Heat, drought, fires threaten Lebanon"s northern forests
Heat waves, low rainfall and the threat of wildfires are compounding the woes of people in the forested north of Lebanon, a country where economic pain has long taken prominence over environmental concerns......»»
Study reveals isolation, endogamy and pathogens in early medieval Spanish community
An archaeogenetic study sheds new light on the isolated medieval community Las Gobas in northern Spain. Besides isolation and endogamy, researchers have also identified the variola virus, which can offer a new explanation of how smallpox entered Iber.....»»
NASA study tallies carbon emissions from massive Canadian fires
Stoked by Canada's warmest and driest conditions in decades, extreme forest fires in 2023 released about 640 million metric tons of carbon, NASA scientists have found. That's comparable in magnitude to the annual fossil fuel emissions of a large indu.....»»
Killings of invasive owls to ramp up on US West Coast in a bid to save native birds
U.S. wildlife officials beginning next year will drastically scale up efforts to kill invasive barred owls that are crowding out imperiled native owls from West Coast forests, under a plan finalized Wednesday that faces challenges from barred owls re.....»»
Researchers study carbon capture in Upper Newport Bay salt marshes
Despite covering just 2% of the ocean, coastal wetlands—such as tidal salt marshes, mangrove forests and seagrass beds—are responsible for storing nearly half of all carbon found in ocean sediment. These "blue carbon" ecosystems naturally absorb.....»»
Authors propose multi-method framework for climate event attribution
At the two most recent meetings of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, delegates agreed to establish a fund to help developing nations suffering loss and damage due to events linked to climate change, such as floods, heat waves.....»»
International report confirms record-high global temperatures in 2023
Greenhouse gas concentrations, the global temperature across land and the ocean, global sea level, and ocean heat content all reached record highs in 2023, according to the 34th annual State of the Climate report......»»
Algorithm raises new questions about Cascadia earthquake record
The Cascadia subduction zone in the Pacific Northwest has a history of producing powerful and destructive earthquakes that have sunk forests and spawned tsunamis that reached all the way to the shores of Japan......»»
Fires in Brazil"s Sao Paulo state under control: authorities
Fires that have razed thousands of hectares of forest in Brazil's Sao Paulo state have been brought under control, authorities said Monday, though an alert for fresh blazes remained in place......»»
Record-breaking drought in southern China linked to Eurasian warming and tropical sea surface temperature
Southern China experienced an extreme drought that persisted from summer to autumn in 2022, ranking as the most severe drought since 1980. The reason for the occurrence of this extreme drought event was investigated. It shows that both the Eurasian w.....»»
How engineered walnuts combat drought through grafting
Drought is a major threat to walnut production globally, often resulting in lower yields and weaker trees. While grafting has traditionally been used to improve the resilience of fruit and nut trees, the exact mechanisms of signal transfer between ro.....»»
Satellites reveal ecosystems most vulnerable to drought
More severe droughts that will also last longer: this will primarily be a problem for irrigated croplands, as discovered by environmental scientist Qi Chen. Mixed forests with a variety of plant species will be the least vulnerable. Chen compared the.....»»
Widespread culling of crocodiles is not an effective way to stop attacks on humans, study shows
Education and community awareness, removal of problem animals and exclusion areas are significantly more effective in reducing saltwater crocodile attacks in the Northern Territory than a widespread culling program to reduce crocodile numbers, accord.....»»
The truth about Tasers: What UK statistics and research tell us
Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently urged the police to take "all necessary action" in response to unrest across cities and towns in England and Northern Ireland......»»
The Quantum Mechanics of the Greenhouse Effect
Carbon dioxide’s powerful heat-trapping effect has been traced to a quirk of its quantum structure. The finding may explain climate change better than any computer model......»»
This bird species was extinct in Europe. Now it"s back, and humans must help it migrate for winter
How do you teach a bird how, and where, to fly? The distinctive Northern Bald Ibis, hunted essentially to extinction by the 17th century, was revived by breeding and rewilding efforts over the last two decades. But the birds—known for their distinc.....»»
Electric vehicle battery fires—what to know and how to react
It's very rare, but lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles can catch fire. Enlarge / The battery pack of a Volkswagen ID. Buzz electric microbus on the assembly line during a media tour of the Volkswagen AG multipurpose and c.....»»
Carbon emissions from forest soil will likely grow with rising temperatures
The soils of northern forests are key reservoirs that help keep the carbon dioxide that trees inhale and use for photosynthesis from making it back into the atmosphere. But a unique experiment led by Peter Reich of the University of Michigan is showi.....»»
Scientists propose guidelines for solar geoengineering research
Scientists for several years have studied the theoretical effectiveness of injecting sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere to reflect heat from the sun and offset Earth's warming temperatures. But they also want to ensure that the solar geoengineering.....»»
Indian desert school"s unique design offers respite from heat
In the sweltering heat of India's Thar desert, where summer highs soar above 50 degrees Celsius, an architecturally striking school is an oasis of cool thanks to a combination of age-old techniques and modern design......»»
Mosquitoes sense infrared from body heat to help track humans down, study shows
While a mosquito bite is often no more than a temporary bother, in many parts of the world it can be scary. One mosquito species, Aedes aegypti, spreads the viruses that cause over 100,000,000 cases of dengue, yellow fever, Zika and other diseases ev.....»»