Nutrient Cycling between Algae and Bacteria Could Lead to Increased Biofuel Production
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory - EMSL
Even if global warming were to stop completely, the volume of ice in the European Alps would fall by 34% by 2050. If the trend observed over the last 20 years continues at the same rate, however, almost half the volume of ice will be lost as has been demonstrated by scientists from the University of Lausanne (UNIL, Switzerland) in a new international study.
Interest in forest restoration has increased in recent years, both on the part of companies and financial markets and in academia and government.
Coal is an abundant resource in the United States that has, unfortunately, contributed to climate change through its use as a fossil fuel.
Epidermal microorganisms, vital in nutrient exchange between hosts and environments, have now been shown to play a key role in host toxicity through community changes.
An international team of marine biologists including Oliver Shipley, PhD, of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University, has discovered a unique isopod, a form of crustacean, that has been formally identified as a new species of the genus Booralana from the deep waters of The Bahamas. The news is published in the journal Zootaxa.
A joint study by the University of Tübingen, the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research, the University of Osnabrück and the University of Rwanda has found that 80 percent of the energy required in Africa could come from renewable sources by 2040 – if the capacity of existing power plants were fully utilized and all the plants currently on the drawing-board were built.
In an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and curb global warming, the U.S. has enacted several ambitious federal laws, such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in 2022 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021.
As global warming speeds up, meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement has become crucial. Cities, especially in countries like China, play a major role in reducing carbon emissions.
Radioactive wastewater is an unavoidable byproduct of nuclear operations, containing harmful radionuclides like cesium, which pose serious health risks.
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory studied how insect communities responded to newly established habitats on solar energy facilities built on retired agricultural land. At the end of five years, all habitat and biodiversity metrics increased.
A new computational framework created by Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers is accelerating their understanding of who’s in, who’s out, who’s hot and who’s not in the soil microbiome, where fungi often act as bodyguards for plants, keeping friends close and foes at bay.
University of Idaho will lead a modeling project to enhance water budget predictions in the contiguous United States after being awarded a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 104g National Competitive Grant. This is the first time a scientist in Idaho has won the grant in the past two decades.
Though natural fertilizers from treated sewage sludge provide crops with nutrients, they bring along microplastics too. Recent research shows these plastics are easily spread by even slight winds.
7000 forever chemicals (PFAS) and human PPARa binding properties predicted using AI technology.
Houston’s water and wastewater system could be more resilient with the development of hybrid urban water supply systems that combine conventional, centralized water sources with reclaimed wastewater, according to a study by Rice University engineers published in Nature Water.
Humans store water in huge metal towers and deep concrete reservoirs. But nature’s water storage is much more scenic – the snowpack that tops majestic mountains.
Eutrophication of lakes is a global environmental issue, and polluted inflowing rivers are important external factors leading to lake eutrophication.
The ocean is the world’s largest habitat, yet much of its biodiversity is still unknown. A study published in Frontiers in Science marks a significant breakthrough, reporting the largest and most comprehensive database of marine microbes to date – matched with biological function, location, and habitat type.
Conserving water won’t be enough to restore the depleted Great Salt Lake, the signature Utah landscape whose existence as a functioning ecosystem remains seriously imperiled from low water levels and rising salinity.
Conserving water won’t be enough to restore the depleted Great Salt Lake, the signature Utah landscape whose existence as a functioning ecosystem remains seriously imperiled from low water levels and rising salinity. Much of the water saved by Utah cities and farms through various conservation measures will have to be allowed to flow into the terminal lake if its levels are to rebound and remain at a safe level, according to Utah’s Great Salt Lake Strike Team. The panel of university and agency experts has released its latest data analysis just ahead of Utah’s upcoming legislative session.
RUDN University professor strengthened ordinary concrete with epoxy resin. The author was the first to show that in this way it is possible to make concrete 80-100% stronger, taking into account the corrosive influence of an aggressive environment.
Massive Die-Off of Elephant Seals in Argentina Due to Avian Influenza Is Latest Sign that the Virus Is an Existential Threat to Wildlife.
In the last century, global economic growth, spurred by globalization and technological advances, led to increased environmental degradation, primarily due to greenhouse gases from economic activities.
Two teams from UNIL and EPFL have succeeded in demonstrating that the insect synthesizes nutrients for native gut microbes. A study published in Nature Microbiology.
It is common knowledge that humans have a big effect on the world and their natural environment. However, what may be less well-known is that humans can also induce earthquakes.
Researchers uncover factors in urban areas that affect diversity in insects and spiders. The study — which also turned up dozens of previously unknown species — could help ensure the health of these crucial ecosystem contributors.
China's rapid urbanization has escalated air pollution, notably nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which impacts health and the environment.
Fractional Vegetation Cover (FVC), key for ecological studies, has historically been mapped at coarse resolutions. Recent high-resolution satellite data have increased the demand for finer FVC products.
Some invasive plants can form persistent banks of seeds that remain under the soil for years, and this makes their eradication practically impossible.
Newcastle University research turns to ancient hot springs to explore the origins of life on Earth.
Cities play a key role in climate change and biodiversity and are one of the most recognizable features of the Anthropocene. They also accelerate innovation and shape social networks, while perpetuating and intensifying inequalities.
A multi-national team of scientists (China, USA, New Zealand, Italy, and France) analyze the temperature of the Earth annually.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Columbia University have developed a way to convert carbon dioxide (CO2), a potent greenhouse gas, into carbon nanofibers, materials with a wide range of unique properties and many potential long-term uses.
New research has uncovered internationally significant rock art sites in Arnhem Land were far from random and instead “chosen” for the critical vantage points they provided.
Environmental epidemiologists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of researchers at Oregon State University, Pacific Northwest National Labs, and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, report on the findings of a new study of air pollution exposures collected using personal wristband monitors worn by pregnant individuals in New York City matched with data from a questionnaire. Factors predictive of exposures to air pollution include income, time spent outdoors, maternal age, country of birth, transportation type, and season.
Free nitrous acid (FNA) is known for its capacity to inhibit various microorganisms in wastewater systems, significantly benefiting treatment process management.
For the first time, scientists have succeeded in the stabilisation and direct imaging of small clusters of noble gas atoms at room temperature. This achievement opens up exciting possibilities for fundamental research in condensed matter physics and applications in quantum information technology.
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a crucial role in environmental protection by mitigating risks to public health and aquatic ecosystems through the prevention of pollutant release.
Urban agriculture has the potential to decentralize food supplies, provide environmental benefits like wildlife habitat, and mitigate environmental footprints, but researchers have identified knowledge gaps regarding both the benefits and risks of urban agriculture and the social processes of growing more food in urban areas.
EPA researchers released two new reports to provide more details about the story of food waste in the United States
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that over one-third of the food produced in the United States is never eaten, wasting the resources used to produce, transport, process, and distribute it – and much of it is sent to landfills, where it breaks down and generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Scientists study developing lamprey embryos to clarify the origin of vertebrate head, paving the way to a better understanding of ancestral vertebrates.
Findings about their reproductive ability can help mitigate the overpopulation crisis that threatens native species in Japan’s freshwater ecosystems.
An international group of researchers finds that conserving about half of global land area could maintain nearly all of nature’s contributions to people and still meet biodiversity targets for tens of thousands of species.
PFAS or “forever chemicals” circulate back-and-forth between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans at roughly equal rates, according to research in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
Nine new species of carnivorous land snails have been found in the remote forests of Papua New Guinea, a biodiversity hot spot.
Microplastic particles can be found in the most remote corners of our planet. For some places, such as Arctic glaciers and ice sheets, atmospheric transport is the only conceivable pathway.
A study published today in IOP Publishing’s journal Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability has found that green ammonia could be used to fulfil the fuel demands of over 60% of global shipping by targeting just the top 10 regional fuel ports.
Feldspar is a ubiquitous mineral and makes up about half of the Earth's crust. In the Earth's atmosphere, feldspars play a surprisingly important role.