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Environmental

A collection of 1053 articles

Australian islands home to 414 million pieces of plastic pollution

The study led by IMAS researcher Dr Jennifer Lavers and published in the journal Scientific Reports estimated beaches on the Indian Ocean islands are littered with 238 tonnes of plastic, including 977,000 shoes and 373,000 toothbrushes. Dr Lavers' research made headlines around the world when in May 2017

Scientists propose rethinking 'endangered species' definition to save slow-breeding giants

"Critical thresholds in so-called vital rates -- such as mortality and fertility rates among males and females of various ages -- can signal an approaching population collapse long before numbers drop below a point of no return," says lead author Dr. Shermin de Silva, President Founder of Asian elephant conservation

Nearly a quarter of West Antarctic ice is now unstable

A team of researchers, led by Professor Andy Shepherd from the University of Leeds, found that Antarctica's ice sheet has thinned by up to 122 metres in places, with the most rapid changes occurring in West Antarctica where ocean melting has triggered glacier imbalance. This means that the affected glaciers

Iceland volcano eruption in 1783-84 did not spawn extreme heat wave: Massive Laki volcano eruption led to unusually cold winter in Europe

The study, in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, will help improve predictions of how the climate will respond to future high-latitude volcanic eruptions..

Earliest evidence of the cooking and eating of starch

The new research by an international team of archaeologists, published in the Journal of Human Evolution, provides archaeological evidence that has previously been lacking to support the hypothesis that the duplication of the starch digestion genes is an adaptive response to an increased starch diet. "This is very exciting. The

Breakthrough in new material to harness solar power

The University of Toledo physicist pushing the performance of solar cells to levels never before reached made a significant breakthrough in the chemical formula and process to make the new material.

As bumblebee diets narrow, ours could too: Fewer plants cause developmental delays for prolific produce pollinators

A new study from the University of California, Riverside, reveals the loss of plant diversity harms the humble bumble at a critical stage in its development from egg to adult.

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,