ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News

Recently, a group of 23 science and policy experts from the U.S. and Canada published a review of mining risks to watersheds ranging from Montana to British Columbia and Alaska. The paper brought together experts in salmon ecology, watershed science, mining impacts and mining policy to integrate knowledge across research fields that often work independently from one another.

The fossil record tells us about ancient life through the preserved remains of body parts like bones, teeth and turtle shells. But how to study the history of soft tissues and organs, which can decay quickly, leaving little evidence behind? In a new study, scientists use gene expression patterns, called transcriptomics, to investigate the ancient origins of one organ: the placenta, which is vital to pregnancy.

A new article synthesizes the impact of metal and coal mines on salmon and trout in northwestern North America, and highlights the need for more complete and transparent science to inform mining policy.

Pesticides and heavy metals in soil may have detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system, according to a review paper.

A new study has found humpback whales can learn incredibly complex songs from whales from other regions.

Researchers investigating the exposure of small mammals to plastics in England and Wales have found traces in the feces of more than half of the species examined. The densities of plastic excreted were comparable with those reported in human studies.

A study reveals an unprecedented change in the fire regime in Europe which is related to climate change. The affected areas are in Southern, Central and Northern Europe but this historical change in Europe's fire regime is more intense in the Mediterranean area.

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai submarine volcano in January 2022 was one of the most explosive volcanic events of the modern era, a new study has confirmed.

Researchers studying ancient sea bed burrows and trails have discovered that bottom burrowing animals were among the first to bounce back after the end-Permian mass extinction.

Microorganisms in aquifers deep below the earth's surface produce similar amounts of biomass as those in some marine waters. Applying a unique, ultra-sensitive measurement method using radioactive carbon, they were able to demonstrate for the first time that these biotic communities in absolute darkness do not depend on sunlight. Instead, they can obtain energy autonomously from rock oxidation or from compounds transported into the deep.

Research on the effects of exercise in low-oxygen environments on the brain demonstrated that cognitive performance worsens when lower-than-usual amounts of oxygen are carried by the blood. Consequently, tissue in brain regions with less critical functions may receive inadequate oxygen supply to maintain normal activity levels.