ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News

Aerosols carried in wildfire smoke plumes that are hundreds of hours old can still affect climate, according to a new study.

New research highlights disparities in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) trends between American Indian (AI) and non-AI populated U.S. counties. PM2.5 is one of several air pollutants regulated by the U.S. EPA. Downward trends in PM2.5 concentrations were steeper among the non-AI populated compared to AI-populated counties. With most U.S. air pollution research conducted in urban settings, this is the first study to detail the extent of particulate air pollution levels and its potential health consequences among rural AI communities.

One of the great mysteries of late medieval history is why did the Norse, who had established successful settlements in southern Greenland in 985, abandon them in the early 15th century? The consensus view has long been that colder temperatures, associated with the Little Ice Age, helped make the colonies unsustainable. However, new research upends that old theory. It wasn't dropping temperatures that helped drive the Norse from Greenland, but drought.

Demand response, a measure taken to reduce the energy load in response to supply constraints, within the Texas electric grid has been a topic of recent conversation after the wake of Winter Storm Uri just one year ago. Demand response can enhance the reliability of the grid through renewable energy penetration and also significantly reduce price volatility, or fluctuation, in the wholesale electricity market.

Those who have visited the park may have asked themselves, 'Where does all the hot water come from?' A study now provides stunning subsurface images that begin to answer that question.

How does one help save an iconic, nutritious Egyptian crop that will help meet the food security challenges resulting from climate change? An international team of researchers discovered that the best way to start is to drive throughout central and northeastern Egypt, knock on the doors of small farmers, and ask for a handful of their pumpkin seeds.

Researchers are calling for new national planning policies to mandate the inclusion of trees in any future housing developments and architectural designs.

The more fires they respond to, the higher the risk of atrial fibrillation or AFib -- a common irregular heart rhythm -- among firefighters, according to a survey of more than 10,000 active U.S. firefighters. After adjusting for atrial fibrillation risk factors, such as high blood pressure and smoking, researchers found a 14% increased risk of atrial fibrillation for every additional five fires fought annually.

A new study has found that costs of conservation projects are rarely reported, making it difficult for others to make decisions on the most cost-effective interventions at a time when funding for biodiversity conservation is severely limited.

Archaeologists show that a site in Belize was critical in studying the origins of the ancient Maya people and the spread of maize as a staple food.

Coral reefs in the Gulf of Eilat (also known as the Gulf of Aqaba) have been proven particularly resistant to global warming, rising water temperatures and bleaching events that are crippling their counterparts elsewhere around the world. But the findings of a long-term study confirm a different threat to this coral refuge in southern Israel: massive urban development near the Gulf coastline is taking a devastating toll on the local marine environment.