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Environmental

A collection of 1046 articles

Radioactive carbon from nuclear bomb tests found in deep ocean trenches

A new study in AGU's journal Geophysical Research Letters finds the first evidence of radioactive carbon from nuclear bomb tests in muscle tissues of crustaceans that inhabit Earth's ocean trenches, including the Mariana Trench, home to the deepest spot in the ocean. Organisms at the ocean surface have incorporated this

Climate change is giving old trees a growth spurt

A new study of growth rings from Dahurian larch in China's northern forests finds the hardy trees grew more from 2005 to 2014 than in the preceding 40 years..

Paper wasps capable of behavior that resembles logical reasoning

For millennia, transitive inference was considered a hallmark of human deductive powers, a form of logical reasoning used to make inferences: If A is greater than B, and B is greater than C, then A is greater than C. But in recent decades, vertebrate animals including monkeys, birds and fish

Climate change responsible for severe infectious disease in UK frogs: Compelling research reveals fatal spread of Ranavirus will increase if carbon emissions are not reduced

Historic trends in mass-mortality events attributed to the disease were found to match the pattern of increased temperatures recorded over recent decades, with disease outbreaks predicted to become more severe, more widespread and occurring over a greater proportion of the year within the next few decades, if carbon emissions continue

Great chocolate is a complex mix of science, physicists reveal

Scientists have uncovered the physics behind the process -- known as conching -- which is responsible for creating chocolate's distinctive smooth texture..

Birds outside their comfort zone are more vulnerable to deforestation

Predicting a species' sensitivity to environmental changes, such as deforestation or climate change, is crucial for designing conservation strategies..

Dexterous herring gulls learn new tricks to adapt their feeding habits

The gulls (Larus argentatus) of Dún Laoghaire Marina at Dublin in Ireland have found a novel way of disposing of the tightly fixed outer layer of sea squirts -- an organism which they have learnt to pluck from the underside of pontoons by diving or floating on the water.

Just one-third of the world's longest rivers remain free-flowing

A team of 34 international researchers from McGill University, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and other institutions assessed the connectivity status of 12 million kilometers (~7.5 million miles) of rivers worldwide, providing the first-ever global assessment of the location and extent of the planet's remaining free-flowing rivers. Among other findings,

Oldest known trees in eastern North America documented

David Stahle, Distinguished Professor of geosciences, along with colleagues from the university's Ancient Bald Cypress Consortium and other conservation groups, discovered the trees in 2017 in a forested wetland preserve along the Black River south of Raleigh, North Carolina. Stahle documented the age of the trees using dendrochronology, the study

Antarctic biodiversity hotspots exist wherever penguins and seals poop

Researchers braved the wicked cold of the Antarctic and maneuvered through fields of animal waste and groups of clamoring elephant seals, gentoo, chinstrap, and Adélie penguins to examine the soils and plants surrounding these colonies. "What we see is that the poo produced by seals and penguins partly evaporates

A genomic tour-de-force reveals the last 5,000 years of horse history

The findings identify two new horse lineages that are now extinct and suggest that familiar traits such as speed were only selected for more recently in their history

Human influence on global droughts goes back 100 years, NASA study finds

The study, published in the journal Nature, compared predicted and real-world soil moisture data to look for human influences on global drought patterns in the 20th century.

Radical desalination approach may disrupt the water industry

If hypersaline brines are improperly managed, they can pollute both surface and groundwater resources.

Duck-billed dinosaurs: Evolutionary bursts led to weird and wonderful head crests

Called the 'sheep of the Mesozoic'as they filled the landscape in the Late Cretaceous period, hadrosaurs walked on their hind legs and were known for their powerful jaws with multiple rows of extremely effective teeth. They also had hugely varied head display crests that signalled which species each belonged to

Nature's dangerous decline 'unprecedented,' species extinction rates 'accelerating'

"The overwhelming evidence of the IPBES Global Assessment, from a wide range of different fields of knowledge, presents an ominous picture," said IPBES Chair, Sir Robert Watson.