Quantifying microplastics in Swiss rivers and lakes
Every year, 14,000 tons of plastic end up in Swiss soils and waters, in part in the form of microplastics, which are particles in the micro to millimeter range. Microplastics come from many sources, such as cosmetics or synthetic fiber clothing. The.....»»
Rivers rise again as rain batters flood-hit south Brazil
River levels rose again Sunday as strong rains lashed waterlogged southern Brazil, where flooding has killed 145 people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes......»»
Image: Bolivian salt lakes from orbit
This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features salt flats and lakes in southwest Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes Mountains......»»
Iceland"s "Mammoth" raises potential for carbon capture
With Mammoth's 72 industrial fans, Swiss start-up Climeworks intends to suck 36,000 tonnes of CO2 from the air annually to bury underground, vying to prove the technology has a place in the fight against global warming......»»
International SWOT mission can improve flood prediction
Rivers, lakes, and reservoirs are like our planet's arteries, carrying life-sustaining water in interconnected networks. When Earth's water cycle runs too fast, flooding can result, threatening lives and property. That risk is increasing as climate c.....»»
Limited adaptability is making freshwater bacteria vulnerable to climate change
Freshwater bacteria with small genomes frequently undergo prolonged periods of adaptive stagnation. Based on genomic analyses of samples from Lake Zurich and other European lakes, researchers at the University of Zurich have uncovered specific evolut.....»»
How rising treelines can affect Alpine lakes
An EPFL scientist along with colleagues from universities across Europe have completed the first-ever quantitative study of the changes that soil organic matter from forests can cause in high-altitude and high-latitude lakes once it's dissolved in th.....»»
What are nanoplastics? An engineer explains concerns about particles too small to see
It's become common to read that microplastics—little bits of plastic, smaller than a pencil eraser—are turning up everywhere and in everything, including the ocean, farmland, food and human bodies. Now a new term is gaining attention: nanoplastic.....»»
"Everywhere we looked, we found evidence": Microplastics expert on 20 years of pollution research
Thirty years ago, while counting barnacles, limpets and seaweeds along rocky shores, I started noticing a daily tide of litter, mostly plastic. As a marine biology Ph.D. student at Liverpool University, I kept removing it, but the next day, there'd b.....»»
Ice shelves fracture under weight of meltwater lakes, study shows
When air temperatures in Antarctica rise and glacier ice melts, water can pool on the surface of floating ice shelves, weighing them down and causing the ice to bend. Now, for the first time in the field, researchers have shown that ice shelves don't.....»»
A look at the past suggests atmospheric rivers inundating California could get worse
A team of paleoclimatologists with the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA Ames Research Park, has found that atmospheric rivers in the past have dumped far more rain on California than those that have occurred over the past two years......»»
Better reservoir management could aid food security and fisheries conservation in US
After nearly a century of people building dams on most of the world's major rivers, artificial reservoirs now represent an immense freshwater footprint across the landscape. Yet, these reservoirs are understudied and overlooked for their fisheries pr.....»»
Study provides new global accounting of Earth"s rivers
A study led by NASA researchers provides new estimates of how much water courses through Earth's rivers, the rates at which it's flowing into the ocean, and how much both of those figures have fluctuated over time—crucial information for understand.....»»
Managing meandering waterways in a changing world
Just as water moves through a river, rivers themselves move across the landscape. They carve valleys and canyons, create floodplains and deltas, and transport sediment from the uplands to the ocean......»»
Study shows the longer spilled oil lingers in freshwater, the more persistent compounds it produces
Oil is an important natural resource for many industries, but it can lead to serious environmental damage when accidentally spilled. While large oil spills are highly publicized, every year, there are many smaller-scale spills into lakes, rivers, and.....»»
Sugar in baby food: Why Nestlé needs to be held to account in Africa
Nestlé has been criticized for adding sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products sold in many poorer countries. The Swiss food giant controls 20% of the baby-food market, valued at nearly US$70 billion......»»
Steelhead trout, once thriving in Southern California, are declared endangered
Southern California's rivers and creeks once teemed with large, silvery fish that arrived from the ocean and swam upstream to spawn. But today, these fish are seldom seen......»»
Grüner Veltliner white wine could be the toast of Pennsylvania, study suggests
States that are associated with signature varietals of wine can realize an economic benefit—some examples are regions in California linked with zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay, Oregon with pinot noir and the Finger Lakes region of New.....»»
Lakes worldwide are facing a slew of health issues that may become chronic
Like humans, lakes are living systems that can suffer from a number of health issues, including circulatory and respiratory problems, infections, nutritional imbalances, and heat-related illnesses. Without treatment, these conditions can become chron.....»»
Diamond-based quantum sensing microscope offers effective approach for quantifying cellular forces
Cells rely on constant interplay and information exchange with their micro-environment to ensure their survival and perform biological functions. Hence, precise quantification of tiny cellular adhesion forces, spanning from piconewtons to a few nanon.....»»
East Africa"s "soda lakes" are rising, threatening their iconic flamingos
Huge pink flocks of millions of flamingos—flamboyances of flamingos—are one of nature's great spectacles. But colleagues and I have uncovered worrying trends in the salty and highly-alkaline "soda lakes" of east Africa where most of these birds l.....»»