratosphere contribute to warmer temperatures and likely play an important role in the evolution of Earth’s climate, says a research team led by a Texas A&M University professor.
Geologists found that the likelihood that tungsten will seep into an aquifer's groundwater depends on the groundwater's pH level, the amount of oxygen in the aquifer and the number of oxidized particles in the water and sediment.
University of Rhode Island entomologists reached a milestone in their efforts to control the invasive weed swallow-wort this month with the first release of a biological agent to fight the pest.
Certain anabolic steroids and pharmaceutical products last longer in the environment than previously known, according to a new study led by the University of Iowa. The researchers found that the steroid trenbolone acetate, along with some other pharmaceutical products, never fully degrade in the environment, and in fact can partially regenerate themselves. Results published online in the journal Science Express.
University of Virginia researchers have found that the Marcellus Shale geological formation in Pennsylvania has the potential to store roughly 50 percent of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions produced from stationary sources between 2018 and 2030.
An independent scientific review panel has concluded that the mass stranding of approximately 100 melon-headed whales in the Loza Lagoon system in northwest Madagascar in 2008 was primarily triggered by acoustic stimuli, more specifically, a multi-beam echosounder system operated by a survey vessel contracted by ExxonMobil Exploration and Production (Northern Madagascar) Limited.
There is a current superstar species of blue-green algae that, through its powers of photosynthesis and carbon dioxide fixation, or uptake, can produce ethanol, hydrogen, butanol, isobutanol and potentially biodiesel. Now that’s some five-tool player.
Sixteen Washington University in St. Louis students traveled to Australia to learn about that country's energy and environmental practices at coal mines, solar arrays, algae ponds and power plants.
A new adsorbent for removing emerging contaminants from wastewater that is more effective, reusable and ecco-friendly, has been developed by researchers at Temple University.
Policymakers need to rethink the idea of promoting biofuels to protect the climate because the methods used to justify such policies are inherently flawed, according to a University of Michigan energy researcher.
Approximately 30 million pounds of fumigant pesticides are used each year on soil that yields valuable California crops. Determining whether these pesticides are as safe as possible falls to one state entity, the Department of Pesticide Regulation. But in 2010, a neurotoxic, carcinogenic pesticide called methyl iodide was approved for use with strawberries. The science was incomplete, the approval was rushed, and while it stayed on the market, lives were endangered. A case study has been conducted by UCLA's Sustainable Technology and Policy Program that details the flaws in the system, and makes recommendations to prevent this from happening again..
Rice containing an overactive gene that makes it resistant to a common herbicide can pass that genetic trait to weedy rice, prompting powerful growth even without a weed-killer to trigger the modification benefit, new research shows.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Many ancient crustaceans went extinct following a massive collapse of reefs across the planet, and new University of Florida research suggests modern species living in rapidly declining reef habitats may now be at risk.
Researchers from Virginia Tech, the Georg-August University of Gottingen, Germany, and the Jackson Laboratory of Bar Harbor, Maine, have used a special type of microscope to discover how “check valves” in wood cells control sap flow and protect trees when they are injured.
A team of scientists from Canada and Australia has discovered that a decline in shark populations is detrimental to coral reefs. “Where shark numbers are reduced due to commercial fishing, there is also a decrease in the herbivorous fishes which play a key role in promoting reef health,” said Jonathan Ruppert, a recent University of Toronto PhD graduate. Ruppert was part of a team engaged in long-term monitoring of reefs off Australia's northwest coast.
A first-ever study of air trapped in the deep snowpack of Greenland shows that atmospheric levels of carbon monoxide (CO) in the 1950s were actually slightly higher than what we have today. This is a surprise because current computer models predict much higher CO concentrations over Greenland today than in 1950. And it appears that improved combustion technology is linked to the lower CO levels.
Despite warming temperatures, Antarctic sea ice is on track to hit a record high. A new modeling study suggests stronger polar winds can explain the recent growth of Southern Hemisphere ice.
The Government of Madagascar and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced today that 705,588 carbon credits are certified for sale from the Makira Forest REDD+ Project.
Global climate trend since Nov. 16, 1978: +0.14 C per decade.
Using data from the world’s ecosystems and predictions of how climate change will impact them, scientists have produced a roadmap that ID's the world’s most and least vulnerable areas in the Age of Climate Change.
Dr. Michael Twiss, professor at Clarkson University, on examining Lake Erie, the Great Lake most impacted by summer hypoxia (the loss of oxygen at the bottom that affects fish and other living communities): “Lake Erie, the shallowest of the Great Lakes, is warmest in summer and coldest in winter,” he says. “These extremes make it a good environment to predict how the lakes will change with global climate change.”
An expedition of international scientists to the far reaches of Antarctica’s remote Pine Island Glacier has yielded exact measurements of an undersea process glaciologists have long called the “biggest source of uncertainty in global sea level projections.”
In the wake of deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma this past spring, Florida State University researchers have developed a new statistical model that will help determine whether the risk of tornadoes is increasing and whether they are getting stronger.
Researchers at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. have pieced together startling new evidence that shows rapid 21st century warming may spell doom for tree species in Peruvian cloud forests, with species losing 53-96 percent of their populations.
As Earth’s temperature climbs, stony corals are in decline. Less discussed, however, is the plight of gorgonian corals — softer, flexible, tree-like species. Divers have noted that gorgonians seem to be proliferating in parts of the Caribbean, and a new study will look to quantify this phenomenon.
Fracking for natural gas may negatively impact the value of homes near the drill site, according to a survey to be reported in a forthcoming issue of The Journal of Real Estate Literature.
New research shows that the catalyst used in the latest catalytic converters attacks its target pollutant in an unusual way, providing insight into how to make the best catalytic converters.
A device developed at The University of Alabama in Huntsville has become a valuable tool in researchers’ quest to determine how lightning is spawned, to map strikes and to better predict severe weather.
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