Temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula have reached a record-breaking high of 15.4C for June, and ice is melting at abnormal rates during the current winter, climate scientists told AFP on Thursday.
As the world's population becomes more and more urban, cities are emerging as key components of the Anthropocene—both as major contributors to climate change and as potential trendsetters for innovation and action. But in order to understand the role of cities in the Earth system and chart sustainable pathways to the future, researchers face a daunting challenge: integrating diverse interdisciplinary data and translating the findings into effective, equitable policy.
Antarctic sea ice plays a critical role in regulating Earth's climate. It reflects sunlight back into space, insulates the ocean from the atmosphere, and supports unique polar ecosystems.
New research shows surface melting across Antarctica is set to intensify and spread dramatically over the 21st century, with melt increasing 10-fold and the affected area growing by more than 10% by 2100 if global temperatures continue to rise.
Swapping a beef steak for salmon once a week could save the amount of carbon needed to fly from London Heathrow to Morocco, according to new research by the universities of Bristol and Southampton. The study, published in Environmental Research: Food Systems, found the U.K.'s current level of meat consumption is 2 to 3 times higher than recommended guidelines.
In a new study, Professor Shin Sugiyama of Hokkaido University and his team have directly confirmed for the first time that water from melting snow and ice, or meltwater, found at the surface of a glacier can drain to its base, causing glaciers in Antarctica to speed up and move toward the ocean.
Nitrate pollution is a growing global environmental challenge due to the extensive use of fertilizer. A study published in Science, led by the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) with the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), shows that both the amount of water moving through landscapes and how fast it moves play a key role in nitrogen pollution risk.
The temperature of rivers is something most people think about only if they plan to go swimming, kayaking or spend a day fishing. Few consider how it could potentially affect their electricity bill.
Hilly and mountainous landscapes have a much greater ability to store carbon in the soil than previously thought, according to a new study co-led by scientists at the University of Oregon.
During an abrupt global cold snap nearly 13,000 years ago, the Gulf Stream ocean current shifted farther north, temporarily disrupting eastern Canada's oceanic ecosystems, a process that could happen again as the climate changes, a new study by UCL researchers finds.
Most people have experienced a heat wave on land. But heat waves can strike in the ocean too. And as the planet continues to warm, marine heat waves are growing longer and deadlier, hurting the seafood supply that billions of people worldwide rely on for their food and livelihoods.
The phenomenon El Niño has arrived, the U.S. weather agency said Thursday, and scientists expect the pattern, synonymous with droughts, floods and soaring temperatures, will intensify through the end of the year, potentially to historic strength.
Globally, humanity now produces a staggering 450 million tonnes of plastic every year. From food and drink containers to cosmetics packaging, sewage pipes, window frames and polyester clothing, we use plastics in almost every area of life. And nearly one-quarter of them end up in the environment, where they very slowly degrade into microscopic pieces.
Hotter, drier conditions in the western United States have led to a rise in wildfire activity that has damaged or destroyed infrastructure, natural ecosystems and entire towns across the region. As fires grow larger and more destructive, the cost of managing them rises as well.
Researchers at the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research have investigated how water from streams can be stored in the aquifer during wet periods. Using an area in the lower Spree catchment in Brandenburg as an example, the team used a computer model to show that naturally occurring small basins in the landscape could absorb excess stream water, allowing it to seep slowly into the ground and subsequently stabilize groundwater and connected surface water bodies. In the calculations, the groundwater level rose locally by up to 2 meters (6.6 feet). Water flow in connected streams could be increased by up to 15%. The study was published in the Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies.
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