By Tim Radford Scientists in the U.S. claim to have beaten nature at its own game. They have created a “bionic leaf” that exploits sunlight to create biomass—and they say their invention is now 10 times more effective than an oak or maple leaf. Scientists have released a new artificial photosynthesis system, Bionic Leaf 2.0. […]
Last month was 1.11 C above the 1951-1980 average, making it the warmest April on record, according to new data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It was also the seventh consecutive month to have broken global temperature records. Photo credit: NASA Scientists are now nearly certain that 2016 will become the hottest year on record. Meanwhile, CO2 levels […]
Microplastics, the scourge of beaches, oceans, waterways and aquatic life worldwide, might also be polluting the air we breathe, according to environmental health experts. Micro plastic are a concern in oceans and other aquatic habitats, and now, possibly in the air. Photo credit: 5Gyres The Guardian reported that a research team at King’s College in London is looking […]
The sharp decline in Arctic sea ice is affecting not only glaciers in Greenland but also weather patterns all over the North Atlantic. A meltwater stream near the margin of the Greenland ice sheet. Photo credit: Henrik Egede Lassen / Alpha Film A study last week shows that frequency of summer “blocking” events, capable of producing extreme and stagnant weather, has increased since […]
Infectious diseases, such as dengue and the Zika virus, could spread to new parts of the world as mosquitoes expand their habitats in a warmer, wetter world, a new study suggests. By 2061-80, an additional half a billion people could be at risk from diseases carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the study says—and could […]
Arctic sea ice could set a new record low extent this summer, say scientists at this year’s European Geosciences Union (EGU) conference in Vienna. Measurements from satellites and “snow buoys” deployed on sea ice reveal a “certain likeness” between recent conditions in the Arctic and those seen in the run up to the record summer […]
By Tierney Smith The Great Barrier Reef is under siege from climate change and coal, with scientists confirming that 93 percent of the world heritage area is now suffering from severe coral bleaching. A diver checking out the bleaching at Heron Island in February 2016. This area was one of the first to bleach at […]
Climate scientists anxious to find ways to limit atmospheric greenhouse gases have started to look at the ground beneath their feet. Four-fifths of annual emissions from fossil fuel combustion could be retained by soil. Photo credit: Ron Nichols/NRCS / Flickr They calculate that although the world’s soils already hold 2.4 trillion tonnes of gases in […]
By Daniel Grossman A new air sampling device may help scientists better track carbon pollution in the atmosphere. Listen here or read below: As countries around the world commit to reducing emissions, measuring their carbon pollution is critical to tracking progress. Pieter Tans is a senior scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and […]
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