Phys.org Earth Science

• 'Cryosphere meltdown' will impact Arctic marine carbon cycles and ecosystems, new study warns

  A new study led by Jochen Knies from the iC3 Polar Research Hub has found worrying signs that climate change may be undermining the capacity of Arctic fjords to serve as effective carbon sinks. The findings suggest that the capacity of polar oceans to remove carbon from the atmosphere may be reduced as the world continues to heat up.

• Fiber-sensing technology can provide early warning for volcanic eruptions

  The Reykjanes Peninsula at Iceland's southwestern edge is one of the country's most populated regions, and it is also one of the most volcanically active. In 2024, sensing technology developed at Caltech was deployed in the region to study the motion of subsurface magma and its eruption into lava on the surface.

• NASA tracks snowmelt to improve water management

  As part of a science mission tracking one of Earth's most precious resources—water—NASA's C-20A aircraft conducted a series of seven research flights in March that can help researchers track the process and timeline as snow melts and transforms into a freshwater resource. The agency's Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) installed on the aircraft collected measurements of seasonal snow cover and estimated the freshwater contained in it.

• Study shows 90% metal pollution drop in Adirondack waters five decades after the clean air act

  A study published by researchers at the University at Albany has presented the first documented evidence that Adirondack surface waters have made a near full recovery from metal pollution since the enactment of the Clean Air Act.

• Iraq farmers turn to groundwater to boost desert yield

  Farmer Hadi Saheb cannot wait to see his wheat fields flourish in the heart of the desert after he tapped into groundwater reserves in water-starved Iraq.

• Left alone by humans, wildlife returns to the Eaton Fire burn area

  Behind the remains of a town scorched by fire, the foothills are lush with new green and filled with birdsong.

• Preparing today to save lives tomorrow: Study finds gaps in British Columbia's extreme heat response plans

  Local authorities must do more to prepare communities in British Columbia for the dangers of extreme heat, according to a new research paper from Simon Fraser University.

• Wishcycling: How 'eco-friendly' labels confuse shoppers and make recycling less effective

  Have you ever thrown something in the recycling bin, hoping it's recyclable? Maybe a toothpaste tube, bubble wrap or plastic toy labeled "eco-friendly"?

• Seeing lost winters, not just rising temperatures, shakes climate indifference

  Slowing human-caused climate change requires decisive action, but the slow upward creep of global temperatures contributes to apathy among people who don't experience regular climate-driven disasters, psychologists say. In a new study from UCLA and Princeton, researchers looked into ways to communicate the true impact of climate change and found a solution.

• Massive icebergs once roamed off coast of the UK

  A new study reveals there was a time when massive icebergs, like the ones we see in Antarctica today, were drifting less than 90 miles off the U.K. coastline.

• Melting ice could boost north-east Greenland marine environment's productivity

  The amount of marine life off north-east Greenland could expand by more than a quarter, according to new research.

• Underground nuclear test explosions can be hidden within earthquake signals, study suggests

  Could the seismic signal of an underground nuclear test explosion be "hidden" by the signal generated by a natural earthquake?

• The ocean can look deceptively calm—until it isn't. Here's what 'hazardous surf' really means

  Over the Easter weekend, seven people drowned along the Australian coast. Most were swept off rock platforms— extremely dangerous locations that are increasingly prevalent in Australia's coastal fatality data.

• Countries could use forests to 'mask' needed emission cuts: Report

  Major economies are overstating how much carbon their forests can absorb in a climate accounting fudge that could allow them to use even more fossil fuels, new research said Thursday.

• US opposes 'dangerous' anti-fossil fuel policies at global summit

  An international summit on the future of energy security opened in London on Thursday with stark opposition from Washington, which called policies to phase out fossil fuels "harmful and dangerous".

• Seafloor disturbance in Baltic Sea turns carbon sink into surprising CO₂ source

  The resuspension of seafloor sediments—triggered by human activities such as bottom trawling as well as natural processes like storms and tides—can significantly increase the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. When these sediments are exposed to oxygen-rich seawater, large-scale oxidation of pyrite occurs.

• Nature positive: Lots of rhetoric, little reality

  A new article led by Griffith University argues that the term nature positive is being adopted more for political rhetoric and less for any real-life improvement in nature conservation, posing a new risk to biodiversity.

• Keeping tabs on native woodland vegetation in times of flood and drought

  Like farmland in Australia, native forests struggle with drought and flooding, so future management decisions need more sophisticated systems to monitor and manage their water needs.

• Despite progress, Los Angeles is nation's smoggiest city for 25th time in 26 years

  Despite decades of progress in reducing air pollution, Los Angeles is still the nation's smoggiest city, according to a report released on April 23 by the American Lung Assn.

• Q&A: A systems approach to saving the planet

  By day, Chris Boone leads the USC Price School of Public Policy as dean. By night, he captures the wonders of the cosmos through astrophotography. An expert in urban sustainability and environmental justice, Boone sees cities the way he sees those celestial bodies: vast, complex and interconnected systems shaped by invisible forces.

• Q&A: Why planetary health is the first step to a sustainable future

  Andrew Lakoff studies how experts—in areas from public health to the environment to security—generate knowledge about and plan for an uncertain future. Trained as an anthropologist of science and medicine, Lakoff is a professor of sociology and anthropology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, where he is also the founding director of the USC Dornsife Center on Science, Technology, and Public Life (STPL).

• The world's biggest companies have caused $28 trillion in climate damage, a new study estimates

  The world's biggest corporations have caused $28 trillion in climate damage, a new study estimates as part of an effort to make it easier for people and governments to hold companies financially accountable, like the tobacco giants have been.

• Nature accounting in Colombia makes sound economic case for protecting native ecosystems

  The Sinú River in northwestern Colombia is a kind of bloodstream from which life emanates. Its heart lies within Paramillo National Park, where the river begins, moving through tropical rainforests and tropical dry forests before flowing down to the Caribbean coast of the country—enabling hydropower, agriculture, ranching, and drinking water supplies for cities and tourist destinations.

• Living near newly planted trees linked to healthier birth outcomes in newborns

  The link between proximity to greenspace—including trees and parks—and healthy birth outcomes is well established. Now new data from researchers at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health adds to our understanding of these health benefits, accounting for other factors that may influence this link, such as education, income and body mass index, but also taking the body of knowledge a step further by exploring the effect of residing near newly planted trees.

• Study reveals 30-million-year history of East Asian summer monsoon evolution

  The East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) plays a crucial role in shaping the regional climate and ecosystem. It is a key driver of seasonal precipitation patterns that sustain agricultural productivity and water resources in East Asia. Additionally, the EASM facilitates heat and moisture transport, modulating the regional energy balance and influencing large-scale atmospheric circulation.