Feature Channels: Environmental Science

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A new study, published in the journal Chaos, suggests that unusually persistent spatial structures that self-assemble high in the atmosphere serve as “tracer patterns” around which atmospheric rivers grow. Based on simulations using real weather data in the Atlantic Ocean, the work was focused specifically on the transport of water from the Caribbean to the Iberian Peninsula, but it suggests a more general way to study the transport of tropical water vapor globally.

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West Virginia University experts say that the newly published findings from the Environmental Protection Agency’s report on hydraulic fracturing’s effect on drinking water confirm that proper well management is essential to the safety of the water supply.

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UF/IFAS scientists find a light trap that captures more mosquitoes so mosquito control officials can save time and money in their spraying efforts.

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The handling of agricultural crop residues appears to have a large impact on soil's ability to retain carbon, making land management practices increasingly important, according to researchers at Argonne National Laboratory.

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Berkeley Lab scientist Sebastien Biraud and Margaret Torn are leading an aerial campaign for DOE’s Atmospheric Measurement Research (ARM) Climate Research Facility over Alaska’s North Slope to take air samples and find out why current climate models underestimate how rapidly the Arctic is getting warmer.

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From infrastructure to climate change, the disaster impacts areas of daily life.

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Along the way, the investigation sheds light on the long-held urban myth of the fluidity of stained glass.

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Trending news releases with the most views in a single day. Topics include: trending stories, journal related news, children's health, women in healthcare, air pollution, birds, awards, Dr. Oz.

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New research has revealed that parasitic ‘vampire’ plants that attach onto and derive nutrients from another living plant may benefit the abundance and diversity of surrounding vegetation and animal life.

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Global Temperature Report: May 2015

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If you happen to be at one of several popular national parks in the next ten days, you may see a small delegation of Mongolian officials taking in the grandeur alongside you. As part of a trans-national sharing of expertise on park management issues, (WCS) Wildlife Conservation Society is hosting six key members of the Mongolian government for a protected area study tour.

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Warming temperatures and decreasing levels of dissolved oxygen will act together to create metabolic stress for marine animals. Habitats will shift to places in the ocean where the oxygen supply can meet the animals' increasing future needs.

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Old rocks hold on to their secrets. Now, a geophysicist at Michigan Technological University has unlocked clues trapped in the magnetic signatures of mineral grains in those rocks. These clues will help clear up the murky history of the Earth’s early core.

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A new Cornell study of New York state apple orchards finds that pesticides harm wild bees, and fungicides labeled “safe for bees” also indirectly may threaten native pollinators.

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A new study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that death rates among people over 65 are higher in zip codes with more fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) than in those with lower levels of PM2.5.

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At times during the past 10,000 years, cottontails and hares reproduced like rabbits and their numbers surged when the El Niño weather pattern drenched the Pacific Coast with rain, according to a University of Utah analysis of 3,463 bunny bones.

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Wichita State University microbiology professor Mark Schneegurt and ornithology professor Chris Rogers have discovered that one of North America's most common migratory birds – the Dark-eyed Junco – carries on its feathers a remarkable diversity of plant bacteria, the greatest ever found on wild birds. And while many of these bacteria may be harmful to plants, the bacteria could also be of great benefit.

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“Our results contribute to the conversation about how natural or humanized the landscape of America was when Europeans first arrived,” co-author Steve Tulowiecki says.

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As water scarcity and quality issues grow in California and around the world, a new book co-edited by UCR water economist Ariel Dinar and water experts in Spain and Argentina examines the experience of 15 countries where conservation has been achieved through water-pricing incentive systems.

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1) Suitability mapping. 2) Safer landings. 3) Rooftop A/C retrofit. 4) Clothes dryers that could use vibrations instead of heat.

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As countries prepare to finalize a climate agreement in Paris this coming December, global leaders like the United States and the European Union are releasing intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs), country specific action plans that outline how they intend to reduce global warming emissions. An analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) evaluated how the INDCs from the U.S., the EU and Mexico address land use emissions, which include those from agriculture and forestry. UCS found that the U.S. and EU INDCs fall short in describing what they will do to reduce land use emissions, but that Mexico’s contribution ambitiously addresses emissions from this sector.

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A study of marine mammals finds that several once endangered species, including the humpback whale, the northern elephant seal and green sea turtles, have recovered and are repopulating their former ranges. But returning species create a new challenge: some people interpret the return of these animals as a hostile invasion. The study presents strategies for “lifting baselines” to help manage and celebrate recovering species.

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First impressions are critical. So much so that for many people, even when they are given scientific information, they won't change their minds. This is particularly true for issues such as genetically modified foods and global warming. In fact, some people get even more defiant.

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PNAS Article reports new evidence that microbial algae in Caribbean came from the Pacific likely via the Panama Canal. Algae offers short term benefits to coral communities but could do long-term damage.

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Are males truly essential for reproduction? Female birds, reptiles and sharks living in captivity have sometimes surprised their keepers by giving birth even though, as far as anyone can remember, they have never been housed with a male. Scientists used DNA analysis to solve this mystery some time ago, showing that these offspring were produced by asexual reproduction, a process called parthenogenesis, or “virgin birth.” Although these events have captured tremendous public interest, it was unknown if this ever occurred in wild populations of these animals.

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As drought continues, and demand grows, researchers like Alex Mayer from Michigan Technological University are looking to new models to improve the Rio Grande region's drought resiliency.

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Trending news releases with the most views in a single day. Topics include: income inequality, climate change, genetics, cancer, precision medicine, medical imaging, schizophrenia, research funding, molecular biology and skin cancer.

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Just as with plants on land, a common species of ocean diatom grows faster in the presence of helpful bacteria.

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Popular opinion says that tropical storms and hurricanes that make landfall mitigate droughts in the southeastern United States. But that simply isn’t true, according to a Florida State University researcher.

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A new study, by scientists from the University of Southampton and National Oceanography Centre (NOC), implies that the global climate is on the verge of broad-scale change that could last for a number of decades.

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An international team of researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Macquarie University, the University of Western Sydney and the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry set out to assess how two Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) projects compared to eleven vegetation models that simulate various ecological processes. Instead of only benchmarking whether or not an individual model matched the experimental data, the researchers developed an “assumption-centered” approach to evaluate why certain models performed better than others.

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Electricity systems in the United States are so haphazardly regulated for reliability, it’s nearly impossible for customers to know their true risk of losing service in a major storm.

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The Millennium Drought in southeastern Australia forced Greater Melbourne, a city of 4.3 million people, to successfully implement innovations that hold critical lessons for water-stressed regions around the world, according to findings by UC Irvine and Australian researchers.

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A century spent treating wildfires as emergencies to be stamped out may have cost Central Wisconsin a natural setting that was common and thriving before the state was settled.

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Air pollution regulations issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are estimated to save thousands of lives annually. A new study by researchers at Indiana University says these estimates are more uncertain than commonly believed.

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Madagascar is home to extraordinary biodiversity, but in the past few decades, the island’s forests and associated biodiversity have been under greater attack than ever. Rapid deforestation is affecting the biotopes of hundreds of species, including the panther chameleon, a species with spectacular intra-specific colour variation. A new study by Michel Milinkovitch, professor of genetics, evolution, and biophysics at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), led in close collaboration with colleagues in Madagascar, reveals that this charismatic reptilian species, which is only found in Madagascar, is actually composed of eleven different species. The results of their research appear in the latest issue of the Molecular Ecology journal. They also discuss the urgent need to protect Madagascar’s habitats.

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Ecologists from the University of York, together with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), have developed a new method to better identify where poachers operate in protected areas.

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Emplacement of carbon dioxide at the Bravo Dome gas field in New Mexico began more than 900,000 years earlier than previously estimated, according to scientists at DOE’s Center for Frontiers of Subsurface Energy Security. The study documents the first field evidence for the safe long-term storage of large amounts of carbon dioxide in saline aquifers.

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Trending news releases with the most views in a single day. Topics include: gun regulation, psychology and altruism, big data, threats to coral reefs, extra-terrestrial life, personalized diets, metabolic syndrome and heart health, new drug target to treat arthritis, and archeologists find oldest tools.

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A cartwheeling spider, a bird-like dinosaur and a fish that wriggles around on the sea floor to create a circular nesting site are among the species identified by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry as the Top 10 New Species for 2015.

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The success of corals that adapt to survive in the world’s hottest sea could contribute to their demise through global warming, according to new research.

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The same spring rains that lessen producers’ concerns about drought can also lead to soil erosion and nutrient runoff. Keeping soil and fertilizers where they belong—in the field—benefits producers and the environment, according to South Dakota State University plant scientist Sandeep Kumar. He and graduate student Sagar Gautam used computer modeling to determine which farm management methods will produce the best reduction in surface runoff.

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From June 1 through July 15, NCAR researchers and their colleagues from across North America will fan out each evening across the Great Plains to study the mysterious phenomenon of nighttime thunderstorms.

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A team led by environmental engineers from Drexel University are the first independent researchers to take a closer look at the air quality effects of natural gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania. The group used a mobile air quality monitoring vehicle to survey regional air quality and pollutant emissions at 13 sites including wells, drilling rigs, compressor stations and processing areas. Their work establishes baseline measurements for this relatively new area of extraction.

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ROLLA, Mo. – The water crisis in the western United States – especially in California and Washington – may be the most severe and most publicized, but other threats to the nation’s water supply loom, says Dr. Joel Burken, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

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Trending news releases with the most views in a single day. Topics include: nutrition, environment, children's health, education, cancer, Acoustical Society of America (ASA) annual meeting, and agriculture.

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U.S. residents' exposure to extreme heat could increase four- to six-fold by mid-century, due to both a warming climate and a population that's growing especially fast in the hottest regions of the country, according to new research by NCAR scientists.