ScienceDaily
Stories in this feed are from ScienceDaily, a free news web site covering the latest discoveries in science, the environment, technology and more.
Scientists discover new materials to capture methane
Scientists have discovered new materials to capture methane, the second highest concentration greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere.
New generation soil property maps for Africa
A new type of soil property maps for Africa has been launched by ISRIC − World Soil Information in Wageningen, Netherlands. The maps are freely accessible.
A look at the world explains 90 percent of changes in vegetation
In the last thirty years, vegetation has changed significantly the world over. Until recently, the extent to which the climate or humankind was responsible remained unclear.
Seasonal patterns of tropical rainfall changes from global warming revealed
Projections of rainfall changes from global warming have been very uncertain because scientists could not determine how two different mechanisms will impact rainfall. The two mechanisms turn out to complement each other and together shape the spatial distribution of seasonal rainfall in the tropics, according to a new study.
NASA and JAXA's GPM mission takes rain measurements global
As anyone who has ever been caught in a sudden and unexpected downpour knows, gaps still exist in our knowledge about the behavior and movement of precipitation, clouds and storms. An upcoming satellite mission from NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) aims to fill in those gaps both in coverage and in scientists' understanding of precipitation.
Ocean's future not so bleak? Resilience found in shelled plants exposed to ocean acidification
Marine scientists have long understood the detrimental effect of fossil fuel emissions on marine ecosystems. But a group has found a point of resilience in a microscopic shelled plant with a massive environmental impact, which suggests the future of ocean life may not be so bleak.
New insight into accelerating summer ice melt on the Antarctic Peninsula
A new 1,000-year Antarctic Peninsula climate reconstruction shows that summer ice melting has intensified almost 10-fold, and mostly since the mid-20th century. Summer ice melt affects the stability of Antarctic ice shelves and glaciers.
Recent Antarctic climate, glacier changes at the 'upper bound' of normal
In the last few decades, glaciers at the edge of the icy continent of Antarctica have been thinning, and research has shown the rate of thinning has accelerated and contributed significantly to sea level rise. New ice core research suggests that, while the changes are dramatic, they cannot be attributed with confidence to human-caused global warming.
Cutting specific pollutants would slow sea level rise, research indicates
With coastal areas bracing for rising sea levels, new research indicates that cutting emissions of certain pollutants can greatly slow down sea level rise. Reductions in the four pollutants that cycle comparatively quickly through the atmosphere could forestall the rate of sea level rise by roughly 25 to 50 percent.
Arctic nearly free of summer sea ice during first half of 21st century, experts predict
For scientists studying summer sea ice in the Arctic, it's not a question of "if" there will be nearly ice-free summers, but "when." And two scientists say that "when" is sooner than many thought -- before 2050 and possibly within the next decade or two.