News by Subject Earth Science

In a study to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers revealed that many larval fish species from different ocean habitats are ingesting plastics in their preferred nursery habitat.

Vertical air motions increase ice formation in mixed-phase clouds. This correlation was predicted theoretically for a long time, but could now be observed for the first time in nature. This result was published by a team from TROPOS in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, an Open Access journal published by Nature Research. Using laser and radar equipment, the team measured the vertical air velocity and ice formation in thin mixed-phase clouds.

Using site-specific watershed data to determine the most cost-effective agricultural best management practices -- rather than requiring all the recommended practices be implemented across the entire watershed -- could make staying below the Chesapeake Bay's acceptable pollution load considerably less expensive.

Dr. Kim Hanki of Jeju Global Research Center, Korea Institute of Energy Research(KIER) developed a mathematical analysis model that can identify the ion transfer principle of salinity gradient power technology. The result was published in 'Water Research,' which is the top authority in the field of water resources.

An unexpected finding published today in Nature Communications challenges a long-held assumption about the origin of oceanic black coal, and introduces a tantalizing new mystery: If oceanic black carbon is significantly different from the black carbon found in rivers, where did it come from?

Researchers supported by FAPESP proposed a procedure based on analyses of quartz and feldspar grains transported to the Atlantic Ocean by the Parnaíba River in Brazil's Northeast region.

A Princeton University-led study in Nature Communications is among the first to show that solar and wind energy not only enhance drought resilience, but also aid in groundwater sustainability. They used California as a case study.

Unless well-funded, coordinated efforts are stepped up, ongoing over-withdrawals compounded by climate change will cause dangerous water shortages for 70 million people in Central Asia's Aral Sea Basin, says a new book by 57 experts from 14 countries and the United Nations. The Basin's 2 major rivers discharge only ~10% of what once entered the Aral Sea, shrinking it by more than 80% -- 'one of the world's most severe and emblematic environmental disasters.'