November 2011 completes 33 years of satellite-based global temperature data. Globally averaged, Earth’s atmosphere has warmed about 0.82° F during the almost one-third of a century that sensors aboard NOAA and NASA satellites have measured the temperature of oxygen molecules in the air.
By adding carbon nanotubes to a coal waste product typically tossed into landfills, an engineering professor is working on a more environmentally-friendly option to cement.
Researchers at the University of Delaware are examining tiny worms that inhabit the frigid sea off Antarctica to learn not only how these organisms adapt to the severe cold, but how they will survive as ocean temperatures increase.
A new study co-authored by University of Florida researchers on the endangered Ozark Hellbender giant salamander is the first to detail its skin microbes, the bacteria and fungi that defend against pathogens.
Using statistical analysis methods to examine rainfall extremes in India, a team of researchers has made a discovery that resolves an ongoing debate in published findings and offers new insights.
New research shows that the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere work to transform elemental mercury into oxidized mercury, which can easily be deposited into aquatic ecosystems and ultimately enter the food chain.
In pursuit of riches and energy over the last 5,000 years, humans have released into the environment 385,000 tons of mercury, the source of numerous health concerns, according to a new study that challenges the idea that releases of the metal are on the decline.
Motorists may be driving on the world’s first “green” tires within the next few years, as partnerships between tire companies and biotechnology firms make it possible to produce key raw materials for tires from sugar rather than petroleum or rubber trees.
For a number of years, Kathy Alexander noticed that many Botswana residents become ill two times during the year, and that these peaks appear to coincide with river flow. She is investigating the links between humans and animals as they influence water quality.
Nitrogen derived from human activities has polluted lakes throughout the Northern Hemisphere for more than a century and the fingerprint of these changes is evident even in remote lakes located thousands of miles from the nearest city, industrial area or farm.
The number of sugar maples in Upper Great Lakes forests is likely to decline in coming decades, according to University of Michigan ecologists and their colleagues, due to a previously unrecognized threat from a familiar enemy: acid rain.
Two studies by Boise State University geoscientists provide new information about how snowmelt is stored and used in mountain environments.
The University of Virginia and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation have established a unique partnership for collaborative, graduate-level training and research aimed at developing conservation professionals to tackle some of the biggest conservation problems facing the nation.
As warm temperatures due to climate change encroach winter, bees and plants keep pace. An analysis of bee collection data over the past 130 years shows that spring arrives about 10 days earlier than in the 1880s, and bees and flowering plants have kept pace by arriving earlier in lock-step.
Many of the animal species at risk of extinction in the United States have not made it onto the country’s official Endangered Species Act (ESA) list, according to new research from the University of Adelaide.
In a new article published in the December 11, 2011, online edition of the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers from Stony Brook University (NY, USA) demonstrate that “the fish are okay” belief ignores an important knowledge gap – the possible effects of CO2 during the early development of fish eggs and larvae.
An unusually hot melting season in 2010 accelerated ice loss in southern Greenland by 100 billion tons – and large portions of the island’s bedrock rose an additional quarter of an inch in response.
Shifting a fraction of truck-borne freight onto trains would have an outsized impact on air quality in the Midwest, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
The ultimate in renewable energy is on the verge of going mainstream, says Joshua Pearce.
The current Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards create a financial incentive for auto companies to make bigger vehicles that are allowed to meet lower targets, according to a new University of Michigan study.
Darrel Tremaine has been known to go to extremes for his research, such as crawling on his hands and knees through a dark, muddy limestone cave in Northwest Florida to learn more about the weather thousands of years ago.
New research shows accelerated melting of two fast-moving glaciers that drain Antarctic ice into the Amundsen Sea Embayment is likely in part the result of an increase in sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
Two talks at a scientific conference this week will propose a common root for an enormous deluge in western Tennessee in May 2010, and a historic outbreak of tornadoes centered on Alabama in April 2011. Both events seem to be linked to a relatively rare coupling between the polar and the subtropical jet streams, says Jonathan Martin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
The sharp decrease in global carbon dioxide emissions attributed to the worldwide financial crisis in 2009 quickly rebounded in 2010.
Researchers from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science are working with commercial fishermen to collect and share fisheries data in a cooperative venture to build trust and foster sustainable and profitable fisheries in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions.
The ranges of species will have to change dramatically as a result of climate change between now and 2100 because the climate will change more than 100 times faster than the rate at which species can adapt, according to a newly published study focusing on rattlesnakes.
Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels have surged to record levels following the 2008-09 global financial crisis, when a stagnant economy resulted in a temporary decline in emissions.
Preliminary research finds man-made risks created by petroleum and ranching industries don't impact the lizard as feared.
Less water used by trees would result in more runoff, which could benefit farmers and water managers statewide; Project will examine impacts on forest health and other ecosystem services.
Scientists in the New York Center for Astrobiology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have used the oldest minerals on Earth to reconstruct the atmospheric conditions present on Earth very soon after its birth. The findings, which appear in the Dec. 1 edition of the journal Nature, are the first direct evidence of what the ancient atmosphere of the planet was like soon after its formation and directly challenge years of research on the type of atmosphere out of which life arose on the planet.
Take a Petri dish containing crude petroleum and it will release a strong odor distinctive of the toxins that make up the fossil fuel. Sprinkle mushroom spores over the Petri dish and let it sit for two weeks in an incubator, and surprise, the petroleum and its smell will disappear.
University of Iowa engineers have published their findings from a study of residential soils in the city of Cedar Rapids, making it one of only a few such U.S. urban soil studies ever conducted.
A University of Adelaide scientist says much more could be done to predict the likelihood and spread of serious disease - such as tuberculosis (TB) or foot-and-mouth disease - in Australian wildlife and commercial stock.
More than 450 world experts from 60 countries will converge on Adelaide, Australia this week to discuss the importance of DNA "barcoding" - a rapidly growing international initiative to develop a genetic identity tool for all plants and animals on Earth.
The newfound scientific power to quickly “fingerprint” species via DNA is being deployed to unmask quack herbal medicines, reveal types of ancient Arctic life frozen in permafrost, expose what eats what in nature, and halt agricultural and forestry pests at borders, among other applications across a wide array of public interests.
Much of our knowledge about past life has come from the fossil record – but how accurately does that reflect the true history and drivers of biodiversity on Earth?
An engineering professor and students at a New Jersey university are designing rain gardens to help the environment.
New white paper offers current information on the biology, impacts and control of invasive plant species.
Carbon savings can be squeezed from trees when wood not suitable for long-term building materials is used for bioenergy: Depending on the process used, ethanol from woody biomass emits less greenhouse gas than an equivalent amount of gasoline, between 70 percent and a little over 100 percent less.
Rangeland managers need reliable data to determine the best course of action to preserve or restore ecosystems. Currently, biodiversity is not one of the parameters included in the evaluation of rangeland health. Two indicators of biodiversity, plant species richness and diversity, could prove useful and appropriate in evaluating the state of our grasslands.
Researchers led by Prof. Sébastien Sauvé of the University of Montreal’s Department of Chemistry have discovered that traces of caffeine are a useful indicator of the contamination of our water by sewers.
Sustainability has not only become a science in the past 25 years, but it is one that continues to be fast-growing with widespread international collaboration, broad disciplinary composition and wide geographic distribution.
It’s that holiday time of year again, and many people shopping for Christmas trees are facing a perennial question: which is the greener choice – real or fake? Climate change expert Clint Springer, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, says that while he prefers real trees because of their environmental benefits, consumers who buy artificial trees can find other ways to "green" their holidays.
Research at Iowa State University has led to discovery of a genetic method that can increase biomass in algae by 50 to 80 percent. The breakthrough comes from turning on certain genes in algae that increase the amount of photosynthesis in the plant, which leads to more biomass.
A technology being developed as a solution to the historic problem of acid mine drainage could also have applications for the newest environmental challenge: hydraulic fracturing of Marcellus Shale.
Faced with declining funding sources, cities must find innovative ways to comply with increasing regulatory requirements to improve performance and meet regulatory standards.
The new electrical storage devices called asymmetric capacitors can be recharged thousands of times. Now, a new design could make them cheaper, greener and lighter--a big advantage for power tools and consumer electronics.
Scientists at South Dakota State University will help subsistence livestock owners in West Africa respond to climate change and emerging land use patterns with USAID and National Science Foundation funding.
Texas Tech alumnus gives new life to recycled phone books and lottery tickets.
Climate and environment experts from Texas Tech University recently spoke at a symposium to about 150 homeowners, students and members of the media about making smart choices.
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