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UrduAn integrated approach to land management practices in the U.S. can reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere far more than earlier estimates based on separate approaches, Michigan State University researchers say. Their research was published in the journal Global Change Biology.
Tag: Carbon
Iowa State team receives XPRIZE Carbon Removal milestone award for innovative vision to remove carbon from the atmosphere
An Iowa State University research team has received a $1 million XPRIZE milestone award for its efforts to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to combat climate change. The carbon removal team at the Bioeconomy Institute will use the award to advance its vision of using pyrolysis to turn biomass from crop residues and other sources into a soil amendment and other valuable products.
Healable carbon fiber composite offers path to long-lasting, sustainable materials
Researchers have created a new type of carbon fiber reinforced material that is as strong and light as traditionally used materials, but can be repeatedly healed with heat, reversing any fatigue damage. This also provides a way to break it down and recycle it when it reaches the end of its life.
Save the planet (and your health) by steering clear of sweets and pastries
Need another reason to cut back on sugary foods and drinks, apart from an expanding waistline? They’re not helping the environment, contributing to a higher cropland, water scarcity and ecological footprint, according to a new review led by the University of South Australia.
UCI becomes two-time recipient of STARS Platinum rating for sustainability efforts
For a second time, the University of California, Irvine has achieved a rare platinum rating through the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, maintaining its status as one of the environmentally outstanding universities in the world.
What is “soil carbon”?
Both frozen carbon dioxide and organic matter are important forms of soil carbon
Danforth Center and Salk plant researchers launch collaboration to breed carbon-capturing sorghum
Researchers at the Salk Institute’s Harnessing Plants Initiative have established a five-year, $6.2 million collaboration with Dr. Nadia Shakoor and her team at the Danforth Center to identify and develop sorghum plants that can better capture and store atmospheric carbon.
Efficiency Leap in Separating Para-xylene Using New Carbon Membranes
.Researchers at Georgia Tech have uncovered new insights into the fabrication of carbon membranes that have the potential to drive significant cost savings once the solution for xylene isolation separation is scaled for industrial use.
FSU researchers find La Niña increases carbon export from Amazon River
When La Niña brings unusually warm waters and abnormal air pressure to the Pacific Ocean, the resulting weather patterns create an increase in the carbon export from the Amazon River, new research from Florida State University has found.
California’s carbon mitigation efforts may be thwarted by climate change itself
Irvine, Calif., July 22, 2021 – To meet an ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2045, California’s policymakers are relying in part on forests and shrublands to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, but researchers at the University of California, Irvine warn that future climate change may limit the ecosystem’s ability to perform this service.
$10M grant funds study of dairy’s carbon footprint
A new $10 million grant aims to help the U.S. dairy industry become at least carbon neutral while supporting farmer livelihoods – providing important insight for New York state, which ranks fourth in milk production nationwide.
National research centre signals cleaner future for heavy industry
Australia’s leading companies in the heavy industrial sector will embark on a program that will enable a step-change in the rate at which they transition toward zero net-carbon emissions through the Heavy Industry Low-carbon Transition Cooperative Research Centre (HILT CRC).
Researchers reveal complex ecosystem changes cause more greenhouse gases to be emitted from peatlands
Peatlands, which make up 3 percent of Earth’s total land area, are known by a number of names — moors, mires, bogs, swamps and portions of permafrost tundra. They also store a significant amount of the Earth’s carbon. A research team from Florida State University and Georgia Institute of Technology are paying close attention to these complicated systems because they’ve found that the warming Earth is stimulating complex ecosystem changes with the end result of even more greenhouse gases being released into the air.
Key to Carbon-Free Cars? Look to the Stars
In a decade-long quest, scientists at Berkeley Lab, the University of Hawaii, and Florida International University uncover new clues to the origins of the universe – and land new chemistry for cleaner combustion engines
New study shows a few common bacteria account for majority of carbon use in soil
Just a few bacterial taxa found in ecosystems across the planet are responsible for more than half of carbon cycling in soils, according to new findingsfrom researchers at Northern Arizona University.
Rutgers Experts Available to Discuss New U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Target
New Brunswick, N.J. (April 22, 2021) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick professors Robert E. Kopp and Pamela McElwee are available for interviews on President Biden’s new plan, unveiled on Earth Day, for the United States to roughly halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. “Stabilizing the global…
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Viral ‘Pandemics’ in Oceans
New Brunswick, N.J. (April 6, 2021) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick microbial oceanographer Kay D. Bidle is available for interviews on the persistent and profound impact of viral infections on algae in the oceans. These infections influence the Earth’s carbon cycle, which helps…
Science Snapshots From Berkeley Lab – Week of March 29, 2021
India’s Ambitious Clean Energy Goals, a Secret Pathway to Harnessing the Sun for Clean Energy, and a Supersmart Gas Sensor for Asthmatics
Engineering of the Mississippi River has kept carbon out of the atmosphere, according to new study
The study by Tulane University scientists sets out to learn more about organic carbon that is transported in large quantities by the Mississippi River.
“Ghost Forests” Expanding Along Northeast U.S. Coast
Why are “ghost forests” filled with dead trees expanding along the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coast? Higher groundwater levels linked to sea-level rise and increased flooding from storm surges and very high tides are likely the most important factors, according to a Rutgers study on the impacts of climate change that suggests how to enhance land-use planning.
Fishes Contribute Roughly 1.65 Billion Tons of Carbon in Feces and Other Matter Annually
Scientists have little understanding of the role fishes play in the global carbon cycle linked to climate change, but a Rutgers-led study found that carbon in feces, respiration and other excretions from fishes – roughly 1.65 billion tons annually – make up about 16 percent of the total carbon that sinks below the ocean’s upper layers.
NAU study indicates that U.S. cities underestimate their greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 20 percent on average
Some cities’ self-reported emissions are as much as 145 percent below standardized estimates, distorting the data on which climate change policy actions are based.
Up-trending farming and landscape disruptions threaten Paris climate agreement goals
Irvine, Calif., Jan. 27, 2021 — One of President Joe Biden’s first post-inauguration acts was to realign the United States with the Paris climate accord, but a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine demonstrates that rising emissions from human land-use will jeopardize the agreement’s goals without substantial changes in agricultural practices.
Experiments at the National Ignition Facility probe carbon at record pressures
Decades of studies have shown that carbon’s crystal structure has a significant impact on material properties. In addition to graphite and diamond, the most common carbon structures found at ambient pressures, scientists have predicted several new structures of carbon that could be found above 1,000 gigapascals (GPa). These pressures, approximately 2.5 times the pressure in Earth’s core, are relevant for modeling exoplanet interiors but have historically been impossible to achieve in the laboratory. That is, until now. Under the Discovery Science program, which allows academic scientists access to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) flagship National Ignition Facility (NIF), an international team of researchers led by LLNL and the University of Oxford has successfully measured carbon at pressures reaching 2,000 GPa (5 times the pressure in Earth’s core), nearly doubling the maximum pressure at which a crystal structure has ever been directly probed.
World’s Largest Lakes Reveal Climate Change Trends
Sixteen years of remote sensing data reveals that in Earth’s largest freshwater lakes, climate change influences carbon fixation trends.
Remote Sensing Expert: World’s Largest Lakes Reveal Climate Change Trends
Mike Sayers, Michigan Tech Research Institute research scientist, is available to speak to using remote sensing to discover how climate change affects the world’s largest freshwater lakes, which account for 50% of the Earth’s surface freshwater. Sayers’ NASA-funded research shows how…
Can Sodium-Ion Batteries Replace Trusty Lithium-Ion Ones?
Sodium-ion batteries are a potential replacement for lithium batteries, but different anodes are needed for the same level of performance. Amorphous carbon is known to be a useful anode, because it has defects and voids that can be used to store sodium ions. Nitrogen/phosphorus-doped carbon also offers appealing electrical properties. In Applied Physics Reviews, researchers describe how they applied basic physical concepts of atomic scale to build high-performance anodes for sodium-ion batteries.
Rutgers Experts Available to Discuss Addressing Climate Change, Environmental Protection in 2021
New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 12, 2021) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick professors Robert E. Kopp and Pamela McElwee are available for interviews on how President-elect Joe Biden and his incoming administration could strengthen efforts to address climate change and protect the environment. Kopp, a professor in…
New Research Reveals Infertile Spikelets Contribute To Yield In Sorghum And Related Grasses
The researchers used radioactive and stable isotopes of carbon, RNA-seq of metabolically important enzymes, and immunolocalization of Rubisco to show that the sterile spikelet collects carbon from the air and carries out photosynthesis while the awn does not.
New drone technology improves ability to forecast volcanic eruptions
Specially-adapted drones developed by an international team have been gathering data from never-before-explored volcanoes that will enable local communities to better forecast future eruptions.
The cutting-edge research at Manam volcano in Papua New Guinea is also improving scientists’ understanding of how volcanoes contribute to the global carbon cycle, key to sustaining life on Earth.
Pandemic lockdowns caused steep and lasting carbon dioxide decline
An international team of climate experts, including Earth system scientists at the University of California, Irvine, today released an assessment of carbon dioxide emissions by industry, transportation and other sectors from January through June, showing that this year’s pandemic lockdowns resulted in a 9 percent decline from 2019 levels.
Webinar: Do Investors Care About Carbon Risk?
Imperial College of London professors Marcin Kacperczyk and Patrick Bolton (also of Columbia University) discuss findings in their NBER working paper, “Do Investors Care About Carbon Risk?
Plants without cellular recycling systems get creative in the dark
Deprived of sunlight, plants are unable to transform carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into sugars. They are essentially starved of one of their most important building blocks. New research with maize shows that plants that lack the core components for autophagy have to get creative about recycling nutrients like carbon when they’re left in the dark.
New Way of Analyzing Soil Organic Matter Will Help Predict Climate Change, Baylor University Researcher Says
A new way of analyzing the chemical composition of soil organic matter will help scientists predict how soils store carbon — and how soil carbon may affect climate in the future, says a Baylor University researcher.
How to Get a Handle on Carbon Dioxide Uptake by Plants
How much carbon dioxide, a pivotal greenhouse gas behind global warming, is absorbed by plants on land? It’s a deceptively complicated question, so a Rutgers-led group of scientists recommends combining two cutting-edge tools to help answer the crucial climate change-related question.
Ocean Algae Get “Coup de Grace” from Viruses
Scientists have long believed that ocean viruses always quickly kill algae, but Rutgers-led research shows they live in harmony with algae and viruses provide a “coup de grace” only when blooms of algae are already stressed and dying. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, will likely change how scientists view viral infections of algae, also known as phytoplankton – especially the impact of viruses on ecosystem processes like algal bloom formation (and decline) and the cycling of carbon and other chemicals on Earth.
Rutgers-Led Project Will Buy 76,000 Oysters From Farmers Struggling During COVID-19 Pandemic
New Brunswick, N.J. (Sept. 10, 2020) – A Rutgers-led project will buy 76,000 oysters from New Jersey oyster farmers who are struggling to sell the shellfish following the shutdown of restaurants and indoor dining as a result of the COVID-19…
New Theory to Calculate Emissions Liability—”A Profound Business Risk for Some Companies”
A new study by Michigan Tech researchers questions conventional methods of calculating carbon emissions liability based on point source pollution by introducing new “bottleneck” theory.
How to Tackle Climate Change, Food Security and Land Degradation
How can some of world’s biggest problems – climate change, food security and land degradation – be tackled simultaneously? Some lesser-known options, such as integrated water management and increasing the organic content of soil, have fewer trade-offs than many well-known options, such as planting trees, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Global Change Biology.
Study: Dying Stars Breathe Life Into Earth
As dying stars take their final few breaths of life, they gently sprinkle their ashes into the cosmos through the magnificent planetary nebulae. These ashes, spread via stellar winds, are enriched with many different chemical elements, including carbon.
Findings from a study published today in Nature Astronomy show that the final breaths of these dying stars, called white dwarfs, shed light on carbon’s origin in the Milky Way.
Carbon Cycling in Wet Soils
Testing microbial activity in soil columns helps researchers understand how carbon is stored in soils that are periodically waterlogged.
Stocks of vulnerable carbon twice as high where permafrost subsidence is factored in, new research finds
Northern Arizona University researchers Elaine Pegoraro, Christina Schädel, Emily Romano, Meghan Taylor and Ted Schuur collaborated on the study, which suggests that traditional methods of permafrost thaw measurement underestimate the amount of previously-frozen carbon unlocked from warming permafrost by more than 100 percent.
Crop residue decisions affect soil life
New findings share how prescribed fire and no-till management impact soil microbes
Mangrove Trees Won’t Survive Sea-Level Rise by 2050 if Emissions Aren’t Cut
Mangrove trees – valuable coastal ecosystems found in Florida and other warm climates – won’t survive sea-level rise by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t reduced, according to a Rutgers co-authored study in the journal Science. Mangrove forests store large amounts of carbon, help protect coastlines and provide habitat for fish and other species. Using sediment data from the last 10,000 years, an international team led by Macquarie University in Australia estimated the chances of mangrove survival based on rates of sea-level rise.
UNH Researchers Find Wildfires Can Alter Arctic Watersheds for 50 Years
Climate change has contributed to the increase in the number of wildfires in the Arctic where it can dramatically shift stream chemistry and potentially harm both ecosystems and humans. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found that some aftereffects, like decreased carbon and increased nitrogen, can last up to five decades and could have major implications on vital waterways.
Start your garden right
An ounce of preparation in the spring for a summer of garden bounty.
Ocean’s ‘biological pump’ captures more carbon than expected
Scientists have long known that the ocean plays an essential role in capturing carbon from the atmosphere, but a new study from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) shows that the efficiency of the ocean’s “biological carbon pump” has been drastically underestimated, with implications for future climate assessments.
How Old are Whale Sharks? Nuclear Bomb Legacy Reveals Their Age
Nuclear bomb tests during the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s have helped scientists accurately estimate the age of whale sharks, the biggest fish in the seas, according to a Rutgers-led study. It’s the first time the age of this majestic species has been verified. One whale shark was an estimated 50 years old when it died, making it the oldest known of its kind. Another shark was an estimated 35 years old.
Mandatory Building Energy Audits Alone Do Not Overcome Barriers to Energy Efficiency, NYU Researchers Conclude
The pioneering requirement may be insufficient to incentivize significant reductions in energy use by owners of residential and office buildings, according to the study.
Cover crops can benefit hot, dry soils
Soil gets more than just “cover” from cover crops.