We all know about global warming, and we all want to save the planet. The average person on the planet is responsible for about four tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, for a total [...]
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Sink or source? A new model to measure organic carbon in surface waters
A new carbon model allows scientists to estimate sources and losses of organic carbon in surface waters in the United States. Study results indicate that streams act as both sources and sinks for organic carbon.
“Model estimates help managers and…
Soot packs a punch on Tibetan Plateau’s climate
RICHLAND, Wash. — In some cases, soot — the fine, black carbon silt that is released from stoves, cars and manufacturing plants — can pack more of a climatic punch than greenhouse gases, according to a paper published in the journal Atmospheri…
Global warming may reroute evolution
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Rising carbon dioxide levels associated with global warming may affect interactions between plants and the insects that eat them, altering the course of plant evolution, research at the University of Michigan suggests.
The …
War, plague no match for deforestation in driving CO2 buildup
Stanford, CA — Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes had an impact on the global carbon cycle as big as today’s annual demand for gasoline. The Black Death, on the other hand, came and went too quickly for it to cause much of a blip in the global car…
Virus killer gets supercharged
A simple technique to make a common virus-killing material significantly more effective is a breakthrough from the Rice University labs of Andrew Barron and Qilin Li.
Rather than trying to turn the process into profit, the researchers have put it …
College students lack scientific literacy, study finds
Most college students in the United States do not grasp the scientific basis of the carbon cycle – an essential skill in understanding the causes and consequences of climate change, according to research published in [...]
Carbon swap bank to beat climate change
Australian researchers have suggested that nations should abandon the concept of carbon emissions trading in favor of a carbon swap bank that might lead to genuine reductions in the amount of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas entering the atmosphere and…
New Year’s Eve tip from American Chemical Society journal: Pour champagne down the side of the glass
WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2010 — Just in time for New Year’s Eve, and the arrival of the International Year of Chemistry, a study may settle that long-standing disagreement over the best way to pour a glass of champagne: Scientists in France are report…
‘Greener’ climate prediction shows plants slow warming
GREENBELT, Md. — A new NASA computer modeling effort has found that additional growth of plants and trees in a world with doubled atmospheric carbon dioxide levels would create a new negative feedback — a cooling effect — in the Earth’s c…
Rewarding eco-friendly farmers can help combat climate change
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Financially rewarding farmers for using the best fertilizer management practices can simultaneously benefit water quality and help combat climate change, finds a new study by the University of Maryland’s Center for Integrat…
Venus holds warning for Earth
A mysterious high-altitude layer of sulphur dioxide discovered by ESA’s Venus Express has been explained. As well as telling us more about Venus, it could be a warning against injecting our atmosphere with sulphur droplets to mitigate climate ch…
ORNL scientists crack materials mystery in vanadium dioxide
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 23, 2010 — A systematic study of phase changes in vanadium dioxide has solved a mystery that has puzzled scientists for decades, according to researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Scientis…
Extending the life of oil reserves
A research team led by the University of Bristol has used STFC’s ISIS Neutron Source to come up with a new way to treat carbon dioxide (CO2), so that it can be used in efficient and environmentally friendly methods for extracting oil. These new CO2 …
New research changes understanding of C4 plant evolution
Frostburg, Md. (November 15, 2010) — A new analysis of fossilized grass-pollen grains deposited on ancient European lake and sea bottoms 16-35 million years ago reveals that C4 grasses evolved earlier than previously thought. This new evidence cas…
Primordial dry ice fuels comet jets
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — One of the biggest comet findings coming out of the amazing images and data taken by the University of Maryland-led EPOXI mission as it zipped past comet Hartley 2 last week is that dry ice is the ‘jet’ fuel for this comet…
Study improves accuracy of models for predicting ozone levels in urban areas
A team of scientists has, for the first time, completely characterized an important chemical reaction that is critical to the formation of ground-level ozone in urban areas. The team’s results indicate that computer models may be underestimating ozo…
Scrambling for climate change solutions
The food industry generates a lot of waste products, but one of these, eggshells, could help combat climate change, according to research published in the International Journal of Global Warming this month.
Basab Chaudhuri of the University of Cal…
UF research gives clues about carbon dioxide patterns at end of Ice Age
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — New University of Florida research puts to rest the mystery of where old carbon was stored during the last glacial period. It turns out it ended up in the icy waters of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica.
The findings have i…
Green Carbon Center takes all-inclusive view of energy
Rice University has created a Green Carbon Center to bring the benefits offered by oil, gas, coal, wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and other energy sources together in a way that will not only help ensure the world’s energy future but also provide …
Carbon dioxide controls Earth’s temperature
NEW YORK — Water vapor and clouds are the major contributors to Earth’s greenhouse effect, but a new atmosphere-ocean climate modeling study shows that the planet’s temperature ultimately depends on the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide.
The s…
UT Dallas researcher helps reveal more complete picture of Martian atmosphere
Instruments designed by a UT Dallas professor to measure atmospheric components on the surface of Mars have uncovered important clues about the planet’s atmosphere and climate history.
The findings, published in a recent issue of the journal Scien…
Can Hungary’s red sludge be made less toxic with carbon?
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The red, metal-laden sludge that escaped a containment pond in Hungary last week could be made less toxic with the help of carbon sequestration, says an Indiana University Bloomington geologist who has a patent pending on …
UW-built device reveals invisible world teeming with microscopic algae
It just got easier to pinpoint biological hot spots in the world’s oceans where some inhabitants are smaller than, well, a pinpoint.
Microscopic algae are called phytoplankton and range from one to hundreds of microns in size — the smallest…
Can we spot volcanoes on alien worlds? Astronomers say yes
Volcanoes display the awesome power of Nature like few other events. Earlier this year, ash from an Icelandic volcano disrupted air travel throughout much of northern Europe. Yet this recent eruption pales next to the fury of Jupiter’s moon Io…
U of C scientist offers better ways to engineer Earth’s climate to prevent dangerous global warming
There may be better ways to engineer the planet’s climate to prevent dangerous global warming than mimicking volcanoes, a University of Calgary climate scientist says in two new studies.
“Releasing engineered nano-sized disks, or sulphuric acid in…
New Climate Model Predicts Greater 21st Century Warming
For the first time, scientists have incorporated multiple human and natural factors into a climate projection model. They predict that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, due to changes in the carbon cycle, combined with a decrease in human-produced sulphates, may cause accelerated global warming during the 21st century, as compared with simulations without these feedback effects.
Greenhouse gas might green up the desert
Missing: around 7 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas charged with global warming. Every year, industry releases about 22 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And every year, when scientists measure the rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it doesn?t add up ? about half goes missing. Figuring in the amount that could be soaked up by oceans, some 7 billion tons still remain unaccounted for. Now, a study conducted at the edge of Israel?s Negev Desert has come up with what might be a piece of the puzzle.