Ocean sediment is a "mudtropolis"—meet the carbon-cycling creatures thriving beneath the seabed
Sitting in darkness, deep below the sunlit surface, an iridescent nightmare awaits its prey. With precision and speed, it strikes and slices a passing fish clean in half with a set of jaws twice the width of its head. The armor-plated creature retrea.....»»
Deep seabed mining: Bad for biodiversity and terrible for the economy
The debate around deep seabed mining has been gaining attention as concerns mount about its potential impacts on ocean ecosystems. The ocean is host to countless species yet to be discovered, some of which could hold the key to breakthroughs in medic.....»»
Purple crabs clobber blue carbon: Study shows how they disrupt carbon cycling in salt marshes along US East Coast
Millions of purple marsh crabs are churning through salt marshes along the East Coast, significantly disrupting the storage of carbon within these ecosystems......»»
Approaching the unexplored "plasma phase-space" with data science
Fusion energy is being researched and developed as a new source of electric power that will contribute to the realization of a carbon-neutral society. At the National Institute for Fusion Science, research on magnetically confined plasma is being con.....»»
Planning autonomous surface missions on ocean worlds
Through advanced autonomy testbed programs, NASA is setting the groundwork for one of its top priorities—the search for signs of life and potentially habitable bodies in our solar system and beyond. The prime destinations for such exploration are b.....»»
Ocean density identified as a key driver of carbon capture by marine plankton
New findings, published in Royal Society Open Science, have revealed that changes in ocean density have a significant impact on the rate at which marine plankton incorporate carbon into their shells. This has profound implications for carbon cycling.....»»
New catalyst can convert methane into useful polymers
Although it is less abundant than carbon dioxide, methane gas contributes disproportionately to global warming because it traps more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, due to its molecular structure......»»
Chemical structure"s carbon capture ability doubled by new research
Oregon State University scientists have found a way to more than double the uptake ability of a chemical structure that can be used for scrubbing carbon dioxide from factory flues......»»
Q&A: What fossils reveal about ancient Australian forests and fire
Australia's forest ecosystems, renowned for their extraordinary diversity of rare plants and animals, also play a vital role in mitigating climate change by absorbing and storing carbon. However, fossils from these ancient forests are reshaping the u.....»»
Swelling streams—climate change can cause more sediment in high-mountain rivers
Many high-mountain rivers in Asia transport more sediment downstream compared to a few years ago. Changes in sediment levels have a particularly strong impact on agriculture, water quality, flood management, and hydropower generation......»»
Climate researchers find North Atlantic Ocean has a memory of nearly two decades
A research team led by the University of Liverpool has found that the North Atlantic Ocean has a memory of approximately one to two decades, significantly surpassing previous estimates of a few years......»»
How did human brains get so big? The answer could be in our gut
Brain tissue is among the most energetically costly in the body, and as a result, larger-brained mammals require more energy to support brain growth and maintenance. Exactly which biological changes allowed human ancestors to meet the very high needs.....»»
Meet the massive TV that Best Buy is discounting by $7,000 for Cyber Monday
Wake up honey, there's a gigantic TV on sale. Meet the LG M3 97-inch TV, discounted by $7,000 today......»»
Researchers finally identify the ocean’s “mystery mollusk”
It's a nudibranch, but so distantly related that it gets its own phylogenetic family. Some of the most bizarre lifeforms on Earth lurk in the deeper realms of the ocean. There was.....»»
Stable perovskite catalyst achieves selective oxidation of light alkanes
Light alkanes are relatively simple molecules made entirely of carbon and hydrogen, arranged in linear or branching structures. Their oxidized counterparts, which include alcohols, epoxides, ketones, and aldehydes, are ubiquitous in the chemical indu.....»»
AI-enhanced satellite carbon monoxide fast retrieval
A recent study presents a radiative transfer model-driven machine learning technique for retrieving carbon monoxide from the world's first hyperspectral Geostationary Interferometric Infrared Sounder (GIIRS) onboard Fengyun-4B (FY-4B) satellite, prov.....»»
Getting to the bottom of Cenozoic deep-ocean temperatures
Understanding ancient ocean temperatures—particularly from the Cenozoic era (the past 66 million years), in which Earth experienced dramatic climate shifts—helps scientists reveal more about the planet's past climates......»»
Marine conservation law and policy: Research investigates effectiveness of UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
A decade ago, a Singapore Management University academic took in the sights of colorful, healthy corals playing host and habitat to myriad marine creatures at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia......»»
Largest oxygen-poor region of ocean is more variable than previously thought
Analysis of nitrogen isotope ratio in coral skeletons shows strong decadal oscillations in the size of the world's largest oxygen-deficient zone (ODZ) over the last 80 years. These findings imply that this ODZ is more dynamic than previously thought.....»»
Global teabag study shows warming temperatures may shrink wetland carbon sinks
A major global study using teabags as a measuring device shows warming temperatures may reduce the amount of carbon stored in wetlands......»»
Clay minerals: Researchers observe for the first time how sediment particles align during deposition
Clay minerals are a major constituent of the Earth's surface and are mainly found in the sediments of lakes, rivers and oceans. The properties of clay and claystone depend on how the tiny sediment particles are orientated. Using the European Synchrot.....»»