News by Subject Earth Science

The world's tropical forests store huge quantities of carbon in their biomass and thus constitute an important carbon sink. However, current estimates of the amount of carbon dioxide stored in tropical forests of the Amazon vary largely. Scientists at the UFZ have developed an approach that uses recent satellite data to provide much more precise estimates of the amount of biomass in tropical forests than in the past.

Tropical Cyclone Kalmaegi is still experiencing wind shear and those winds have continued to displace the strongest storms north of the cyclone's center. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead and identified those strong storms using infrared light.

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire find environmental developments caused by climate change are contributing to the transformation of the seafloor to a lower, more patchy seascape dominated by shrub-like seaweed which could impact species habitats and the structure of the food web.

ASU researchers found that not only are freshwater aquatic plants affected by climate, they are also shaped by the surrounding landscape. When in an environment where CO2 is limited, aquatic plants use strategies to extract carbon from bicarbonate. Scientists identified patterns across ecoregions around the globe and discovered a direct link between the availability of catchment bicarbonate and the ability of aquatic plants to extract carbon from that bicarbonate.

Tropical Storm Fengshen's cold cloud top temperatures revealed that the storm was maintaining strength as a strong tropical storm. Forecasters expect Fengshen will continue strengthening and reach typhoon status.

Paper endorsed by 407 scientists in Brazil estimates the value of ecosystem services linked to nature conservation, such as pollination, pest control and water security.

The Neo-Assyrian Empire, centered in northern Iraq and extending from Iran to Egypt -- the largest empire of its time -- collapsed after more than two centuries of dominance at the fall of its capital, Nineveh, in 612 B.C.E. Despite a plethora of cuneiform textual documentation and archaeological excavations and field surveys, archaeologists and historians have been unable to explain the abruptness and finality of the historic empire's collapse.

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have cultivated lifelike chemical reactions while pioneering a new strategy for studying the origin of life.