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Even birds can't outfly climate change (link is external)

Environmental Feed -

As rising global temperatures alter ecosystems worldwide, animal species usually have two choices: adapt to changing local conditions or flee to a cooler clime. Ecologists have long assumed that the world's bird species were best equipped to respond to the pressures of climate change simply because they have the option of flying to higher altitudes or towards global poles. But a new study finds that few bird species are able to escape the realities of a warming world.

New study analyzes air quality impacts of wildfire smoke (link is external)

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With wildfires increasing in frequency, severity, and size in the Western U.S., researchers are determined to better understand how smoke impacts air quality, public health, and even the weather. As fires burn, they release enormous amounts of aerosols -- the vaporized remains of burning trees and homes that enter the atmosphere and the air we breathe. Now, a new study dissects these aerosols and gases to pinpoint their potential effects on our health as well as the planet's short and long-term weather.

Cryogenic hydrogen storage and delivery system for next-generation aircraft (link is external)

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Researchers have designed a liquid hydrogen storage and delivery system that could help make zero-emission aviation a reality. Their work outlines a scalable, integrated system that addresses several engineering challenges at once by enabling hydrogen to be used as a clean fuel and also as a built-in cooling medium for critical power systems aboard electric-powered aircraft.

Cryo-em freezes the funk: How scientists visualized a pungent protein (link is external)

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Most people have witnessed -- or rather smelled -- when a protein enzyme called sulfite reductase works its magic. This enzyme catalyzes the chemical reduction of sulfite to hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide is the rotten egg smell that can occur when organic matter decays and is frequently associated with sewage treatment facilities and landfills. But scientists have not been able to capture a visual image of the enzyme's structure until now, thus limiting their full understanding of how it works.

Home water-use app improves water conservation (link is external)

Environmental Feed -

A new study has found that a smartphone app that tracks household water use and alerts users to leaks or excessive consumption offers a promising tool for helping California water agencies meet state-mandated conservation goals. The study found that use of the app -- called Dropcountr -- reduced average household water use by 6%, with even greater savings among the highest water users.

Nordic studies show the significance of old-growth forests for biodiversity (link is external)

Environmental Feed -

Researchers conducted a systematic review of 99 scientific publications that compared the flora or fauna of old-growth forests, managed forests and clearcut sites in boreal Europe. The reviewed studies showed large differences in the species communities inhabiting these forest types. The species richness of full-canopy forests increases as the forest gets older. Clearcut sites are also species-rich, but they are inhabited by a distinct set of species in comparison to full-canopy forests.

The ocean seems to be getting darker (link is external)

Environmental Feed -

Scientists, who have spent more than a decade examining the impact of artificial light at night on the world's coasts and oceans, have shown that more than one-fifth of the global ocean -- an area spanning more than 75 million sq km -- has been the subject of ocean darkening over the past two decades. Ocean darkening occurs when changes in the optical properties of the ocean reduce the depth of its photic zones, home to 90% of all marine life and places where sunlight and moonlight drive ecological interactions.

Megalodon: The broad diet of the megatooth shark (link is external)

Environmental Feed -

Contrary to widespread assumptions, the largest shark that ever lived -- Otodus megalodon -- fed on marine creatures at various levels of the food pyramid and not just the top. Scientists analyzed the zinc content of a large sample of fossilized megalodon teeth, which had been unearthed above all in Sigmaringen and Passau, and compared them with fossil teeth found elsewhere and the teeth of animals that inhabit our planet today.

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