Category: Earth
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Satellites Miss Underwater Ice Loss in Himalayas
A new study in Nature Geoscience reveals that mass loss of lake-terminating glaciers in the greater Himalaya has been significantly underestimated by 6.5% due to satellite limitations in detecting underwater changes. This has major implications for future projections of glacier disappearance and water resources in the region. The study, conducted by an international team of…
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New Photonic Time Crystals Could Improve Lasers and Wireless Communications
In a recent study published in Science Advances, a team of researchers have created a new method of making photonic time crystals, which is a type of artificial material capable of amplifying the light that is shined on them. This study holds the potential to improve both lasers and wireless communication. Time crystals were first…
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Storing 3.4 Million Tons of Carbon in the Arctic
Scientists have mapped the world’s biggest cumulative logjam that we know of, as reported in a new study in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters. The woody debris stores more than 3 million tons of carbon. Credit: Alicia Sendrowski The 51-square kilometer (20-square-mile) pileup is an important yet poorly quantified part of the carbon cycle,…
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Where will California’s record snowpack melt into floods? It’s complicated
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain After months of heavy rain across California and record snow in the southern Sierra Nevada, state officials warn that melting snow could turn into flooding as the state’s skies turn sunnier this spring and summer. The Tulare Lake and San Joaquin River basins, which already saw storm flooding this year, are…
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Engineered Plants Produce Pheromones that Reduce the Need for Pesticides
An agricultural staple for enhancing crop growth? Pesticides. Unfortunately, while these chemicals do help keep pests that would otherwise destroy crops away, they come with a significant limitation: their toxicity. Pesticides contain chemicals that are hazardous to the nearby soil and water, and even pose threats to humans. Finding more natural ways to keep pests…
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Predictive power of climate models may be masked by volcanoes
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Simulated volcanic eruptions may be blowing up our ability to predict near-term climate, according to a new study published in Science Advances. The research, led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), finds that the way volcanic eruptions are represented in climate models may be masking the models’ ability to…
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Critical observations reveal sinking coasts
Vertical land motion (VLM) across the US Atlantic coast. a Estimated VLM rate. The circles show the location of GNSS validation observations color-coded with their respective vertical velocities. b Histogram comparing GNSS vertical rates with estimated VLM rates. The standard deviation (SD) of the difference between the two datasets is 1.3 mm per year. c Land…
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Unusual Parasite Found in Cat Poop is Killing Sea Otters
Four southern sea otters observed stranded off the coast of California near Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo between February 2020 and March 2022 were diagnosed with fatal protozoal steatitis and systemic toxoplasmosis. This is the first discovery of this specific parasitic strain in an aquatic species that has been shared via food sources, indicating…
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World’s biggest cumulative logjam, newly mapped in the Arctic, stores 3.4 million tons of carbon
Scientists have mapped the world’s biggest cumulative logjam that we know of, as reported in a new study in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters. The woody debris stores more than 3 million tons of carbon. Credit: Alicia Sendrowski Throughout the Arctic, fallen trees make their way from forests to the ocean by way of…
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No one expected 31 atmospheric rivers storms to hit California. The mystery remains: Why?
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain As winter approached, few anticipated what was about to hit California. Mired in a serious drought, the state was suddenly battered by an onslaught of 31 atmospheric river storms in a matter of months. While the number alone isn’t exceptional, the location, intensity and duration of these storms had a transforming…