https://phys.org/earth-news/earth-sciences en-us The latest news on earth sciences and the environment A new study investigates the sinks and sources of key greenhouse gases of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in the Arctic landscape with a spatial resolution of only a few square meters. Vegetation and soil conditions explain the differences in greenhouse gas emissions. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-arctic-greenhouse-gas-source-field.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:18:03 EST news626026681 Humans will need to both drastically reduce emissions and remove at least 10 gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per year to avoid the worst effects of climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2023 synthesis report. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-carbon-capacities-anoxic-basins.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 01 Feb 2024 15:56:54 EST news626025412 New research from Dartmouth College provides the first evidence that the Arctic's frozen soil is the dominant force shaping Earth's northernmost rivers. Permafrost, the thick layer of soil that stays frozen for two or more years at a time, is the reason that Arctic rivers are uniformly confined to smaller areas and shallower valleys than rivers to the south, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-permafrost-arctic-rivers-lot-carbon.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 01 Feb 2024 15:56:07 EST news626025363 While much of the world is grappling with rising sea levels due to the melting of Greenland's ice sheet, the situation on the Greenlandic mainland is almost the opposite. The land is rising faster than the current sea level. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-rapid-climate-greenland-bedrock-small.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 01 Feb 2024 15:05:03 EST news626022302 Governments and businesses are relying on dangerous amounts of future removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, instead of more rapidly reducing emissions and phasing out fossil fuels. This problem is partly due to an incomplete picture of the damaging consequences of carbon dioxide removal for people, food security and natural ecosystems, according to new research published in Science. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-highlights-dangerous-overreliance-future.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 01 Feb 2024 14:00:01 EST news626003153 A study led by scientists at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil has shown that the Rio Grande Rise (RGR), a possibly continental basaltic plateau and chain of seamounts now submerged in the South Atlantic Ocean some 1,200 km from the coast of Brazil, was once a giant tropical island, rich in minerals and covered with vegetation. Geologists have dated sediments from the formation to between 45 million and 40 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-rio-grande-giant-mineral-rich.html Earth Sciences Thu, 01 Feb 2024 11:58:04 EST news626011081 Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, have discovered a change in what scientists already knew about global warming dynamics. It had been widely accepted since the 1950s that global temperature rises were not consistent throughout the day and night, with greater nighttime warming being observed. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-temperature-difference-day-night-affect.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 01 Feb 2024 10:57:20 EST news626007437 Mangroves and saltmarshes sequester large amounts of carbon, mitigating the greenhouse effect. New research from the University of Gothenburg shows that these environments are perhaps twice as effective as previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-tidal-landscapes-greater-carbon-previously.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 01 Feb 2024 09:44:07 EST news626003037 The unmanned underwater vehicle Ran has gone missing under a glacier in Antarctica. The vehicle, owned by the University of Gothenburg, is one of just three in the world that is used for research and has contributed to important knowledge about the so-called Doomsday Glacier. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-underwater-unmanned-vehicle-doomsday-glacier.html Earth Sciences Wed, 31 Jan 2024 16:11:58 EST news625939912 Scientists have harnessed cutting-edge technology to produce the most comprehensive map of hedgerows across the length and breadth of England. The researchers at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) hope this innovative mapping will guide planting and restoration of these vulnerable habitats to support wildlife and mitigate climate change. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-high-tech-aerial-reveals-england.html Earth Sciences Wed, 31 Jan 2024 16:11:17 EST news625939871 Trees are struggling to sequester heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) in warmer, drier climates, meaning that they may no longer serve as a solution for offsetting humanity's carbon footprint as the planet continues to warm, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-trees-struggle-climate.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 31 Jan 2024 16:10:07 EST news625939801 Geoscientists have uncovered a missing link in the enigmatic story of how the continents developed—a revised origin story that doesn't require the start of plate tectonics or any external factor to explain their formation. Instead, the findings published last week in Nature Communications rely solely on internal geological forces that occurred within oceanic plateaus that formed during the first few hundred million years of Earth's history. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-uncover-source-real-continents.html Earth Sciences Wed, 31 Jan 2024 15:59:03 EST news625939141 Intensive agricultural cultivation and the resulting changes in soil structure cause low humidity in the near-surface air during heat waves in really dry years. As a result, summer cold fronts roar across the Great Hungarian Plain without the usual thunderstorms and precipitation. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-drought-eastern-hungarian-plains.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 31 Jan 2024 15:48:03 EST news625938481 Record-high ocean temperatures observed in 2023 could become the norm if the world moved into a climate that is 3°C warmer than pre-industrial levels, according to a new study. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-unprecedented-ocean-world-3c-warmer.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 31 Jan 2024 13:42:47 EST news625930963 The concept of geospatial data, or information related to locations on Earth's surface, has evolved. With the advent of widely available internet and smartphones, directions that were once only available on a paper map are now updated on your phone in real time to account for traffic. That evolution was, and will continue to be, driven by how the data is gathered, according to an international research collaboration representing 18 institutions in four countries. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-seismic-shift-crowdsourced-geospatial-complex.html Earth Sciences Wed, 31 Jan 2024 13:41:18 EST news625930873 Days after a wildfire, a type of smoke can linger in the atmosphere that contains tiny, brown, light-absorbing particles known as tar balls. These particles are believed to have a significant impact on Earth's radiative balance, and as a result, a role in both the warming and cooling of the atmosphere. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-scientists-reveal-tar-particles-wildfire.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 31 Jan 2024 13:40:03 EST news625930801 Fueled by increasing temperatures and droughts, severe wildfires are on the rise around the world—as are the smoke-borne contaminants that harm the environment and human health. In 2023, Canada recorded its worst wildfire season ever, with fires releasing more than 290 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere. California also experienced record-setting fire seasons in 2020 and 2021. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-artificial-intelligence-pollution-air.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 31 Jan 2024 13:25:07 EST news625929885 A series of atmospheric rivers is bringing the threat of heavy downpours, flooding, mudslides and avalanches to the Pacific Northwest and California this week. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-qa-atmospheric-river-hydrologist-good.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 31 Jan 2024 12:59:04 EST news625928342 The Hadley circulation is a key atmospheric circulation pattern in the tropics. It helps even out the temperature between the equator and the poles by moving energy and momentum toward higher latitudes. However, recent studies indicate that the Hadley circulation cells have expanded toward the poles in the 21st century, increasing by several degrees each year. This expansion can have a substantial impact on the global weather and climate, resulting in adverse events like heat waves, droughts, and tropical cyclones https://phys.org/news/2024-01-decode-key-airflow-pattern-impacting.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 31 Jan 2024 11:32:48 EST news625923165 A team of scientists has sifted through two decades' worth of climate data collected by NASA laser pulses, and say it both paints a sobering picture and underscores the need for such missions to continue. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-space-lasers-unearthed-plethora-climate.html Earth Sciences Wed, 31 Jan 2024 11:17:07 EST news625922221 Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have concluded that the methane uptake in dry landscapes exceeds methane emissions from wet areas across the ice-free part of Greenland. The results of the new study contribute important knowledge to climate models. The researchers are now investigating whether the same finding applies to other polar regions. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-greenland-absorbs-methane-emits.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 31 Jan 2024 09:30:20 EST news625915603 The world experienced an unprecedented heat wave in 2022, and this long duration and extreme heat wave event aroused widespread concern. Heat wave events have a huge impact on the global melting of glaciers. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-global-summer-mountain-glaciers-china.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 30 Jan 2024 15:52:03 EST news625852322 We know that our climate is changing. Extreme weather events are becoming more common, sea levels are rising and overall, our planet is getting warmer. Monitoring these changes is critical. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-global-ocean-essential-climate.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 30 Jan 2024 15:46:03 EST news625851961 One of the many effects of global warming is sea-level rise due to the melting and retreat of the Earth's ice sheets and glaciers. As the sea level rises, large areas of densely populated coastal land could ultimately become uninhabitable without extensive coastal modification. In order to stave off this possibility, carbon emissions need to reach net negative, a state that is hard to achieve under current circumstances. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-geoengineering-greenland-ice-sheet-loss.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 30 Jan 2024 14:47:04 EST news625848421 Marine anoxia is characterized by the oceans being severely depleted in dissolved oxygen, making them toxic and thus having devastating impacts on the organisms inhabiting them. One such event, known as Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2), occurred ~93.5 million years ago across the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary of the Upper Cretaceous and lasted for up to 700,000 years. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-global-widespread-ocean-anoxia-million.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 30 Jan 2024 06:50:01 EST news625744922 Here's a moment that almost everyone has experienced—you drop your phone screen down on a hard surface and hear the telltale crunch. The screen is cracked but you don't know how bad. You pick up the phone and survey the damage. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-explore-fractures-nucleate-propagate.html Earth Sciences Mon, 29 Jan 2024 11:01:14 EST news625748470 As part of the "VeWA" research consortium, researchers from the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center, along with international colleagues, have investigated the precipitation and flora of Central Asia during the Eocene period. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-team-vegetation-rainfall-central-asia.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 29 Jan 2024 10:37:48 EST news625747065 Researchers from The University of Western Australia examined 3.5 billion-year-old hydrothermal vent sediments and discovered clues about the origin and early evolution of life. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-billion-year-hydrothermal-vent-sediments.html Earth Sciences Mon, 29 Jan 2024 10:26:02 EST news625746361 Pollen can help scientists track changes in vegetation through time, as they respond to moderations of the climate, be that glaciation or deglaciation with transitions into and out of ice ages. Furthermore, it can help elucidate the interplay between climate and the impact early human settlement exploitation of the natural world had on forests. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-pollen-diaries-polar-ice-climate.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 29 Jan 2024 10:20:01 EST news625744885 A team of geoscientists, Earth scientists and environmental scientists affiliated with several institutions in Germany, the U.S. and the Netherlands has found a link between cold snaps and pandemics during the Roman Empire. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-link-cold-snaps-roman-empire.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 29 Jan 2024 10:10:01 EST news625744843