Feature Channels: Environmental Science

• share
• favorite_border

New study confirms the presence of cougars is increasing in midwestern North America, reversing 100 years of species decline.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers can discuss why such a small animal created so much consternation for the petroleum and ranching industries, and why the Fish and Wildlife Service were looking to list the lizard in the first place.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists from the Smithsonian and colleagues have found that waterbird communities can be the “canary in the coal mine” when it comes to detecting the health of urban estuary ecosystems. Their research revealed that the types of waterbirds that inhabit urban estuaries are influenced not only by urban development, but also by a far more natural process―rain. The team’s findings are published in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.

• share
• favorite_border

Some regions expected to have more wildfires while others will have fewer.

• share
• favorite_border

Jessica Rennells, a climatologist at the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University, comments on data released this week by the center that shows this spring ranks among the hottest on record throughout the region.

• share
• favorite_border

Compared to global seasonal norms, May 2012 was the fourth warmest in the 34-year satellite record, according to Dr. John Christy, a professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center at The University of Alabama in Huntsville.

• share
• favorite_border

Communities of microbial organisms -- species such as nematodes, protists and fungi -- on beaches along the Gulf of Mexico changed significantly following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010. Researchers analyzed marine sediments from five Gulf Coast sites prior to and several months following shoreline oiling.

• share
• favorite_border

Not having enough Chinook salmon to eat stresses out southern resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest more than having boats nearby, according to hormone levels of whales summering in the waters between British Columbia and Washington.

• share
• favorite_border

Twenty years after the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, 17 prominent ecologists are calling for renewed international efforts to curb the loss of biological diversity, which is compromising nature's ability to provide goods and services essential for human well-being.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists have designed a screening tool that provides a fast, easy and relatively inexpensive way to predict levels of a specific toxin in lakes that are prone to blue-green algal blooms.

• share
• favorite_border

Two analyses highlight the growing polarization of public attitudes toward climate change, as well as the role “psychological distance” plays in levels of concern.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study finds surface water samples are insufficient in determining the prevalence of plastic debris in oceans.

• share
• favorite_border

The Near Earth Object Media/Risk Communications Working Group Report has been issued by Secure World Foundation. To deal with potentially hazardous Near Earth Objects (NEOs) that could strike the Earth, there is need to establish an effective international communications strategy - but doing so is a daunting task, one that demands effective use of mass communication tools.

• share
• favorite_border

By correlating weather factors like temperature, rain and snowfall, Elena Naumova, Ph.D., professor of civil and environmental engineering at Tufts School of Engineering, is able to predict the timing and intensity of rotavirus, a disease that causes extreme diarrhea, dehydration and thousands of death annually, particularly among children. Her research focused on one of the hardest-hit regions of the world, South Asia.

• share
• favorite_border

A dilemma is smouldering-- even as wildfires top the current headlines. New research highlights the practice of aggressive fire suppression by using studies at Lake Tahoe as an active example.

• share
• favorite_border

Super-eruptions are potentially civilization-ending events and new research suggests that they may have surprisingly short fuses.

• share
• favorite_border

New research shows some of the steepest mountain slopes in the world got that way because of the interplay between terrain uplift associated with plate tectonics and powerful streams cutting into hillsides, leading to large landslides.

• share
• favorite_border

A chance discovery of 80-year-old photo plates in a Danish basement is providing new insight into how Greenland glaciers are melting today.

• share
• favorite_border

Materials scientist Yun Hang Hu has discovered a chemical reaction that gobbles up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and produces a couple of useful compounds. And, by the way, it releases energy.

• share
• favorite_border

Recent surveys by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) reveal an unprecedented number of young scallops in two fishery management areas off the mid-Atlantic coast. The results bode well for the continued success of the commercial fishery.

• share
• favorite_border

Sandia modeling study contradicts a long-held belief of geologists that pore sizes and chemical compositions are uniform throughout a given strata, which are horizontal slices of sedimentary rock. By understanding the variety of pore sizes and spatial patterns in strata, geologists can help achieve more production from underground oil reservoirs and water aquifers. Better understanding also means more efficient use of potential underground carbon storage sites, and better evaluations of the possible movement of radionuclides in nuclear waste depositories to determine how well the waste will be isolated.

• share
• favorite_border

When leatherback turtle hatchlings dig out of their nests buried in the sandy Playa Grande beach in northwest Costa Rica, they enter a world filled with dangers. This critically endangered species faces threats that include egg poaching and human fishing practices. Now, Drexel University researchers have found that the climate conditions at the nesting beach affect the early survival of turtle eggs and hatchlings. They predict, based on projections from multiple models, that egg and hatchling survival will drop by half in the next 100 years as a result of global climate change.

• share
• favorite_border

Study brings better understanding to atmospheric maladies such as particulate matter, which can cause health problems in the very young and old, as well as other problems.

• share
• favorite_border

New fish-tagging studies of young bluefin tuna in the Atlantic off New England are offering the first fishery-independent, year-round data on dispersal patterns and habitat use for the popular game fish. Miniaturized pop-up satellite tags suitable for smaller fish helped make the research possible.

• share
• favorite_border

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the popularity of marine aquariums rises, so does the demand for wildlife inhabiting them. Most aquarium fish are harvested from their natural habitats – primarily coral reefs – and imported into the United States by the millions annually.

• share
• favorite_border

Spring brought somewhat more seasonal temperatures to the continental U.S., although it was still warmer than seasonal norms in April, according to Dr. John Christy, a professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center at The University of Alabama in Huntsville.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers are studying the effects of wind deposition of dust and other particulates, such as pollen or bacteria, on water quality and soil formation.

• share
• favorite_border

From prediction to recovery, Florida State University’s experts are among the best in the nation when it comes to the study of hurricanes and their impact on people and property. These experts are available to answer media questions and give perspective to news stories throughout the 2012 hurricane season, which begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

• share
• favorite_border

A small pilot study found higher levels of toxic mercury in dolphins downwind of power plants than in captive dolphins.

• share
• favorite_border

The nation's $1 billion stream restoration industry needs to do more to ensure that projects are guided by science, according to the co-editor of a new review of the field. Many expensive projects fail because they are not guided by science, experts say.

• share
• favorite_border

New simulation study shows that atmosphere warms when pollution intensifies storms.

• share
• favorite_border

Nearly 80 percent of disease in developing countries is linked to bad water and sanitation. Now a scientist has found a simple, cheap way to make water safe to drink, even if it’s muddy.

• share
• favorite_border

The molecular ballet to stay alive may be recorded, then passed to future generations.

• share
• favorite_border

How species diversity is maintained is a fundamental question in biology. In a new study, a team of Indiana University biologists has shown for the first time that diversity is influenced on a spatial scale of unparalleled scope, in part, by how well tree seedlings survive under their own parents.

• share
• favorite_border

For the first time, researchers have been able to combine different climate models using spatial statistics - to project future seasonal temperature changes in regions across North America.

• share
• favorite_border

A safe haven could be out of reach for 9 percent of the Western Hemisphere's mammals, and as much as 40 percent in certain regions, because the animals just won't move swiftly enough to outpace climate change.

• share
• favorite_border

If the world’s nations ever sign a treaty to limit emissions of climate-warming carbon dioxide gas, there may be a way to help verify compliance: a new method developed by scientists from the University of Utah and Harvard.

• share
• favorite_border

When thousands of citizens opposed to “fracking” present their case to legislators in Albany this spring, chances are that some of them will carry posters of a controversial billboard created by New York City College of Technology (City Tech) graduate Svetlana (Lana) Akhmadieva.

• share
• favorite_border

A carbon nanotube sponge that can soak up oil in water with unparalleled efficiency has been developed with help from computational simulations performed at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

• share
• favorite_border

Allowing developers and communities to buy "credits" for pollution reductions made by others has the potential to significantly reduce the projected costs of cleaning up Chesapeake Bay, an economic analysis conducted by RTI International suggests.

• share
• favorite_border

Deb Jaisi, an assistant professor of plant and soil sciences at the University of Delaware, will be working to 'fingerprint' the phosphorus in Chesapeake Bay.

• share
• favorite_border

A 100-fold upsurge in human-produced plastic garbage in the ocean is altering habitats in the marine environment, according to a new study led by a graduate student researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

• share
• favorite_border

Accurate Predictions Found in Early Test Results of New Model, Timely Due to Emerging Questions Regarding Forest Land Use and the Environmental Impact

• share
• favorite_border

Volcanoes emit a broad spectrum of sonic energy. In the case of basaltic eruptions, most of that acoustical energy in the infrasound range. A new study reveals that this low-frequency sound can give scientists an enhanced understanding of the behavior of volcanoes and a tool to monitor the lifecycles of their eruptions.

• share
• favorite_border

National parks are prized for their visual splendor, but the sounds of nature are also part of that rich experience. Researchers and protected area managers are working together to help ensure that the sounds in U.S. national parks remain as natural as possible.

• share
• favorite_border

Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Oceanographic Center graduate student Jenny Fenton is analyzing the survival rates of juvenile swordfish caught by fishermen using rod and reel and buoy gear. Her research is the first study of its kind.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry found lakes in the undeveloped High Peaks area of the Adirondack Park are covered with ice for significantly shorter periods than they were 32 years ago, providing evidence that climate change is occurring rapidly. Not even the most pristine wilderness areas are immune.

• share
• favorite_border

University of Washington researchers have discovered a problem with a climate record that is often cited by climate change skeptics.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers monitor trout movement and diet to study causes of declining populations in Norway. The Ocean Tracking Network collaborates on the study by loaning trout monitoring equipment.

• share
• favorite_border

Changes in the speed that ice travels in more than 200 outlet glaciers indicates that Greenland's contribution to rising sea level in the 21st century might be significantly less than the upper limits some scientists thought possible, a new study shows.