ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News

A massive study on a tiny roadside weed shows urbanization is leading to adaptive evolution at a global scale. Scientists from 160 cities across six continents collected more than 110,000 samples of white clover plants in urban, suburban, and rural areas to study urbanization's effects on the plants.

Providing customized training to Brazilian ranchers can not only help keep carbon in the ground, but improve their livelihoods and mitigate climate change, according to new research.

Marine cold spells are cold versions of heat waves: periods of exceptionally cold water, able to hurt or help the ecosystems they hit. Today, the oceans experience just 25% of the number of cold spell days they did in the 1980s, and cold spells are about 15% less intense, researchers found. Weaker cold spells could mean they're less likely to cause mass die-off events, but having fewer cold spells also means refuges and recovery periods from marine heat waves are disappearing.

A new study shows that smoke from wildfires destroys the ozone layer. Researchers caution that if major fires become more frequent with a changing climate, more damaging ultraviolet radiation from the sun will reach the ground.

Evolution is normally considered to be a gradual process, unfolding over long timescales. But new findings show that widespread physical and genomic adaptation to the environment can occur within just weeks.

Forest restoration schemes should prioritize restoring native forests for greatest climate and environmental benefits, but these benefits incur a trade-off with wood production in comparison with tree plantations.

Methanotrophic bacteria consume 30 million metric tons of methane per year and have captivated researchers for their natural ability to convert the potent greenhouse gas into usable fuel. Yet we know very little about how the complex reaction occurs, limiting our ability to use the double benefit to our advantage.

A new study unlocks the science behind a key ingredient -- namely oxygen -- in some of the world's most violent volcanoes. The research offers a new model for understanding the oxidation state of arc magmas, the lavas that form some volcanoes, such as the one that erupted dramatically in Tonga earlier this year. The plume from Tonga's underwater volcanic eruption on Jan. 15 rose 36 miles into the air. Ash from the volcano reached the mesosphere, Earth's third layer of atmosphere.

An international research team has studied the flight behavior of the mysterious black swift. They found, among other things, that the black swift rises to extreme heights during a full moon, seemingly catching insects in the moonlight. And, during a lunar eclipse, the birds simultaneously lost altitude.

A team of scientists found that a rare species of monkey in Bolivia has adapted to living in a fragmented forest by dieting and moving less during lean times.

New research has discovered that monkeys use play to avoid conflict and reduce group tension. The study found that adult howler monkeys spend more time playing with other adults, rather than juveniles. And rather than being associated with fun or education, play increases when howler monkeys are foraging for fruit, which is a highly prized resource that generates competition.

A genetic conflict between the sexes promotes intraspecific diversity in ruffs. Ruffs are characterized by three supergene variants that lead to different appearances and courtship behavior in males. Whether these variants affect females was previously unknown. Researchers now show that females of the so-called Faeder variant produce less offspring. However, this female handicap helps their males: Disguised as females, Faeder males benefit from their own rarity and obtain more matings. The contrasting effect of the variant in males and females thus contributes to its persistence over time. The study thereby provides important insights into the mechanisms that maintain biodiversity.

A new study shows that, since Euro-American settlement approximately 160 years ago, agricultural fields in the midwestern U.S. have lost, on average, two millimeters of soil per year. This is nearly double the rate of erosion that the USDA considers sustainable. Furthermore, USDA estimates of erosion are between three and eight times lower than the figures reported in the study. Finally, the study's authors conclude that plowing, rather than the work of wind and water, is the major culprit.