UCLA pulmonary expert to speak on air quality and wildfires
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences
The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health (FSPH) has joined the Planetary Health Alliance (PHA), a consortium of more than 200 universities, research institutes, and government agencies committed to understanding and addressing global environmental change and its health impacts.
Wildfires are becoming more common and severe due to climate change and warmer and drier conditions in the West. As wildfire season rages in the United States, people are also at increased risk for COVID-19 infection due to wildfire smoke.
In response to the escalating health emergency that is already inflicting substantial damage on people in Southern California and around the world, the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health has created the UCLA Center for Healthy Climate Solutions.
Earth's tropics are expanding poleward and that expansion is driven by human-caused changes to the ocean, according to new research.
Published recently in the journal Sensors, a new study by Berkeley Lab air quality scientists tested four models of low-cost air quality monitors during actual wildfire pollution events and found that their readings of PM2.5 – or particulate matter under 2.5 microns, which has been linked to respiratory and cardiovascular issues – were consistently higher than the reference monitor used by the regulatory agencies; however, since each monitor had a relatively consistent response to the smoke, it is possible to use the readings to estimate true PM2.5 levels. Overall, the researchers concluded that the monitors can provide actionable information.
• Exposure to higher amounts of fine particulate air pollution was associated with higher death rates among patients with kidney failure.
New research revealed that tiny, sunlight-absorbing particles in wildfire smoke may have less impact on climate than widely hypothesized because reactions as the plume mixes with clean air reduce its absorbing power and climate-warming effect.
New satellite instrumentation will help researchers estimate fire emissions every half hour for the United States.
ORNL Story Tips: Predicting fire risk, solid state stability check and images in a flash
Some governments are counting on planted forests as offsets for greenhouse gas emissions—a sort of climate investment. But as with any investment, it’s important to understand the risks. If a forest goes bust, researchers say, much of that stored carbon could go up in smoke. Forests can be best deployed in the fight against climate change with a proper understanding of the risks to that forest that climate change itself imposes.
A new study in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, published by Oxford University Press, suggests that wildfires change the types of songs sung by birds living in nearby forests.
Climate change has contributed to the increase in the number of wildfires in the Arctic where it can dramatically shift stream chemistry and potentially harm both ecosystems and humans. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found that some aftereffects, like decreased carbon and increased nitrogen, can last up to five decades and could have major implications on vital waterways.
Researchers synthesize how climate change will affect the risk of wildfires in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana. The study also suggests how managers and individual landowners in different ecosystems can best prepare.
A new study led by the University of Delaware’s Pinki Mondal recommends that in addition to using large swaths of coarse satellite data to evaluate forests on a national scale, it is important for countries to prioritize areas such as national parks and wildlife refuges and use finer scale data in those protected areas to make sure that they are maintaining their health and are being reported on accurately.
New international research by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and colleagues has found a marked change in the Indian Ocean’s surface temperatures that puts southeast Australia on course for increasingly hot and dry conditions.
Leading up to Earth Day on April 22, Cedars-Sinai is posting a weekly story and video that investigates the various ways climate change is impacting our bodies. This week's topic: The Lungs and Climate Change.
Protecting the permafrost after a record fire season
In the first major study following the devastating 2014 Carlton Complex fire in north central Washington, researchers from the University of Washington and U.S. Forest Service found that previous tree thinning and prescribed burns helped forests survive the fire.
With 80+ Featured and Scientific Sessions and 2,000+ presentations showcasing advances in fundamental and translational sciences and emerging disciplines and technologies, the 59th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo of the Society of Toxicology is the largest forum for toxicological research in the world.
Numerous questions remain unanswered as to how the planet's species will respond to climate change.
Hotter and drier El Niño events are having an alarming effect on biodiversity in the Amazon Rainforest and further add to a disturbing global insect collapse, scientists show.
DHS S&T selected four new industry partners to participate in a new wildfire sensors workstream of the Smart Cities Internet of Things Innovation (SCITI) Labs.
Wildfires significantly impact the health of economies in the western United States that are highly dependent on tourism, agriculture, and timber. David Blunck, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Oregon State University, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Defense to spearhead a $2.1 million study examining the burning behavior of live fuels in order to better predict and manage wildfires.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have identified a robust suite of technologies to help California clear the last hurdle and become carbon neutral – and ultimately carbon negative – by 2045. This groundbreaking study, “Getting to Neutral: Options for Negative Carbon Emissions in California,” was conducted as part of LLNL’s expansive energy programs work and the Laboratory’s Carbon Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to identify solutions to enable global-scale CO2 removal from the atmosphere and hit global temperature targets.
A combination of climate change, extreme weather and pressure from local human activity is causing a collapse in global biodiversity and ecosystems across the tropics, new research shows.
University of South Australia ecologist Joan Gibbs describes the day that fires tore through her property in the Adelaide Hills, leaving a trail of devastation. One month on, there are signs of recovery.
A new study shows that air pollutants from the smoke of fires from as far as Canada and the southeastern U.S. traveled hundreds of miles and several days to reach Connecticut and New York City, where it caused significant increases in pollution concentrations.
Just in time for Penguin Awareness Day on January 20th, WCS researchers announced the discovery of a new colony of Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) on a remote island in Argentina.
In a little over two weeks, more than three million Australian students will return to school, ready to start a new year. But, amid the packed lunches and book bags, many may also be returning with a sense of anxiety and confusion in the aftermath of Australia’s devastating bushfires.
To understand how the relentless heat, blazing wild fires, and bone-dry conditions have reached such extremes, scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) are looking to the ocean.
Kangaroo Island is one of South Australia’s most iconic tourism destinations, but as fires continue to rage across the once pristine environment, many holidaymakers are questioning whether to keep or cancel their travel plans.