Tag

ecosystems

How Growing Sea Plants Can Help Slow Ocean Acidification

Researchers are finding that kelp, eelgrass, and other vegetation can effectively absorb CO2 and reduce acidity in the ocean. Growing these plants in local waters, scientists say, could help mitigate the damaging impacts of acidification on marine life. Oregon’s picturesque Netarts Ba
Read More

Weathered oil from DW Horizon spill may threaten fish embryos and larvae development

A research team led by scientists at the University of California, Riverside and the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science have found that ultraviolet light is changing the structure of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil components into something mo
Read More

After decades of clean up attempts, world's lakes still suffer from phosphorus pollution

Leading scientists warn: Phosphorus pollution is a major concern. We need to speed up recovery treatments of lakes – or accept poor freshwater quality. In a series of studies published in a special issue of the journal Water Research, leading scientists assess how to control pho
Read More

How plants sense electric fields

The cells of plants, animals and humans all use electrical signals to communicate with each other. Nerve cells use them to activated muscles. But leaves, too, send electrical signals to other parts of the plant, for example, when they were injured and are threatened by hungry insects.
Read More

Horrible algae bloom in Florida blamed on the government

About a hundred miles north of Miami on the Atlantic Coast, the town of Stuart is a picturesque waterfront community — with homes, restaurants and parks overlooking the St. Lucie Estuary. But in many areas now, when you approach the water, the first thing you notice is the smell. R
Read More

Researchers assess heatwave risks associated with climate change

Combining climate and mortality data, researchers have estimated that 315 deaths in Greater London and 735 deaths in Central Paris can be strongly linked to the 2003 heatwave that set record-breaking temperatures across Europe. Taking their analysis a step further, they determine that
Read More

Insect populations in sharp decline

Every spring since 1989, entomologists have set up tents in the meadows and woodlands of the Orbroicher Bruch nature reserve and 87 other areas in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The tents act as insect traps and enable the scientists to calculate how many bugs liv
Read More

The Antarctic Ozone Hole May Be Closing

There’s good news from Antarctica, where researchers with tools like ozonesondes — pictured above — have been following the infamous ozone hole as it waxes and wanes over the seasons. The ozone hole has shrunk by 1.5 million square miles – around 4 million square kilometers — and this
Read More

'The Blob' overshadows El Nino

New research based on ocean models and near real-time data from autonomous gliders indicates that the “The Blob” and El Niño together strongly depressed productivity off the West Coast, with The Blob driving most of the impact. The research published in the journal Geophys
Read More

Carbon emissions from Indonesia forest fires hit new high

Forest fires in Indonesia last year released 11.3 million tonnes of carbon per day, researchers have found. This figure exceeds the daily rate of 8.9 million tonnes of carbon emissions from the whole of the European Union, the study says. The 2015 fires were the worst since 1997, when
Read More