Most recent 40 articles: PHYS.ORG - Earth
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Abrupt permafrost thaw found to intensify warming effects on soil CO₂ emission - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 30) |
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Apr 30 · According to a recent study published in Nature Geoscience, scientists have found that soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are more sensitive to climate warming in permafrost-collapsed areas than in non-collapsed areas.
This study, based on field warming experiments combined with laboratory incubation of soils from a large-scale sampling, provides new insights about permafrost carbon–climate feedback in the context of future climate warming.
Warmer temperatures have led to rapid permafrost thawing in high-latitude and high-altitude permafrost regions. Abrupt permafrost thaw, known as thermokarst, occurs in approximately 20% of the northern permafrost region, but this ... Read more ...
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Unveiling nature's custodians: Study highlights crucial role of scavengers in wetlands - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · The article, published in Biological Reviews, emphasizes that the benefits provided by scavengers far outweigh the potential drawbacks. Among their essential functions are the recycling and transportation of nutrients and the regulation of water quality, benefiting the entire ecosystem, from soil and plants to birds and mammals.
Historically, animals that feed on other dead animals have received less attention from society, and they have even been assigned a secondary role in ecosystems. However, recent studies have shown that scavengers play a crucial ecological role in eliminating organic matter and rapidly recycling nutrients into the ecosystem. But despite the increased ... Read more ...
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Bangladesh again closes schools nationwide due to heat wave - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · A Bangladeshi court ordered a nationwide shutdown of schools on Monday due to an ongoing heat wave, the day after the government sent millions of children back to class despite searing temperatures.
Extensive scientific research has found climate change is causing heat waves to become longer, more frequent and more intense.
Average temperatures in the capital Dhaka over the past week have been 4-5 degrees Celsius (7.2-9 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the 30-year average for the same period.
The government said at least seven people had died as a result of the extreme heat since the start of April, with maximum temperatures in the capital forecast to remain above ... Read more ...
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China's bid to decarbonize may have hidden costs - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · In a paper published in Communications Earth & Environment, Stefano Galelli, associate professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in Cornell Engineering, and colleagues attempt to quantify how decarbonizing the China Southern Power Grid, which provides electricity to more than 300 million people, will negatively impact river basins, most of which run from China into downstream countries, and will reduce the amount of cropland in China.
"If we think of any major technological change, they always have costs and unintended consequences," Galelli said. "The sooner we realize and address them, the more sustainable and equitable the energy transition will be. We ... Read more ...
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China's cement industry: Potential contributor to carbon neutrality - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · In a recent study published in Science China Earth Sciences, researchers from the Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have unveiled new advances in the carbon capture capabilities of China's cement industry and its potential contribution to carbon neutrality.
Cement production is a significant source of human-induced carbon emissions. China accounts for more than half of the world's annual cement production. The industry's carbon emissions are estimated to be about 7% of the country's total emissions.
However, the alkaline compounds in cement materials can slowly absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the surrounding environment through mineral ... Read more ...
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Climate change, Brexit threaten to wilt Dutch tulips - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · Arjan Smit gazes out over his tulip fields, a riot of red and pink flowers he has cultivated all his adult life and part of a family business his grandfather started in 1940.
The 55-year-old has seen many changes over a long career but he says climate change is making an all-consuming profession even harder.
"The climate has changed. We can feel that. We have more wet periods. Last year, it was just raining, raining, raining and you can see the result," he told AFP.
From a distance, the fields of Smitflowers are a picture-perfect row of flowers, the type found on Dutch tourist brochures that attract visitors from around the world.
But he also pointed to muddy ... Read more ...
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European Bison can adapt well to the Mediterranean climate of southern Spain, analysis suggests - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · A study published in Biodiversity and Conservation which involved the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has conducted a comparative analysis, for the first time, of the feeding of three large herbivores, the European bison (Bison bonasus), the red deer (Cervus elaphus) and the fallow deer (Dama dama), all of which coexist in Mediterranean forests.
The study was carried out on the El Encinarejo farm, with an area of 1,000 ha and located in the Sierra de Andújar (Jaén), characterized by a typical Mediterranean scrubland habitat with a predominance of holm oak groves and an abundance of shrubs such as mastic, lavender ... Read more ...
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Fading lights: Comprehensive study unveils multiple threats to North America's firefly populations - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · The study, published in Science of the Total Environment, "Illuminating Patterns of Firefly Abundance Using Citizen Science Data and Machine Learning Models," identified the factors likely responsible for troubling declines in firefly populations across North America.
To study these population changes, the research used a mix of field surveys from citizen scientists and advanced machine learning techniques to analyze over 24,000 surveys from the Firefly Watch citizen science initiative.
"Subtle changes in climate patterns, especially related to temperature, are significantly impacting firefly breeding cycles and habitat quality," said Darin McNeil, study principal ... Read more ...
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G7 reportedly agrees end date for coal-fired power plants - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · G7 energy ministers have agreed a time frame for phasing out coal-fired power plants, a British minister said Monday, as the UN warned "excuses" for failing to take bold actions on climate change were "not acceptable".
The Group of Seven meeting in Turin is the first big political session since the world pledged at the UN's COP28 climate summit in December to transition away from coal, oil and gas.
On the first of the two days of talks, energy and ecological transition ministers from the G7 agreed to committing to a common target of shutting down coal-fired power plants, according to British Nuclear and Renewables Minister Andrew Bowie.
"We do have an agreement to ... Read more ...
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G7 to commit to reducing plastic production: French ministry - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · The G7 is expected to commit to reducing plastic production in order to tackle the global scourge of pollution, France's ecological transition ministry said Monday.
Plastics are found everywhere from mountaintops to ocean depths, and in human blood and breast milk.
"The G7 recognizes for the first time that the level of plastic pollution is unsustainable and that its increase is alarming," the French delegation said in a note on the sidelines of the G7 environment ministers' meeting in Turin.
"The G7 is committed to reducing the overall production of primary polymers in order to put an end to plastic pollution in 2040," the note read.
The Group of Seven ... Read more ...
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How did the early Great Barrier Reef manage rapid environmental change? - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · It has been speculated, with little direct data, that these factors inhibited the emergence of the modern Great Barrier Reef. Now, for the first time, geoscientists have managed to determine how these factors, particularly water quality, contributed to the reef's development between about 8,000 and 6,000 years ago.
Their findings, published in Quaternary Science Reviews, confirm a long-standing idea that elevated nutrient levels impacted reef growth. In modern coral reefs, nutrient-rich waters have been observed to favor macro algae, which can outcompete corals, as well as cause increases in bio-eroders that can weaken coral skeletons.
As the modern reef emerged ... Read more ...
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Laser excitation of Th-229 nucleus: New findings suggest classical quantum physics and nuclear physics can be combined - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · Now this hope has come true: The long-sought thorium transition has been found, and its energy is now known exactly. For the first time, it has been possible to use a laser to transfer an atomic nucleus into a state of higher energy and then precisely track its return to its original state.
This makes it possible to combine two areas of physics that previously had little to do with each other: Classical quantum physics and nuclear physics. A crucial prerequisite for this success was the development of special thorium-containing crystals.
Switching quantum states
Manipulating atoms or molecules with lasers is commonplace today: If the wavelength of the laser is ... Read more ...
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Lawmakers hope to use this emerging climate science to charge oil companies for disasters - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · A fast-emerging field of climate research is helping scientists pinpoint just how many dollars from a natural disaster can be tied to the historic emissions of individual oil companies - analysis that is the centerpiece of new state efforts to make fossil fuel companies pay billions for floods, wildfires and heat waves.
When a flood or wildfire hits, researchers in "attribution science" run computer models to help determine whether the disaster was caused or intensified by climate change.
As those models become more precise, other scientists are working to measure how specific companies, such as Exxon Mobil or Shell, have contributed to climate change through their ... Read more ...
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Maps developed with artificial intelligence confirm low levels of phosphorus in Amazonian soil - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · And it is exactly this combination that is described in research published in the journal Earth System Science Data by a group associated with Brazilian institutions. The work resulted in a series of maps that more accurately describe the quantity of the different chemical forms of phosphorus in the soil of the Amazon. "Built" using a new methodology based on artificial intelligence, the maps confirm that the region has a very low concentration of the mineral.
The impact of this is that a lack of phosphorus affects the growth cycle of species and can, for example, prevent trees from reacting to the increase in carbon dioxide associated with climate change.
"When we were ... Read more ...
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New insights into tree canopy light absorption and its climate implications - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · A recent publication in the Journal of Remote Sensing, published April 12, 2024, delves into how vegetation canopies influence light absorption in various ways, a crucial aspect for understanding photosynthesis and climate interactions.
For the study, by employing the advanced large-scale remote sensing data and image simulation framework (LESS) model within the radiation transfer model intercomparison (RAMI)-V framework, the team meticulously calculated the CI across various viewing angles and vegetation types, such as coniferous and broad-leaf forests. This index measures how leaves within a canopy are clustered, affecting the passage of light through the canopy.
Their ... Read more ...
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Physicists overcome two key operating hurdles in fusion reactions - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes how they devised a way to raise the density of the plasma in their reactor while also keeping it stable.
Scientists at various sites around the world have been working for several years to figure out how to use fusion reactions to create electricity for general use—thereby freeing the world from using coal and gas fired power plants that spew greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. But it has been a long and difficult road.
It was just in the past couple of years that researchers were able to show that a fusion reaction could be made to sustain itself, and that more power could be produced than was ... Read more ...
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Probing the effects of interplanetary space on asteroid Ryugu - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · Analyzing samples retrieved from the asteroid Ryugu by the Japanese Space Agency's Hayabusa2 spacecraft has revealed new insights into the magnetic and physical bombardment environment of interplanetary space. The results of the study, carried out by Professor Yuki Kimura at Hokkaido University and co-workers at 13 other institutions in Japan, are published in the journal Nature Communications.
The investigations used electron waves penetrating the samples to reveal details of their structure and magnetic and electric properties, a technique called electron holography.
Hayabusa2 reached asteroid Ryugu on 27 June 2018, collected samples during two delicate touchdowns, and ... Read more ...
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Q&A: Study reveals importance of action plans to protect environmental refuges for escaping the summer heat - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · Mendoza presents a case study, titled "Environmental refuges during summertime heat and elevated ozone levels: A preliminary case study of an urban 'cool zone' building," in the journal Buildings.
Mendoza and co-authors measured indoor and outdoor temperature and ozone levels at the Millcreek library, a building designated as a "cool zone" for the public to escape increasingly hostile environment extremes by climate change.
Mendoza spoke with AtTheU about environmental refuges and how cities can better protect vulnerable individuals.
How are heat and health related?
In Utah, we're very aware of air quality-related health concerns, but we're not as aware of ... Read more ...
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Red Sea diversions spew carbon emissions equal to 9 million cars - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · Ships seeking to avoid ongoing attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea area are emitting millions of additional tons of carbon, making it tougher for companies using ocean freight to reduce pollution across their supply chains.
Instead of passing through Egypt's Suez Canal, hundreds of vessels since mid-December are sailing around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope - a detour that adds at least a week to the journey between South Asia and northern Europe.
The additional fuel burned has led to approximately an extra 13.6 million tons of CO2 emissions over the past four months - equivalent to the pollution of about 9 million cars over that same period, according to a report ... Read more ...
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Reforestation study finds only a few tree species can survive a century of rapid climate change - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · Their findings indicate only a few tree species are fit for the future, such as English oak in the UK. However, mixed forests are important for the survival of forests, otherwise the forest ecosystem as a whole could be weakened. The results of the study were published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Although European forests are naturally home to a mix of trees, the number of tree species is lower than in climatically comparable areas of North America or East Asia. In the future, even fewer species will be available to the forestry industry, as scientists led by Johannes Wessely and Stefan Dullinger from the University of Vienna have shown in their new study.
Depending ... Read more ...
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Researchers improve the plasticity of ceramic materials at room temperature - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · Plasticity or plastic deformability is a material's ability to be deformed by compression, tension or shear into a specific shape or geometry without breaking. Typically, ceramic materials exhibit very limited plastic deformability under room temperature.
Haiyan Wang and Xinghang Zhang lead a Purdue team whose method improves ceramic room-temperature plastic deformability by first introducing high-density defects in brittle ceramics under high temperatures. Wang is the Basil S. Turner Professor of Engineering and Zhang is a professor of materials engineering in Purdue's School of Materials Engineering.
"Such a strategy can prominently improve the room-temperature plastic ... Read more ...
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Schools closed, warnings issued as Asia swelters in extreme heat wave - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · South and Southeast Asia braced for more extreme heat on Sunday as authorities across the region issued health warnings and residents fled to parks and air-conditioned malls for relief.
A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted the region over the past week, sending the mercury as high as 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) and forcing thousands of schools to tell students to stay home.
The Philippines announced on Sunday the suspension of in-person classes at all public schools for two days after a record-shattering day of heat in the capital Manila.
In Thailand, where at least 30 people have died of heatstroke so far this year, the meteorological ... Read more ...
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Study provides new global accounting of Earth's rivers - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · The results also highlight regions depleted by heavy water use, including the Colorado River basin in the United States, the Amazon basin in South America, and the Orange River basin in southern Africa.
For the study, which was recently published in Nature Geoscience, researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California used a novel methodology that combines stream-gauge measurements with computer models of about 3 million river segments around the world.
The scientists estimate that the total volume of water in Earth's rivers on average from 1980 to 2009 was 539 cubic miles (2,246 cubic kilometers). That's equivalent to half of Lake Michigan's water ... Read more ...
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Study says California's 2023 snowy rescue from megadrought was a freak event. Don't get used to it - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · Don't get used to it because with climate change the 2023 California snow bonanza —a record for snow on the ground on April 1—will be less likely in the future, said the study in Monday's journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The study authors coined the term "snow deluge" for one-in-20-year heavy snowfalls, when it's cold and wet enough to maintain a deep snowpack through April 1. But even among these rare snow deluges, last year's stood out as the snowiest, edging out 1922 in snow water equivalent, said study lead author Adrienne Marshall, a hydrologist at the Colorado School of Mines.
It's timing couldn't be better. Last year's snow came ... Read more ...
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The giant sheep helping Tajikistan weather climate change - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · In the hills outside the Tajik capital Dushanbe, shepherd Bakhtior Sharipov was watching over his flock of giant Hissar sheep.
The breed, prized for profitability and an ability to adapt to climate change, garners celebrity status in the Central Asian country, which is beset by a shortage of both meat and suitable grazing land.
"They rapidly gain weight even when there is little water and pasture available," 18-year-old Sharipov said.
Facing a serious degradation in farmland due to years of overgrazing and global warming, the hardy sheep offer a potential boon to Tajikistan's farmers and plentiful supply of mutton to consumers.
Around 250 of the animals - ... Read more ...
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Underwater mass spectrometry achieves 500-fold sensitivity enhancement for dissolved methane detection - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · Monitoring ocean methane emissions is vital for understanding climate change and exploring clean energy sources like natural gas hydrates. However, existing data on dissolved methane in the ocean remain limited, leading to significant uncertainties in estimating oceanic methane flux due to sensitivity limitations.
While deep-sea mass spectrometry serves as a crucial tool for the rapid detection of dissolved gases in the ocean, its limited sensitivity restricts its application to specific regions or anomalous events.
In this research, the team developed a small-volume, low-power online water removal system to address challenges such as high gas content in samples and ... Read more ...
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World War II-era ship docked in Alameda becomes testing tool to combat global warming - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · The flight deck of a decommissioned World War II-era aircraft carrier docked at Alameda has recently begun launching something other than airplanes: microscopic droplets of salt water that scientists hope will help counteract the effects of climate change.
A team of atmospheric scientists from the University of Washington has teamed up with Silicon Valley-based Stanford Research Institute, an independent nonprofit research facility, and SilverLining, a nonprofit focused on near-term climate risks, to study whether adding plumes of salt water to a cloud will make it more reflective and stop excess heat from reaching the Earth's surface.
Cloud brightening is an idea first ... Read more ...
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Human activities have an intense impact on Earth's deep subsurface fluid flow - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 28) |
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Apr 28 · "We looked at how the rates of fluid production with oil and gas compare to natural background circulation of water and showed how humans have made a big impact on the circulation of fluids in the subsurface," said Jennifer McIntosh, a professor in the UArizona Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences and senior author of a paper in the journal Earth's Future detailing the findings.
"The deep subsurface is out of sight and out of mind for most people, and we thought it was important to provide some context to these proposed activities, especially when it comes to our environmental impacts," said lead study author Grant Ferguson, an adjunct professor in the UArizona ... Read more ...
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'Everyone sits out': Yangon parks offer heat wave relief - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 27) |
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Apr 27 · As the sun sets on another scorching Yangon day, the hot and bothered descend on the Myanmar city's parks, the coolest place to spend an evening during yet another power blackout.
A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted Southeast Asia this week, sending the mercury to 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) and prompting thousands of schools to suspend in-person classes.
Even before the chaos and conflict unleashed by the military's 2021 coup, Myanmar's creaky and outdated electricity grid struggled to keep fans whirling and air conditioners humming during the hot season.
Now, infrastructure attacks and dwindling offshore gas reserves mean those who ... Read more ...
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NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 27) |
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Apr 27 · NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense.
The most distant spacecraft from Earth stopped sending back understandable data last November. Flight controllers traced the blank communication to a bad computer chip and rearranged the spacecraft's coding to work around the trouble.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California declared success after receiving good engineering updates late last week. The team is still working to restore transmission of the science data.
It takes 22 1/2 hours to send a signal to Voyager 1, more than 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away in interstellar space. The signal travel time is ... Read more ...
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Scientists discover higher levels of CO2 increase survival of viruses in the air and transmission risk - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 26) |
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Apr 26 · Lead author Dr. Allen Haddrell, Senior Research Associate in Aerosol Science at the University's School of Chemistry, said, "We knew SARS-CoV-2, like other viruses, spreads through the air we breathe. But this study represents a huge breakthrough in our understanding of exactly how and why that happens, and crucially, what can be done to stop it.
"It shows that opening a window may be more powerful than originally thought, especially in crowded and poorly ventilated rooms, as fresh air will have a lower concentration of CO2, causing the virus to become inactivated much faster.
"But it also highlights the importance of our global net zero goals because the research ... Read more ...
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Anthropologist documents how women and shepherds historically reduced wildfire risk in Central Italy - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 26) |
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Apr 26 · The latest research paper from environmental anthropologist and University of California, Santa Cruz Professor Andrew Mathews explores these issues in the Monte Pisano region of Central Italy. The paper is published in the journal Ambio.
In particular, Mathews found that peasant women, who historically collected leaf litter in the forests, and shepherds, who grazed their flocks and conducted occasional managed burns, were critical in maintaining fire-resistant landscapes. Yet the social status of these groups meant the importance of their work went unrecognized.
In Monte Pisano and much of the broader Mediterranean, forests and other plant communities have been shaped by ... Read more ...
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Energy trades could help resolve Nile conflict - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 26) |
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Apr 26 · Scientists have shed light on a new, transformative approach that could help resolve a dispute over the Nile river's water resources.
The Nile is one of the longest rivers globally and spreads over 11 countries in East Africa, supplying water, energy production, environmental quality and cultural wealth. However, the use of Nile resources has been a long-standing source of tension, often overshadowing opportunities for cooperation and mutual benefit.
But as the demand for energy, water, and food in Africa is steadily increasing, the study, led by The University of Manchester in collaboration with regional organizations, offers a glimmer of hope at a ... Read more ...
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Herds of endangered hippos trapped in mud in drought-hit Botswana - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 26) |
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Apr 26 · Herds of endangered hippos stuck in the mud of dried-up ponds are in danger of dying in drought-struck Botswana, conservation authorities told AFP Friday.
Southern Africa has been affected by severe drought, caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon, which has threatened harvests and plunged millions into hunger. Several countries in the region have recently declared a state of national disaster.
Near the vast wetlands of the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana, the dried-up Thamalakane River has forced herds of hippos to head for natural water reserves close to the tourist town of Maun.
"The river system dries up and animals are in a compromised situation," said ... Read more ...
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In eco-minded California, there's still no constitutional right to clean air and water - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 26) |
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Apr 26 · California may be a leader in the fight against climate change, but the state is years, even decades, behind other states when it comes to granting environmental rights to its citizens.
While a handful of other state constitutions, including those of New York and Pennsylvania, declare the people's rights to clean air, water and a healthy environment, California's does not.
That could change as soon as November. Under a proposal moving through the Legislature, voters would decide whether to add one sentence to the state constitution's Declaration of Rights: "The people shall have a right to clean air and water and a healthy environment."
The proposed green amendment ... Read more ...
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Long-term research shows herring arrive earlier in the Wadden Sea due to climate change - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 26) |
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Apr 26 · Due to the changing climate, young herring arrive in the Wadden Sea earlier and earlier in spring. That is shown in a new publication by NIOZ ecologists Mark Rademaker, Myron Peck, and Anieke van Leeuwen in Global Change Biology.
"The fact that we were able to demonstrate this was only due to very consistently - for more than 60 years - and continuously sampling the fish every spring and every fall with exactly the same fyke [net] every time," Rademaker says. "Recognizing this kind of change requires extreme precision and endurance."
Since 1960, NIOZ, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, has been measuring the number and species of fish that swim in the ... Read more ...
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New algorithm cuts through 'noisy' data to better predict tipping points - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 26) |
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Apr 26 · Changes in data, from wildlife population to anxiety levels, can be an early warning signal that a system is reaching a critical threshold, known as a tipping point, in which those changes may accelerate or even become irreversible.
But which data points matter most? And which are simply just noise?
A new algorithm developed by University at Buffalo researchers can identify the most predictive data points that a tipping point is near. Detailed in Nature Communications, this theoretical framework uses the power of stochastic differential equations to observe the fluctuation of data points, or nodes, and then determine which should be used to calculate an early warning signal. Read more ...
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Philippine settlement submerged by dam reappears due to drought - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 26) |
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Apr 26 · A centuries-old settlement submerged by the construction of a dam in the northern Philippines in the 1970s has reappeared as water levels drop due to a drought affecting swathes of the country.
The ruins in the middle of Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija province are a tourist draw, even as the region swelters in extreme heat.
Parts of a church, municipal hall marker and tombstones began to resurface in March after several months of "almost no rain", said Marlon Paladin, a supervising engineer for the National Irrigation Administration.
It is the sixth time the nearly 300-year-old settlement has resurfaced since the reservoir was created to provide irrigation water ... Read more ...
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Study shows climate change impact on China's dry–wet transition zones - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 26) |
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Apr 26 · Climate change is significantly altering bioclimatic environments in China's dry–wet transition zones, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Hydrology.
The study examines how vegetation ecosystems respond and adapt to climate change, alongside the effects of soil water and heat processes. Bioclimatic environment change acts as a crucial link between climate change and local conditions affecting vegetation ecosystems.
"In areas where current vegetation models fall short, bioclimatic indicators offer an alternative for studying climate change impacts on ecological environments," notes Dr. Mingxing Li, the lead author of the study.
The study ... Read more ...
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The Indian villagers who lost their homes to the sea - PHYS.ORG - Earth (Apr 26) |
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Apr 26 · The gentle roar of the ocean lulled Indian mother-of-two Banita Behra to sleep each night, until one day the encroaching tide reached her doorstep.
Behra is among hundreds of people from the disappearing and largely abandoned coastal village of Satabhaya, whose displaced former residents have been officially recognized by the government as climate migrants.
She grew up watching helplessly with her neighbors as rising seas, driven by climate change and upriver dams, slowly claimed the land around them.
"We were doing well there. We used to catch fish," the 34-year-old told AFP. "But the sea came nearer and took away our homes."
Satabhaya is the hardest-hit of ... Read more ...
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