Feature Channels: Environmental Science

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Marine communities migrated to Antarctica during the Earth’s warmest period in 66 million years long before a mass-extinction event.

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Prolonged droughts followed by sudden bursts of rainfall – how do desert soil bacteria manage to survive such harsh conditions? This long-debated question has now been answered by an ERC project led by microbiologist Dagmar Woebken from the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna.

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Climate experts from Florida Atlantic University, Archbold Biological Station, and Live Wildly Foundation will speak and answer questions from the media on the Florida Wildlife Corridor (FLWC) and Climate Change managing Florida’s Natural and Human Landscapes for Prosperity and Resilience

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Newly developed bioadhesive sensors (BIMS) are effective and less invasive than traditional tagging. Scientists can attach them with a thin layer of dried-hydrogel in less than 20 seconds.

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Now is one of the most important times of year to keep birds safe by reducing non-essential lighting at night and treating window glass so birds can see it and avoid deadly collisions.

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Florida is projected to lose 3.5 million acres of land to development by 2070. A new study highlights how Florida can buffer itself against both climate change and population pressures by conserving the remaining 8 million acres of “opportunity areas” within the Florida Wildlife Corridor (FLWC), the only designated statewide corridor in the U.S.

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As wildfires, floods and other climate disasters spread across the country, a first-of-its-kind study finds that Florida’s ambitious Wildlife Corridor has the potential to shield the state from similar threats.

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A team of researchers has unveiled a novel approach to accurately characterizing tree height composition in forests using the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology.

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Municipal water systems must remove “forever chemicals” from their tap water under a new rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency meant to prevent deaths and serious illnesses linked to the substances.

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For the first time in more than 200 years, billions of cicadas - two different broods - will emerge from the ground at the same time. These two different broods have not been seen together since the 1800s. But, as Virginia Tech entomologist Doug Pfeiffer explained not everyone will see this once in a lifetime spectacle.

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Meandering ocean currents play an important role in the melting of Antarctic ice shelves, threatening a significant rise in sea levels.

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A new study reveals compelling evidence that forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council®(FSC®) in Gabon and the Republic of Congo harbour a higher abundance of larger mammals and critically endangered species, such as gorillas and elephants, compared to non-FSC certified forests.

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Severe droughts and wildfires, invasive species, and large insect outbreaks are straining national forests and surrounding lands. A new report outlines a new approach to forest stewardship that “braids together” Indigenous knowledge and Western science to conserve and restore more resilient forestlands in the U.S.

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Once Sargassum deluges beaches, removing, disposing and repurposing the seaweed presents many logistical and economic challenges. Cleaning up these huge piles of annoying seaweed while protecting these critical habitats at the same time is a precarious struggle.

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Research has uncovered important new insights into the evolution of oxygen, carbon, and other vital elements over the entire history of Earth – and it could help assess which other planets can develop life, ranging from plants to animals and humans.

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Wirelessly connected devices perform an expanding array of applications, such as monitoring the condition of machinery and remote sensing in agricultural settings. These applications hold much potential for improving the efficiency, but how do you power these devices where reliable electrical sources are not available?

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Meet Michael Strickland and Zachary Kayler, associate professors in the Department of Soil and Water Systems at University of Idaho. They are leading a national contingency of scientists in building what amounts to huge terrariums at U of I: all to study a world that scientists still don’t understand — the deep soils under our feet.

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Remote work could cut hundreds of millions of tons of carbon emissions from car travel – but at the cost of billions lost in public transit revenues, according to a new study.

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A new study introduces the Hybrid Global Annual 1-km International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) Land Cover Maps for the period 2000-2020.

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In the context of global warming, natural vegetations have been altered worldwide in spite of they are far away in the niches. Warming plus precipitation increase can extend the distributions of forest, grassland and savanna northwards while cooling plus drought may drive the tundra towards the equator.

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Recently, researchers have made breakthroughs in flash flood forecasting by studying how different rainfall patterns affect flash floods in China's mountainous regions.

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As highlighted by both national and international media, a severe winter weather disaster—the phenomenon known as a ‘dzud’—during the 2023-2024 winter has presented unprecedented challenges for the people of Mongolia.

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Dr. Bora Seo's research team from the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), led by Director Yoon Seok-jin, has developed a durability evaluation technique for green hydrogen production devices with step durations as short as one second, utilizing actual solar irradiance data.

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Ten years later, data gathered in Brazil have proven highly influential across atmospheric science

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A new analysis from 2,655 farms on five continents suggests that moving away from industrial, monoculture farming could benefit both the planet and people.

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While climate change has led to an increase in the abundance of octopuses, heat stress from projected ocean warming could impair their vision and impact the survivability of the species.

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Acidic soil caused by changing climate patterns threatens agriculture sustainability across the globe. But the problem goes far beyond rising temperatures. One major cause for concern is more acidic soil, a product of increasing rainfall.

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The Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Argonne National Laboratory are looking to establish an economy that reduces carbon emissions and promotes sustainability while driving progress with expertise in battery manufacturing, sustainable transportation, industrial decarbonization and workforce development.

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In only nine years between 2010 and 2019, Africa has turned from being a net carbon sink, to being a net carbon source.

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Leaf aging is a complex biological phenomenon influenced by growth stages, plant hormones, and various environmental conditions.

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Groundwater has been largely unstudied in its importance and role in sustaining ecosystems.

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Meet Kenny Wallen, an assistant professor of human dimensions in the Department of Natural Resources and Society at the University of Idaho. Everyone has opinions about how Idaho’s natural resources should be used.

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In the field of environmental and climate science, researchers have developed the Comprehensive Mechanistic Light Response (CMLR) gross primary production (GPP) dataset.

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Award recognizes Giordano for Italian Scientific Excellence in the world and the International Study on the correlation between health and pollution in the Land of Fire in Campania

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The amount of sea ice that survives the Arctic summer has declined 12.2 percent per decade since the late 1970s and projections show the region could experience its first ice-free summer by 2040.

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U.S. Department of Energy officials received a behind the scenes look at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) atmospheric observatory in Lamont, Oklahoma.

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The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2025 proposes funding regional ocean observing associations at $10 million — a 76 percent reduction in the budget for these critically important services.

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A case study on the effects of open waste burning on air quality in Northwestern Greenland calls attention to the importance of no-one-left-behind sustainable air quality monitoring in the Arctic region.

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Research highlights the potential significance of ectomycorrhizal fungi diversity in promoting forest ecosystem health and strengthening the symbiotic relationship between mycorrhizae and host plants.

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Composting food and garden waste instead of sending it to landfills can significantly reduce methane emissions and help mitigate global warming. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores the effects of curbside compost collection programs in New South Wales, Australia.

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China faces the dual challenges of air pollution and climate change, with significant implications for public health and the environment. The Chinese government has initiated a synergetic approach to tackle these issues simultaneously, aiming for carbon neutrality and clear sky.

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Up to $160 million available over the next 10 years to build climate-resilient communities in the Colorado-Wyoming region

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Scientists have developed an innovative calibration algorithm for the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU).This algorithm significantly enhances navigation precision by utilizing acoustic signals from seabed beacons.

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A new species of fossil staphylinine rove beetle from Orapa.

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Mercury studies in Indonesia. Climate change studies in Tanzania. Biodiversity studies in South Dakota. Marine mammal surveys in the Atlantic Ocean.

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The ocean covers approximately 70 percent of Earth’s surface and is the largest livable space on our planet. Deep below there exists a realm inhabited by a wide variety of marine mammals—whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea lions, and manatees—that embody a mysterious and profound connection to cultures worldwide.

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A new analysis of zooplankton in western Lake Erie shows that their biomass and seasonal behavioral patterns have been drastically altered by human-driven changes in water temperature and food webs.

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Blast furnace gas (BFG) is an important by-product energy for the iron and steel industry and has been widely used for heating and electricity generation. However, the undesirable contaminants, such as COS, CS2 and H2S, in BFG generate harmful environmental emissions.