ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News |
| Corals' natural 'sunscreen' may help them weather climate change Posted: 09 Jun 2021 08:55 AM PDT Scientists are one step closer to understanding why some corals can weather climate change better than others, and the secret could be in a specific protein that produces a natural sunscreen. |
| Maori connections to Antarctica may go as far back as 7th century, new study shows Posted: 09 Jun 2021 07:58 AM PDT Indigenous Maori people may have set eyes on Antarctic waters and perhaps the continent as early as the 7th century, new research shows. |
| Soil microbes metabolize the same polyphenols found in chocolate, wine Posted: 09 Jun 2021 07:58 AM PDT A research team has uncovered new insights into the role of polyphenols in the soil microbiome, known as a black box for its complexity. They proffer an updated theory that soils - much like the human gut - can be food sources for the microbes that live there. |
| Artificial light harming clownfish Posted: 09 Jun 2021 07:58 AM PDT Artificial lighting is killing young clownfish living closest to shore. They also found that these clownfish grew 44% more slowly than clownfish living under natural lighting conditions. |
| Historic Mississippi flow: Impacts of river regulation Posted: 08 Jun 2021 05:37 PM PDT New research seeks to resolve lingering questions about the rate at which the Atchafalaya River captured water from the Mississippi River and the degree to which it would have changed the course of the river. |
| Major barriers to financing a sustainable ocean economy Posted: 08 Jun 2021 05:37 PM PDT Financing a sustainable global ocean economy may require a Paris Agreement type effort, according to a new report. |
| Diverse fossil flora from 400 million year ago Posted: 08 Jun 2021 05:37 PM PDT The analysis of very old plant fossils discovered in South Africa and dating from the Lower Devonian period documents the transition from barren continents to the green planet we know today. |
| Researchers create intelligent electronic microsystems from 'green' material Posted: 08 Jun 2021 05:37 PM PDT A research team has created an electronic microsystem that can intelligently respond to information inputs without any external energy input, much like a self-autonomous living organism. The microsystem is constructed from a novel type of electronics that can process ultralow electronic signals and incorporates a device that can generate electricity 'out of thin air' from the ambient environment. |
| Keeping a closer eye on seabirds with drones and artificial intelligence Posted: 08 Jun 2021 05:37 PM PDT Drones and artificial intelligence can monitor large colonies of seabirds as well as traditional on-the-ground methods, while reducing costs, labor and the risk of human error, a new study finds. Scientists used an AI deep-learning algorithm to analyze more than 10,000 drone images of mixed colonies of seabirds in the Falkland Islands/Malvinas. The algorithm's automated counts closely matched human counts 90% of the time. |
| Peace accord in Colombia has increased deforestation of biologically-diverse rainforest Posted: 08 Jun 2021 12:45 PM PDT Since the end of the long-running conflict in Colombia, large areas of forest have been rapidly converted to agricultural uses, suggesting the peace agreement presents a threat to conservation the country's rainforest. |
| 'Surfing' particles: Physicists solve a mystery surrounding aurora borealis Posted: 08 Jun 2021 12:44 PM PDT The spectacularly colorful aurora borealis -- or northern lights -- that fills the sky in high-latitude regions has fascinated people for thousands of years. Now, a team of scientists has resolved one of the final mysteries surrounding its origin. |
| Efficiently 'switching on' bacteria to produce high-value chemicals Posted: 08 Jun 2021 12:44 PM PDT High-value chemicals used in biofuels and pharmaceuticals can be made from bacteria by switching their chemistry to produce novel products. Researchers have found a way to drastically cut the cost of turning on these switches. |
| Monarchs raised in captivity can orient themselves for migration Posted: 08 Jun 2021 12:44 PM PDT Researchers found monarchs raised in captivity can successfully migrate if given time to orient themselves. They discovered this by equipping the butterflies with tiny radio transmitters and monitoring them for 200 km, debunking previous research that found the butterflies couldn't orient themselves. Monarchs released into the wild flew in the proper direction because they were exposed to natural sunlight cues allowing them to calibrate their internal compasses after being released. |
| Scientists develop the 'evotype' to unlock power of evolution for better engineering biology Posted: 08 Jun 2021 12:44 PM PDT Scientists have pioneered a new approach to help biological engineers both harness and design the evolutionary potential of new biosystems. Their concept of the 'evotype' lays a foundation for the next generation of stable, safe and self-improving biotechnologies. |
| Cleaning up mining pollution in rivers Posted: 08 Jun 2021 12:44 PM PDT Mining involves moving a lot of rock, so some mess is expected. However, mining operations can continue to affect ecosystems long after activity has ended. Heavy metals and corrosive substances leach into the environment, preventing wildlife and vegetation from returning to the area. |
| New population of pygmy blue whales discovered with help of bomb detectors Posted: 08 Jun 2021 08:32 AM PDT Blue whales may be the biggest animals in the world, but they're also some of the hardest to find. A team of scientists are confident they've discovered a new population of pygmy blue whales, the smallest subspecies of blue whales, in the Indian Ocean. And it was the whales' powerful singing -- recorded by underwater bomb detectors -- that gave them away. |
| Porpoises seem to cooperate in surprisingly sophisticated group hunting Posted: 08 Jun 2021 08:32 AM PDT Drone footage shows that porpoises may be more social and cooperative than previously thought. |
| Earth's meteorite impacts over past 500 million years tracked Posted: 08 Jun 2021 08:32 AM PDT For the first time, a unique study has tracked the meteorite flux to Earth over the past 500 million years. Contrary to current theories, researchers have determined that major collisions in the asteroid belt have not generally affected the number of impacts with Earth to any great extent. |
| Deforestation darkening the seas above world's second biggest reef Posted: 08 Jun 2021 08:31 AM PDT Converting Central American tropical forests into agricultural land is changing the color and composition of natural material washing into nearby rivers, making it less likely to decompose before it reaches the ocean, a new study has shown. |
| Snowflake morays can feed on land, swallow prey without water Posted: 08 Jun 2021 06:22 AM PDT A new study shows that pharyngeal jaws enable at least one species of moray eel to feed on land. |
| Projected acidification of the Great Barrier Reef could be offset by ten years Posted: 08 Jun 2021 05:39 AM PDT New research has shown that by injecting an alkalinizing agent into the ocean along the length of the Great Barrier Reef, it would be possible, at the present rate of anthropogenic carbon emissions, to offset ten years' worth of ocean acidification. |
| Experiments show natural selection opposes sexual selection Posted: 08 Jun 2021 05:39 AM PDT Natural selection can reverse evolution that occurs through sexual selection and this can lead to better females, new research shows. |
| Turning off lights can save migrating birds from crashing into buildings Posted: 07 Jun 2021 01:12 PM PDT Forty years of data came together to show just how many birds can be saved by buildings turning their lights off. Using decades' worth of data and birds, researchers found that on nights when half the windows were darkened, there were 11 times fewer bird collisions during spring migration and 6 times fewer collisions during fall migration than when all the windows were lit. |
| Study sheds light on pre-Columbian life in understudied area of SW Amazon Posted: 07 Jun 2021 01:11 PM PDT A new study shows that pre-Columbian people of a culturally diverse but not well-documented area of the Amazon in South America significantly altered their landscape thousands of years earlier than previously thought. The findings counter the notion of a pristine Amazon during pre-Columbian times. |
| The search for mountain snow microalgae Posted: 07 Jun 2021 05:46 AM PDT The life of the microscopic algae that inhabit snow at high elevations is still relatively unknown. Researchers have therefore created the ALPALGA consortium to study this little-known world, threatened by global warming. |
| Experiment evaluates the effect of human decisions on climate reconstructions Posted: 07 Jun 2021 05:46 AM PDT The first double-blind experiment analysing the role of human decision-making in climate reconstructions has found that it can lead to substantially different results. |
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