https://phys.org/earth-news/environment en-us The latest news on the environment, environmental issues, earth science and space exploration. Mysterious craters that first appeared in the Siberian permafrost a decade ago were caused by climate change-driven pressure changes that explosively released methane frozen underground, a new study reports. The research offers a fresh take on the origins of the craters first sighted on Russia's Yamal Peninsula in 2014. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-explanation-siberia-permafrost-craters.html Environment Thu, 26 Sep 2024 17:03:58 EDT news646589030 Most Americans can expect wetter winters in the future due to global warming, according to a new study led by a University of Illinois Chicago scientist. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-climate-wetter-winters.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 26 Sep 2024 17:03:49 EDT news646589025 The number of days per year that are simultaneously extremely hot, dry, and have a high fire risk have as much as tripled since 1970 in some parts of South America. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-drought-south-america.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:00:01 EDT news646567141 More than 600 cellphone towers were inoperable. Close to 900,000 Florida Power and Light customers were left without electricity. Flooding in portions of Coconut Grove and Matheson Hammock Park reached 6 feet. And agricultural damages totaled $245 million. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-south-florida-mosquito-populations-hurricane.html Environment Thu, 26 Sep 2024 10:33:11 EDT news646565579 A Dartmouth-led study on ice cores from Alaska and Greenland found that air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels reaches the remote Arctic in amounts large enough to alter its fundamental atmospheric chemistry. The findings illustrate the long reach of fossil fuel emissions and provide support for the importance of clean-air rules, which the team found can reverse the effect. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-ice-cores-pollution-impact-arctic.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 25 Sep 2024 14:07:04 EDT news646492021 New England's forests confront multiple environmental challenges like rising temperatures due to climate change and increased atmospheric nitrogen deposits from burning fossil fuels. Scientists have previously studied the impact of both independently, but for the first time, researchers at the University of New Hampshire looked at the effects of the two together. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-reveals-climate-impact-northeastern-forests.html Environment Wed, 25 Sep 2024 13:33:17 EDT news646489993 Increasing frequency and burn severity of forest fires may be increasing land surface warming, according to an analysis of over a decade of satellite data published in Nature. The findings highlight a previously overlooked factor that could affect future climate and fire dynamics. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-global-brought-frequent-bigger-fiercer.html Environment Wed, 25 Sep 2024 12:16:56 EDT news646485413 During her summer travels to her native Belgium, University of Arizona professor Valerie Trouet noticed something that turned casual curiosity into a major scientific discovery: when the sun hid behind an overcast sky and people around her put on sweaters instead of summer clothes, the weather tended to be warm and dry in Italy, Greece and the Balkans, popular summer escapes for tourists from the cooler climates of central and northern Europe. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-tree-reveal-jet-stream-extreme.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 25 Sep 2024 11:00:01 EDT news646472258 The last ice age peaked around 20,000 years ago and was marked by extensive glaciation and dramatic climate shifts that reshaped Earth's oceans, landscapes and ecosystems. A study led by the University of Arizona suggests that Earth's last ice age may provide crucial insights into future El Niño weather events. El Niño is one of the most influential climate patterns affecting global weather. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-ice-age-clues-advanced-climate.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 25 Sep 2024 11:00:01 EDT news646472261 Sunlight plays a crucial role in public health, affecting vitamin D synthesis and psychological well-being. Inadequate exposure to sunlight is associated with various adverse health outcomes, such as cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, depression and mental disorders. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-cloud-urban-drastically-sunlight-cities.html Environment Wed, 25 Sep 2024 09:45:44 EDT news646476339 Physics-informed virtual reality could be key to reducing the exposure of pedestrians and cyclists to harmful, non-exhaust vehicle emissions, according to a study published 25 Sep in the Royal Society Open Science journal. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-virtual-reality-pedestrians-cyclists-pollutants.html Environment Wed, 25 Sep 2024 00:10:01 EDT news646386361 The huge and growing toll bottled water is taking on human and planetary health warrants an urgent rethink of its use as 1 million bottles are bought every minute around the globe, with that figure set to rise further still amid escalating demand, warn population health experts in a commentary published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-bottled-huge-toll-human-planetary.html Environment Tue, 24 Sep 2024 18:30:01 EDT news646388571 A new analysis of satellite data finds that the record surge in atmospheric methane emissions from 2020 to 2022 was driven by increased inundation and water storage in wetlands, combined with a slight decrease in atmospheric hydroxide (OH). The results have implications for efforts to decrease atmospheric methane and mitigate its impact on climate change. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-atmospheric-methane-pandemic-due-primarily.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 24 Sep 2024 16:54:04 EDT news646415642 Northeast Greenland is home to the 79° N Glacier—the country's largest floating glacier tongue, but also one seriously threatened by global warming. Warm water from the Atlantic is melting it from below. However, experts from the Alfred Wegener Institute have now determined that the temperature of the water flowing into the glacier cavern declined from 2018 to 2021, even though the ocean has steadily warmed in the region over the past several decades. This could be due to temporarily changed atmospheric circulation patterns. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-atmospheric-blocking-ocean-driven-greenland.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 24 Sep 2024 14:20:38 EDT news646406426 Industrial fishing practices are increasing human exposure to methylmercury, a neurotoxicant associated with developmental delays in children and impaired cardiovascular health in adults. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-tropical-subtropical-industrial-fisheries-account.html Environment Tue, 24 Sep 2024 11:22:03 EDT news646395721 A study, published in the journal Nature Communications by an international team of climate scientists and permafrost experts shows that, according to new climate computer model simulations, global warming will accelerate permafrost thawing and as a result lead to an abrupt intensification of wildfires in the Subarctic and Arctic regions of northern Canada and Siberia. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-climate-abrupt-intensification-northern-wildfires.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 24 Sep 2024 11:00:01 EDT news646385461 Over the next decades to centuries, will melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS)—Earth's largest ice mass—cause global sea level to rise by five meters, two meters or less? https://phys.org/news/2024-09-antarctica-contribution-sea.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 24 Sep 2024 10:30:46 EDT news646392642 University of Adelaide researchers have developed a new theoretical model to predict the distances ocean waves can travel to break up sea ice. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-importance-climate-effect-sea-ice.html Earth Sciences Environment Tue, 24 Sep 2024 10:12:04 EDT news646391522 New research published Sept. 19 in Geophysical Research Letters shows that using data collected by deep ocean robots, called Deep Argo floats, combined with historical data from research vessels has increased confidence that parts of the global deep ocean are warming at a rate of .0036 to .0072°F (.002 to .004°C) each year. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-robots-steady-deep-ocean.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 23 Sep 2024 09:39:54 EDT news646303188 Tidal action on the underside of the Thwaites Glacier in the Antarctic will "inexorably" accelerate melting this century, according to new research by British and American scientists. The researchers warn the faster melting could destabilize the entire West Antarctic Ice sheet, leading to its eventual collapse. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-doomsday-glacier-faster-seas-world.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 23 Sep 2024 07:33:58 EDT news646295633 The Colorado River is a vital source of water in the Western United States, providing drinking water for homes and irrigation for farms in seven states, but the basin is under increasing pressure from climate change and drought. A new computational tool developed by a research team, led by Penn State scientists, may help the region adapt to a complex and uncertain future. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-tool-decision-makers-futures-colorado.html Earth Sciences Environment Sat, 21 Sep 2024 11:05:35 EDT news646135527 The Pacific Islands may evoke images of sprawling coastlines and picturesque scenery. But while this part of the world might look like paradise, many local residents are grappling with a serious public health issue. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-people-pacific-lack-access-adequate.html Environment Sat, 21 Sep 2024 10:50:01 EDT news646048246 As one of the largest heat reservoirs in the climate system, the global ocean absorbs more than 90% of the excess energy from ongoing anthropogenic warming. In the last century, the greatest warming in the ocean has occurred in the upper 500 m, with relatively weak warming in the deep ocean, corresponding to a small ocean heat storage efficiency of ~0.1. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-reveals-large-ocean-storage-efficiency.html Earth Sciences Environment Fri, 20 Sep 2024 14:00:01 EDT news645979935 Researchers from Japan and Thailand investigating microplastics in coral have found that all three parts of the coral anatomy—surface mucus, tissue, and skeleton—contain microplastics. The findings were made possible thanks to a new microplastic detection technique developed by the team and applied to coral for the first time. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-explanation-plastic-problem-technique-microplastics.html Environment Fri, 20 Sep 2024 13:42:04 EDT news646058521 Brazilian Legal Amazonia (BLA)—which comprises the entirety of the Amazon Basin located in Brazil and vast adjacent swathes of the Cerrado, spanning nine states—is more than 5 million square kilometers (km2) in area and corresponds to almost 60% of the country's land mass. Almost a quarter of this area (23%) has been deforested, and over 1 million km2 are degraded, so that the region risks reaching an ecological tipping point at which ecosystems collapse and billions of tons of carbon are released into the atmosphere. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-deforestation-amazon-driven-domestic-demand.html Environment Fri, 20 Sep 2024 11:59:04 EDT news646052341 The European Union aims to be carbon-neutral by 2050 as part of the comprehensive Green Deal that was agreed upon four years ago. However, an analysis of the policy documents outlining the practical measures of the Green Deal shows that it will decrease carbon emissions in Europe, but also increase carbon emissions outside the EU. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-european-green-edged-sword-global.html Environment Fri, 20 Sep 2024 05:00:01 EDT news645979930 Iron is a micronutrient indispensable for life, enabling processes such as respiration, photosynthesis, and DNA synthesis. Iron availability is often a limiting resource in today's oceans, which means that increasing the flow of iron into them can increase the amount of carbon fixed by phytoplankton, with consequences for the global climate. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-oceanic-life-saharan-blown-thousands.html Environment Fri, 20 Sep 2024 00:10:01 EDT news645955021 Science has provided more than sufficient evidence to inform a collective and global approach to tackle the continued spread of plastic pollution, according to a new report. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-scientists-evidence-global-action-microplastics.html Environment Thu, 19 Sep 2024 14:00:01 EDT news645954421 A new study co-led by the Smithsonian and the University of Arizona offers the most detailed glimpse yet of how Earth's surface temperature has changed over the past 485 million years. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-earth-global-temperature-drastically-million.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 19 Sep 2024 14:00:01 EDT news645954301 Ice may look safe for a game of pick-up hockey on the lake, but as a new study out of York University found, looks can be deceiving. Warming winters are not only affecting ice thickness and timing—when a lake freezes and thaws—but also quality, making it potentially unstable and unsafe. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-lake-ice-quality-degrading-planet.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 19 Sep 2024 11:45:04 EDT news645965101