Do volcanoes add more carbon than they take away?
In a new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Zhong and colleagues discovered that a volcano in northeast China emits a small net amount of carbon each year. Over geological timescales, that could have a significant.....»»
Study reveals giant store of global soil carbon
Soil carbon usually refers only to the organic matter component of soils, known as soil organic carbon (SOC). However, soil carbon also has an inorganic component, known as soil inorganic carbon (SIC). Solid SIC, often calcium carbonate, tends to acc.....»»
How much of Venus"s atmosphere is coming from volcanoes?
There's a lot we don't know about the planet nearest to us. Venus is shrouded in clouds, making speculation about what's happening on its surface a parlor game for many planetary scientists for decades. But one idea that always seems to come up in th.....»»
An economist explains: Textbook economics is badly flawed when it comes to climate change
The federal carbon tax increase that has raised gas prices by three cents per liter in most Canadian provinces has been met by nationwide protests, many featuring slurs against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau......»»
Corporate climate pledge weakened by carbon offsets move
The world's main benchmark for vetting corporate climate action has been accused by its own staff of "greenwashing" after allowing businesses to use carbon credits to offset pollution from their value chains......»»
New spectrometer helps identify alternative catalyst materials for affordable hydrogen fuel cells
Fuel cells are quickly becoming a viable, clean energy alternative to commonly used fossil fuels, such as gasoline, coal, and oil. Fossil fuels are non-renewable energy resources that release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere......»»
Study shedding new light on Earth"s global carbon cycle could help assess liveability of other planets
Research has uncovered important new insights into the evolution of oxygen, carbon, and other vital elements over the entire history of Earth—and it could help assess which other planets can develop life, ranging from plants to animals and humans......»»
Measuring the atmospheres of other worlds to see if there are enough nutrients for life
Life on Earth depends on six critical elements: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, and sulfur. These elements are referred to as CHNOPS, and along with several trace micronutrients and liquid water, they're what life needs......»»
Public transit agencies may need to adapt to the rise of remote work, says new study
Remote work could cut hundreds of millions of tons of carbon emissions from car travel—but at the cost of billions lost in public transit revenues, according to a new study......»»
Study identifies atmospheric and economic drivers of global air pollution
Carbon monoxide emissions from industrial production have serious consequences for human health and are a strong indicator of overall air pollution levels. Many countries aim to reduce their emissions, but they cannot control air flows originating in.....»»
Finding new chemistry to capture double the carbon
Finding ways to capture, store, and use carbon dioxide (CO2) remains an urgent global problem. As temperatures continue to rise, keeping CO2 from entering the atmosphere can help limit warming where carbon-based fuels are still needed......»»
On-surface synthesis of carbyne: An sp-hybridized linear carbon allotrope
In a study led by Prof. Wei Xu (Interdisciplinary Materials Research Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University) and published in the journal National Science Review, a research team achieved the successful synthesis of a.....»»
Enhanced rock weathering results in higher crop yields and improved crop health, study shows
Enhanced rock weathering—a nature-based carbon dioxide removal process that accelerates natural weathering—results in significantly higher first year crop yields, improved soil pH, and higher nutrient uptake, according to a paper, published in PL.....»»
How plants adjust their photosynthesis to changing light
Photosynthesis is the central process by which plants build up biomass using light, water, and carbon dioxide from the air. Gaining a detailed understanding of this process makes it possible to modify and thus optimize it—for example, with a view t.....»»
An inside look at how plants and mycorrhizal fungi cooperate
For millions of years, underground fungi have lived in symbiosis with plant roots. Plants provide photosynthesized carbon, while fungi deliver water and nutrients. In order to do so, these organisms share space at the cellular scale: fungi stretch a.....»»
A simple, inexpensive way to make carbon atoms bind together
The active ingredient in many drugs is what's known as a small molecule: bigger than water, much smaller than an antibody and mainly made of carbon. It's tough, however, to make these molecules if they require a quaternary carbon—a carbon atom bond.....»»
Heat-trapping carbon dioxide and methane levels in the air last year spiked to record highs again
The levels of the crucial heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere reached historic highs last year, growing at near-record fast paces, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration......»»
Sensitive interventions to catalyze China"s net-zero transition in energy and transport
The global energy transition could happen sooner than anticipated if sensitive intervention points are used to deliver China's carbon neutrality policy at the city-level, researchers from the University of Oxford and The Chinese University of Hong Ko.....»»
Africa"s carbon sink capacity is shrinking
The population of Africa, the second-largest continent in the world, currently sits at about 1.4 billion, but is set to exceed 2 billion by 2040. This means greater swaths of land than ever before are being used for agriculture, and livestock numbers.....»»
Mars may not have had liquid water long enough for life to form
Lab experiments suggest gullies on Mars might form when carbon dioxide heats up. Enlarge (credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona) Mars has a history of liquid water on its surface, including lakes like the one th.....»»
Electric cars credited with lower carbon dioxide emissions in US neighborhoods
The booming use of electric vehicles in parts of California is reducing CO2 emissions in those areas, a study showed Thursday, bolstering a key pillar of the state's drive towards net zero......»»