Feature Channels: Environmental Science

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Released: 24-Feb-2016 12:05 PM EST
In Polarized Political Climate, Penn State Study Finds Common Ground
Penn State University

In the midst of the 2016 presidential election season, headlines often tell the story of a polarized political climate in America. However, a recent national survey conducted by Penn State researchers found overwhelming bipartisan support for parks and recreation.

Released: 24-Feb-2016 12:05 PM EST
School Buildings Designed as “Teaching Green” Can Lead to Better Environmental Education
University of Missouri

Students learning in green buildings have higher levels of environmental knowledge and behavior.

Released: 24-Feb-2016 11:05 AM EST
Study: Carbon Tax Needed to Cut Fossil Fuel Consumption
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Will we ever stop using fossil fuels? Not without a carbon tax, suggests a study by an MIT economist.

Released: 23-Feb-2016 2:05 PM EST
For Weather Forecasting, Precise Observations Matter More Than Butterflies
University of Washington

Small disturbances, like the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, don’t really matter for weather forecasts. What's more important is getting accurate observations at larger scales.

Released: 23-Feb-2016 2:05 PM EST
World's Large River Deltas Continue to Degrade From Human Activity
University of Colorado Boulder

From the Yellow River in China to the Mississippi River in Louisiana, researchers are racing to better understand and mitigate the degradation of some of the world's most important river deltas, according to a University of Colorado Boulder faculty member.

Released: 23-Feb-2016 2:05 PM EST
Antarctica Could Be Headed for Major Meltdown
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)

UCLA geochemist finds striking similarities between climate change patterns today and millions of years ago.

Released: 23-Feb-2016 1:05 PM EST
Urban Soils Release Surprising Amounts of Carbon Dioxide
Boston University

Tracking biological emissions will allow more accurate assessments of climate action programs.

Released: 23-Feb-2016 12:05 PM EST
California’s Ecological Abundance
University of California, Santa Barbara

UCSB researchers contribute to “Ecosystems of California,” an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem in the state.

Released: 23-Feb-2016 11:05 AM EST
2015 Broward County, Fla. Sea Turtle Nesting Season Saw Second-Largest Number of Nests in History
Nova Southeastern University

Every year from March through October, something truly amazing happens: sea turtles make their way onto the beaches of South Florida to lay the eggs of the next generation.

Released: 23-Feb-2016 11:05 AM EST
Solar Array to Meet 10 Percent of Ithaca College Electricity Needs
Ithaca College

Ithaca College is partnering with private developers, with the assistance of a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, to build and operate an off-site solar array that will move the college closer to its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

Released: 23-Feb-2016 10:00 AM EST
Searing Heat Waves Detailed in Study of Future Climate
National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

Aggressive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions will translate into sizable benefits, starting in the middle of the century, for both the number and intensity of extreme heat events, according to a new study led by NCAR.

Released: 23-Feb-2016 9:05 AM EST
Virginia Tech Researchers Discover a Royal Flush in Powering Fuel Cells with Wastewater
Virginia Tech

Two Virginia Tech researchers have discovered a way to maximize the amount of electricity that can be generated from the wastewater we flush down the toilet.

Released: 22-Feb-2016 3:05 PM EST
Fungi Are at the Root of Tropical Forest Diversity -- or Lack Thereof, Study Finds
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The types of beneficial fungi that associate with tree roots can alter the fate of a patch of tropical forest, boosting plant diversity or, conversely, giving one tree species a distinct advantage over many others, researchers report.

Released: 22-Feb-2016 12:05 PM EST
Researchers Sequence Seagrass Genome, Unlocking Valuable Resource
University of Delaware

Researchers say a fully sequenced Z. marina genome is a valuable resource that can advance research in a variety of areas. It could be used to study how marine ecosystems adapt under climate warming or to unravel the mechanisms of salt tolerance that assist in the breeding of crop plants.

Released: 22-Feb-2016 11:05 AM EST
Charging Electric Vehicles at Night Can Cause More Harm Than Good, Says CMU Study
Carnegie Mellon University

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University find that while charging electric vehicles at night is more cost-effective, it increases air emissions.

Released: 22-Feb-2016 11:05 AM EST
Minke Whales Are Predominant Prey of Killer Whales in Northwest
University of Rhode Island

Doctoral student first to investigate the ecology of the orcas that live around Newfoundland and Labrador.

18-Feb-2016 10:05 AM EST
Atmospheric Sulfate Particles Reduced, but as Acidic as Ever
Georgia Institute of Technology

Tough emission controls have dramatically reduced the amount of toxic sulfate particles in air, but at least in the Southeast United States, they haven't reduced the acidity of the health-threatening particles.

Released: 19-Feb-2016 3:05 PM EST
Buildings Wrapped in High-Efficiency, Flexible Solar Cells? It Could Happen.
American Technion Society

Patented organic solar cell breakthrough could increase their efficiency to cost-effective levels. Buildings and rooftops could be wrapped in lightweight, flexible sheets of solar cells. Could also provide reliable power to isolated regions.

Released: 19-Feb-2016 2:05 PM EST
Trail of eDNA Helps Uncover Mysteries of Alaska Wildlife
University of Alaska Fairbanks

Imagine exploring a wooded site along an Alaska stream or lake for evidence of animals. Maybe you’ll see moose prints in the soil or a bit of wolf fur in a berry bush. But some species don’t leave footprints. They still leave a clue. It’s their DNA.

16-Feb-2016 4:05 PM EST
60 Years After Pioneering Survey, Wisconsin Prairies Are Changing Rapidly
University of Wisconsin–Madison

Between 1947 and 1956, John Curtis and his colleagues and students conducted their prairie relic study, surveying more than 200 undisturbed prairie remnants in Wisconsin. Today [Feb. 19, 2016] UW-Madison graduate student Amy Alstad and a team of researchers have published a third survey based on Curtis’ legacy work. They found that human influence has accelerated the rate of species change in these prairies.

Released: 19-Feb-2016 1:05 PM EST
Exposure to Air Pollution Increases the Risk of Obesity
Duke University

Laboratory rats who breathed Beijing's highly polluted air gained weight and experienced cardio-respiratory and metabolic dysfunctions after three to eight weeks of exposure.

17-Feb-2016 7:05 PM EST
Biofuel Tech Straight From the Farm
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

In the February 18, 2016 issue of Science, researchers from UCSB and including a DOE JGI team report that anaerobic gut fungi perform as well as the best fungi engineered by industry in their ability to convert plant material into sugars that are easily transformed into fuel and other products.

Released: 18-Feb-2016 9:05 AM EST
With Help, Tigers Clawing Back in Southeast Asia
Wildlife Conservation Society

A new study by a team of Thai and international scientists finds that a depleted tiger population in Thailand is rebounding thanks to enhanced protection measures.

Released: 17-Feb-2016 2:05 PM EST
Pesticide Mixtures May Increase Health Risks but Are Still Unregulated by California, UCLA Report Says
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)

A UCLA study has found that the state agency responsible for protecting Californians from the dangers of pesticides is failing to assess the health risks likely posed by pesticide mixtures, which are believed to be more harmful than individual pesticides.

   
Released: 17-Feb-2016 2:05 PM EST
Low-Dose Exposure of Environmental Contaminants Can Be Harmful to the Human Brain
Uppsala University

Individuals subjected to chronic low-dose exposure to organochlorine pesticides show and increased risk to obtain a future diagnosis of cognitive impairment. This is shown in a study now published in Environmental International.

Released: 17-Feb-2016 1:05 PM EST
New Study Represents ‘a Leap Forward’ in Our Understanding of Ice Sheet Behavior, Expert Says
University at Buffalo

UB geologist Jason Briner can discuss the implications of a new climate science paper by Stokes et al in Nature. Briner was not part of the research project.

Released: 17-Feb-2016 12:05 PM EST
Breaking the Strongest Link Triggered Big Baja Earthquake
University of California, Davis

A spate of major earthquakes on small faults could overturn traditional views about how earthquakes start, according to a study from researchers at the Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior in Ensenada, Mexico, and the University of California, Davis.

Released: 16-Feb-2016 4:05 PM EST
Herpes Outbreak, Other Marine Viruses Linked to Coral Bleaching Event
Oregon State University

A study at Oregon State University has concluded that significant outbreaks of viruses may be associated with coral bleaching events, especially as a result of multiple environmental stresses.

Released: 16-Feb-2016 1:05 PM EST
Research Explains Near-Island Biological Hotspots in Barren Ocean Basins
University of Hawaii at Manoa

Coral reef islands and atolls in the Pacific are predominantly surrounded by vast areas of ocean that have very low nutrient levels and low ecological production. However, the ecosystems near these islands and atolls are often extremely productive and support an enhanced nearshore food-web, leading to an abundance of species and increased local fisheries.

Released: 16-Feb-2016 12:05 PM EST
Chemicals and Asthma: ACI Webinar Series to Explore the State of the Science
American Cleaning Institute

The first of an American Cleaning Institute-sponsored webinar series on “Advancing the Science on Chemical-Induced Asthma” kicks off February 25 to help provide researchers with greater insights on an often mischaracterized topic.

Released: 16-Feb-2016 10:05 AM EST
Disease, Warming Oceans Rock Lobster and Sea Star Populations
Cornell University

Two new Cornell University studies show how diverse marine organisms are susceptible to diseases made worse by warming oceans. The first study warns that warm sea temperatures in 2015 may increase the levels of epizootic shell disease in American lobster in the northern Gulf of Maine in 2016. The second provides the first evidence linking warmer ocean temperatures with a West Coast epidemic of sea star wasting disease that has infected more than 20 species and devastated populations since 2013.

Released: 16-Feb-2016 9:05 AM EST
In a U.S. First, UAH Team MeasuresLightning-Produced Ozone with Lidar
University of Alabama Huntsville

Scientists at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) have used UAH’s Rocket-city Ozone (O3) Quality Evaluation in the Troposphere (RO3QET) Lidar to measure ozone produced by lightning in the United States.

Released: 15-Feb-2016 7:05 PM EST
Ice Sheet Modeling of Greenland, Antarctica Helps Predict Sea-Level Rise
Sandia National Laboratories

Predicting the expected loss of ice sheet mass is difficult due to the complexity of modeling ice sheet behavior. To better understand this loss, a team of Sandia National Laboratories researchers has been improving the reliability and efficiency of computational models that describe ice sheet behavior and dynamics.

Released: 15-Feb-2016 3:05 PM EST
Study Challenges Widely Accepted Theory of Yellowstone Formation
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Understanding the complex geological processes that form supervolcanoes could ultimately help geologists determine what triggers their eruptions. A new study using an advanced computer model casts doubt on previously held theories about the Yellowstone supervolcano’s origins, adding to the mystery of Yellowstone’s formation.

Released: 15-Feb-2016 1:05 PM EST
How Humans Impacted the Everglades
University of Miami

Excavations show the role early humans played in forming the tree islands that dot the river of grass.

Released: 15-Feb-2016 12:05 PM EST
Alaska Tsunami Scientist Urges Education and Preparedness
University of Alaska Fairbanks

If you’re enjoying a lovely day on the beach, there’s something you should do if the ground shakes, the water retreats or the ocean make a strange noise. “Run,” said Elena Suleimani, because those are signs that a tsunami is coming. “It’s a matter of minutes. Don’t return for at least twelve hours.”

Released: 15-Feb-2016 12:05 PM EST
Garden Plant Residues Can Improve Soil
Soil Science Society of America (SSSA)

Intentionally or unintentionally, many gardeners have left plants in their gardens over the winter. The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) February 15 Soils Matter blog post explains this is actually a good thing… and something everyone should consider on a yearly basis.

Released: 15-Feb-2016 10:05 AM EST
UF Hosting a Climate Change Colloquium
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Science can provide facts, but it is the business of the creative arts to envision the future, and how all of humanity will be impacted by man-made changes to our planet.

Released: 15-Feb-2016 9:05 AM EST
New Research Challenges Cascading Effects of Shark Declines
Florida State University

New Florida State University research appearing today in Scientific Reports, a Nature journal, challenges a 2007 study published in Scienceclaiming that shark declines led to rising populations of cownose rays, which were responsible for the collapse of oyster and shellfish industries along the Atlantic coast.

Released: 12-Feb-2016 3:05 PM EST
Poor Air Quality Kills 5.5 Million Worldwide Annually
University of British Columbia

New research shows that more than 5.5 million people die prematurely every year due to household and outdoor air pollution. More than half of deaths occur in two of the world's fastest growing economies, China and India.

Released: 12-Feb-2016 2:05 PM EST
UMD Researchers Assess Potential Public Health Impacts of Fracking in Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park

Following their release of a state-commissioned study on the potential public health impacts of fracking in Western Maryland, University of Maryland researchers are helping to inform the conversation about the potential risks associated with unconventional natural gas development and production.

   
Released: 12-Feb-2016 10:05 AM EST
AWARE Project Launched to Gain New Insights on Climate of Antarctica
Brookhaven National Laboratory

It has been nearly half a century since scientists have collected extensive climate or atmospheric data from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). But late last year, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, working with a group led by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, embarked on a new project that will lead to a better understanding of how much of the sun’s light and the atmosphere’s heat radiation reach the Antarctic surface—variables that affect temperature patterns and ice melt throughout the region.

Released: 12-Feb-2016 10:05 AM EST
WFU Sustainability Experts React to Supreme Court’s Decision on Clean Power Plan
Wake Forest University

WFU law professors provide insight on the Supreme Court’s decision on Clean Power Plan.

Released: 12-Feb-2016 8:00 AM EST
Winter Feast: Camera Trap Offers a Candid Look at Idaho’s Scavengers
Boise State University

A research wildlife biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the executive director of Boise State University’s Intermountain Bird Observatory have teamed up with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to create a series of motion-sensitive camera traps to monitor golden eagle migration and distribution in southwest Idaho.

Released: 12-Feb-2016 7:05 AM EST
LSU’s Earth Scan Laboratory Develops Bird’s-Eye View of Lake Pontchartrain Sediment Plume
Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System-Regional Association (GCOOS-RA)

The Earth Scan Lab has developed the most complete and cloud-free time sequence collected during a major flood event of the Mississippi River.

Released: 11-Feb-2016 2:05 PM EST
Study Ranks Environmental Performance of Oil/Gas Companies
Dick Jones Communications

A Pennsylvania professor has created a formula to rank the nation's oil and gas companies based on their environmental impact.

Released: 11-Feb-2016 1:05 PM EST
The Scaled King and His Knight: 2 New Giant Bent-Toed Gecko Species From New Guinea
Pensoft Publishers

The extremely complex geological history of New Guinea has allowed many of its animals and plants the chance to grow different enough to make a name for themselves. In the case of two newly described and unusually large gecko species - only a noble name would do. The two new species whose names respectively mean 'knight' and 'king' were discovered by a team led by Dr. Paul Oliver, The Australian National University and University of Melbourne, are described in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

Released: 11-Feb-2016 1:05 PM EST
Scientists Say Window to Reduce Carbon Emissions Is Small
Oregon State University

At the rate humans are emitting carbon into the atmosphere, the Earth may suffer irreparable damage that could last tens of thousands of years, according to a new analysis published this week.

Released: 11-Feb-2016 10:05 AM EST
Tall Fescue and Fungal Endophyte Cooperation Varied
American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA)

Scientists hope to find “an ideal combination” of plant, endophyte, environment, and genetic interactions



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