Earth

The Oder River, which runs along the German-Polish border, faced a devastating environmental disaster in August 2022. Dead fish, mussels, and snails were spotted floating on the surface, indicating a severe ecological crisis. The culprit? A deadly mixture of factors including excessive salinity, high water temperatures, low water levels, and an influx of nutrients and

As reported by European climate service Copernicus, the summer of 2024 has officially been declared the hottest on record, further solidifying the trend of rising global temperatures. This year is now poised to surpass all previous records, marking it as the warmest year in human history. The data collected for the northern meteorological summer, spanning

In recent years, concerns about the safety of tap water have been growing, especially after incidents like the lead contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan. As a response to these concerns, many consumers have turned to bottled water or water filters. A team of water technicians at SimpleLab conducted a study to analyze the chemical levels

Wildfires have long been known to leave a lasting impact on the environment, but recent research has shed light on the specific role of dark-brown carbon (d-BrC) in snow warming. Unlike previously thought, d-BrC has been found to be 1.6 times more potent than the main culprit, black carbon, in enhancing the absorption of sunlight

Tropical forests play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle, accounting for more than 50% of the terrestrial carbon sink. However, new research from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Colorado State University, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute suggests that climate change could alter the carbon balance of these ecosystems. The study, published in

The study of earthquakes and the ability to predict them have always been a topic of interest and concern for scientists and the general public alike. Recent research conducted by a team of scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks has shed light on a new method of forecasting major earthquakes using machine learning techniques.

Drylands cover nearly half of the world’s land surface, comprising deserts, shrublands, grasslands, and savanna woodlands. These regions are characterized by water scarcity, causing significant effects on natural ecosystems and human-managed landscapes like agriculture and forestry. Climate change and land management practices have long been known to contribute to dryland expansion, but new research reveals

Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) recently made a groundbreaking discovery deep within Earth’s liquid core – a doughnut-shaped region thousands of kilometers beneath our feet. This structure, previously unknown to researchers, sits parallel to the equator and is found only at low latitudes. While the Earth’s core consists of two layers – the

In a recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Southampton, the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, the National Oceanography Center, and Stockholm University, the crucial role of the mixing of Atlantic and Arctic waters in sustaining the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) has been highlighted. This circulation system plays a vital role in

Canada experienced extreme forest fires in 2023, fueled by the warmest and driest conditions in decades. The fires released approximately 640 million metric tons of carbon, which is comparable to the annual fossil fuel emissions of a large industrialized nation. These wildfires burned an area roughly the size of North Dakota from May to September

Global warming, exacerbated by human activities, has resulted in escalating average temperatures worldwide. Although the entire planet is experiencing the effects of climate change, Greenland is undergoing even more rapid warming, leading to accelerated melting of its ice sheets. This intensified warming in the northern regions, known as Arctic Amplification, poses a significant threat to

The year 2024 has been marked by a series of significant events, including a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck Japan’s Noto Peninsula on New Year’s Day. This earthquake, along with the subsequent seismic swarms, has provided valuable insights into the role of fault barriers in earthquake genesis. Fault barriers, also known as asperities, play a

In a recent international study led by the Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville (IRNAS-CSIC), the sensitivity of terrestrial ecosystems to global change factors was examined. The study revealed that as the number of environmental stressors increases, the resistance of ecosystems to global change decreases significantly. This has important implications for the services

In a groundbreaking study published in the journal Science, an international research team conducted a comprehensive global evaluation of 1,500 climate policy measures from 41 countries across six continents. The study, led by researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC),

Predicting the path and intensity of tropical cyclones is crucial for ensuring the safety of communities at risk. The current forecasting capabilities provide a lead time of up to five days, but a new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research proposes a hybrid model that could extend this lead time to two weeks.