ScienceDaily: Water Conservation News

Environmentally friendly battery made from wood

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:22:22 EDT

Taking inspiration from trees, scientists have developed a battery made from a sliver of wood coated with tin that shows promise for becoming a tiny, long-lasting, efficient and environmentally friendly energy source. The device is 1,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper.

Contribution of particulate matter from air pollution to forest decline

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:14:14 EDT

Air pollution is related to forest decline and also appears to attack the protecting wax on tree leaves and needles. Scientists have now discovered a responsible mechanism: particulate matter salt compounds that become deliquescent because of humidity and form a wick-like structure that removes water from leaves and promotes dehydration.

Possible record-setting deadzone for Gulf of Mexico predicted

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:15:15 EDT

Scientists are forecasting that this year's Gulf of Mexico hypoxic "dead" zone will be between 7,286 and 8,561 square miles which could place it among the ten largest recorded. A second forecast, for the Chesapeake Bay, calls for a smaller than average dead zone in the nation's largest estuary.

Small dam construction to reduce greenhouse emissions is causing ecosystem disruption

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:51:51 EDT

Researchers conclude in a new report that a global push for small hydropower projects, supported by various nations and also the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, may cause unanticipated and potentially significant losses of habitat and biodiversity.

Stone Age technological and cultural innovation accelerated by climate change

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:15:15 EDT

Technological innovation during the Stone Age occurred in fits and starts and was climate-driven, according to new research. Abrupt changes in rainfall in South Africa 40,000 to 80,000 years ago triggered the development of technologies for finding refuge and the behavior of modern humans.

Pesticides significantly reduce biodiversity in aquatic environments

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:07:07 EDT

The pesticides, many of which are currently used in Europe and Australia, are responsible for reducing the regional diversity of invertebrates in streams and rivers by up to 42 percent, researchers report.

How useful is fracking anyway? Study explores return of investment

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:13:13 EDT

The value of a fuel's long-term usefulness and viability is judged through its energy return on investment; the comparison between the eventual fuel and the energy invested to create it. The energy return on investment study finds that shale gas has a return value which is close to coal.

Noble gases hitch a ride on hydrous minerals

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:52:52 EDT

The six noble gases do not normally dissolve into minerals, leaving earth scientists to wonder how they are recycled back into the Earth. Now, researchers have discovered that the lattice structure of minerals such as amphibole is actually quite capable of dissolving noble gases. Understanding how noble gases cycle from deep within the Earth to the atmosphere and back could help scientists track the cycling of other volatiles like water and carbon.

Nanoparticles helping to recover more oil

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:25:25 EDT

When petroleum companies abandon an oil well, more than half the reservoir’s oil is usually left behind as too difficult to recover. Now, however, much of the residual oil can be recovered with the help of nanoparticles and a simple law of physics.

Nanoparticle opens the door to clean-energy alternatives

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:28:28 EDT

Cheaper clean-energy technologies could be made possible thanks to a new discovery. An important chemical reaction that generates hydrogen from water is effectively triggered -- or catalyzed -- by a nanoparticle composed of nickel and phosphorus, two inexpensive elements that are abundant on Earth.

Warm ocean drives most Antarctic ice shelf loss

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:28:28 EDT

Ocean waters melting the undersides of Antarctic ice shelves, not icebergs calving into the sea, are responsible for most of the continent's ice loss, a new study has found.

Satellite data will be essential to future of groundwater, flood and drought management

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:28:28 EDT

New satellite imagery reveals that several areas across the US are all but certain to suffer water-related catastrophes, including extreme flooding, drought and groundwater depletion. A new report underscores the urgent need to address these current and rapidly emerging water issues at the national scale in the U.S.

Dangerous strains of E. coli may linger longer in water than benign counterparts, study finds

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:36:36 EDT

A toxin dangerous to humans may help E. coli fend off aquatic predators, enabling strains of E. coli that produce the toxin to survive longer in lake water than benign counterparts, a new study finds. The research may help explain why water quality tests don't always accurately capture health risks for swimmers.

New catalyst neutralizes gases responsible for climate change

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:22:22 EDT

New technology prevents nitrous oxide decomposing it into nontoxic products. The catalytic system is active, efficient and stable over time and can purify gases emitted by industries related to the production of fertilizers, plastics and coal burning plants to produce electricity or vehicles.

Lighter meals for fish in the northern Baltic Sea

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:22:22 EDT

The nutrition available for fish in the northern Baltic Sea has become lighter during the past 30 years.

Rapid adaptation is purple sea urchins' weapon against ocean acidification

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:40:40 EDT

In the race against climate change and ocean acidification, some sea urchins may still have a few tricks up their spiny sleeves, suggesting that adaptation will likely play a large role for the sea creatures as the carbon content of the ocean increases.

Iron fertilization, process of putting iron into ocean to help capture carbon, could backfire

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:48:48 EDT

A study suggests that iron fertilization, the process of putting iron into the ocean to encourage the growth of carbon dioxide capturing alga blooms, could backfire.

Life underground: Microbes active far beneath seafloor

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:47:47 EDT

Genetic researchers have revealed active bacteria, fungi and other microbes living in 5 million-year-old ocean sediment.

Water in Earth's crust and upper mantle may not lubricate plate tectonics as much as previously assumed

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:31:31 EDT

Water in olivin mineral reveals less important role.

Developing techniques for tuna aquaculture

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:25:25 EDT

Swimming in a 20,000 gallon tank at the University of Rhode Island are several large yellowfin tuna captured last fall about 100 miles off the Rhode Island coast. The fish are part of the first effort in the United States to breed tuna in a land-based aquaculture facility to meet the growing demand for tuna.

Luminous bacterial proteins detect chemicals in water

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:18:18 EDT

Scientists have developed a simple color sensor principle which facilitates the detection of residual medications, trace metals from industrial process waters, and many other substances. This is the concept: If the analyzed sample shines red, then the water is 'clean;' if its color turns green, however, then it contains the substances the scientists wish to detect.

Marks on Martian dunes may be tracks of dry-ice sleds

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:51:51 EDT

NASA research indicates hunks of frozen carbon dioxide -- dry ice -- may glide down some Martian sand dunes on cushions of gas similar to miniature hovercraft, plowing furrows as they go. Researchers deduced this process could explain one enigmatic class of gullies seen on Martian sand dunes by examining images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and performing experiments on sand dunes in Utah and California.

Plunging fish numbers linked to dam releases

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:23:23 EDT

An Australian study has thrown cold water on the notion that large dam releases compensate for the effects of interrupting natural water flows.

Martian clay contains chemical implicated in the origin of life, astrobiologists find

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:01:01 EDT

Researchers have discovered high concentrations of boron in a Martian meteorite. When present in its oxidized form (borate), boron may have played a key role in the formation of RNA, one of the building blocks for life.

Amount of dust blown across the Western U.S. is increasing

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:30:30 EDT

The amount of dust being blown across the landscape has increased over the last 17 years in large swaths of the West, according to a new study.

Testing artificial photosynthesis: Fully integrated microfluidic test-bed for solar-driven electrochemical energy conversion systems

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:32:32 EDT

Researchers have developed the first fully integrated microfluidic test-bed for evaluating and optimizing solar-driven electrochemical energy conversion systems. This test-bed system has already been used to study schemes for photovoltaic electrolysis of water, and can be readily adapted to study proposed artificial photosynthesis and fuel cell technologies.

River dredging reduced fish numbers, diversity

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:30:30 EDT

Comparing dredged and undredged sections of the Allegheny River, reduced populations of fish and less variety of aquatic life occurred in areas where gravel extraction took place, according to researchers.

Leakage of carbon from land to rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal regions revealed

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 09:51:51 EDT

When carbon is emitted by human activities into the atmosphere it is generally thought that about half remains in the atmosphere and the remainder is stored in the oceans and on land. New research suggests that human activity could be increasing the movement of carbon from land to rivers, estuaries and the coastal zone indicating that large quantities of anthropogenic carbon may be hidden in regions not previously considered.

Potentially 'catastrophic' changes underway in Canada's northern Mackenzie River Basin

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:43:43 EDT

Canada's Mackenzie River basin -- among the world's most important major ecosystems -- is poorly studied, inadequately monitored, and at serious risk due to climate change and resource exploitation, a panel of international scientists warn. Largest single threat to the Basin: a potential breach in the tailings ponds at one of the large oil sands sites mining surface bitumen. A breach in winter sending tailings liquid under the ice "would be virtually impossible to remediate or clean-up."

New theory proposes solution to long-running debate as to how stable the Earth system is

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:42:42 EDT

Researchers have proposed an answer to the long-running debate as to how stable the Earth system is. Earth, with its core-driven magnetic field, oceans of liquid water, dynamic climate and abundant life is arguably the most complex system in the known Universe. Life arose on Earth over three and a half billion years ago and it would appear that despite planetary scale calamities such as the impacts of massive meteorites, runaway climate change and increases in brightness of the Sun, it has continued to grow, reproduce and evolve ever since. Has life on Earth simply been lucky in withstanding these events or are there any self-stabilizing processes operating in the Earth system that would reduce the severity of such perturbations? If such planetary processes exist, to what extent are they the result of the actions of life?

How do you feed nine billion people?

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 19:57:57 EDT

An international team of scientists has developed crop models to better forecast food production to feed a growing population -- projected to reach 9 billion by mid-century -- in the face of climate change.

Climate conditions determine Amazon fire risk

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:35:35 EDT

Using an innovative satellite technique, NASA scientists have determined that a previously unmapped type of wildfire in the Amazon rainforest is responsible for destroying several times more forest than has been lost through deforestation in recent years.

Earthquake acoustics can indicate if a massive tsunami is imminent

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:51:51 EDT

Scientists have identified key acoustic characteristics of the 2011 Japan earthquake that indicated it would cause a large tsunami. The technique could be applied worldwide to create an early warning system for massive tsunamis.

Pollution in Northern Hemisphere helped cause 1980s African drought

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:43:43 EDT

Air pollution in the Northern Hemisphere in the mid-20th century cooled the upper half of the planet and pushed rain bands south, contributing to the prolonged and worsening drought in Africa's Sahel region. Clean air legislation in the 1980s reversed the trend and the drought lessened.

Predicting the future of coral reefs in a changing world

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:06:06 EDT

Scientists have described for the first time the biological process of how corals create their skeletons, which form massive and ecologically vital coral reefs in the world's oceans. They identified specific proteins secreted by corals that precipitate carbonate to form the corals' characteristic skeleton.

NASA to study how pollution, storms and climate mix

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 13:30:30 EDT

NASA aircraft will take to the skies over the southern United States this summer to investigate how air pollution and natural emissions, which are pushed high into the atmosphere by large storms, affect atmospheric composition and climate.

Alpine lakes reflect climate change

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:05:05 EDT

Global warming impacts lakes' structure, function and water quality. Increases in temperature as a result of climate change are mirrored in lake waters where temperatures are also on the rise. A new study forecasts surface water temperatures in large Austrian lakes for 2050 and discusses the impact on the lakes' structure, function and water quality.

Drought, river fragmentation forcing endangered fish out of water, biologist finds

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:00:00 EDT

North American drought has caused dramatic changes in native fish communities.

Where trash accumulates in the deep sea

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:43:43 EDT

Surprisingly large amounts of discarded trash end up in the ocean. Plastic bags, aluminum cans, and fishing debris not only clutter our beaches, but accumulate in open-ocean areas such as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch." Now, new research shows that trash is also accumulating in the deep sea, particularly in Monterey Canyon.

U.S. Clean Air Act increased Atlanta rainfall

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:37:37 EDT

The Clean Air Act of 1970 caused a rebound in rainfall for a US city. Scientists analyzed summer rainfall data from nine weather stations in the Atlanta metropolitan area from 1948 to 2009. They discovered that precipitation increased markedly in the late 1970s as pollution decreased following passage of the Clean Air Act of 1970.

Ancient trapped water explains Earth's first ice age

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:35:35 EDT

Tiny bubbles of water found in quartz grains in Australia may hold the key to understanding what caused the Earth's first ice age, say scientists.

Laser-brightened cirrus clouds

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 10:42:42 EDT

Intense laser light pulses increase the brightness of high cirrus clouds. Scientists have been investigating the interactions of laser light and ice clouds using a unique AIDA aerosol and cloud chamber.

Human deforestation outweighs climate change for coral reefs

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 07:17:17 EDT

Better land use is the key to preventing further damage to the world's coral reefs, according to new research. The study has important implications for Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The study authors write that preventing soil erosion and sediment pollution arising from human activities such as deforestation are crucial to reef survival.

Life-producing phosphorus carried to Earth by meteorites

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 15:35:35 EDT

Scientists may not know for certain whether life exists in outer space, but research now shows that one key element that produced life on Earth was carried here on meteorites. In a new study, researchers reveal findings that explain how the reactive phosphorus that was an essential component for creating the earliest life forms came to Earth.

Australian lake untouched by climate change

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 09:38:38 EDT

Researchers have found that a lake on an island off the coast of Queensland, Australia, has been relatively untouched by changes in climate for the past 7000 years, and has so far also resisted the impact of humans.

Acceleration of ocean denitrification during deglaciation documented

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 11:39:39 EDT

As ice sheets melted during the deglaciation of the last ice age and global oceans warmed, oceanic oxygen levels decreased and "denitrification" accelerated by 30 to 120 percent, a new international study shows, creating oxygen-poor marine regions and throwing the oceanic nitrogen cycle off balance.

New study predicts rising irrigation costs, reduced yields for U.S. corn

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 11:39:39 EDT

Simulations predict that in 40 years, yields for corn grown for ethanol will shrink even as climate change increases the need for irrigation, according to a new study.

Method for recycling plastic with printed ink developed

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 11:33:33 EDT

Researchers have developed a procedure that removes printed ink on plastic films used in flexible packaging getting a product free from ink and suitable for recycling.

Hidden effects of climate change may threaten eelgrass meadows

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 09:23:23 EDT

Some research has shown that the effects of changes in the climate may be weak or even non-existent. This makes it easy to conclude that climate change will ultimately have less impact than previous warnings have predicted. But it could also be explained as direct and indirect effects cancelling each other out, as scientists show.

Elevated carbon dioxide making arid regions greener

Fri, 31 May 2013 10:54:54 EDT

Scientists have long suspected that a flourishing of green foliage around the globe, observed since the early 1980s in satellite data, springs at least in part from the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere. Now, a study of arid regions around the globe finds that a carbon dioxide "fertilization effect" has, indeed, caused a gradual greening from 1982 to 2010.

Is enough being done to make drinking water safe?

Fri, 31 May 2013 10:53:53 EDT

There is a lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of technologies used to reduce arsenic contamination finds new research. More studies assessing the technologies themselves and how they are used in the community are needed to ensure that people have access to safe, clean water.

Mapping sea salt from orbit: Building better ocean and climate models

Fri, 31 May 2013 10:17:17 EDT

Climate is greatly influenced by the flow of heat energy carried by ocean currents. But precisely quantifying the mixing between the ocean and the atmosphere is hampered by a lack of detail in models of the ocean and of the water cycle. And in both models, knowing the salt content of the water is essential.

Climate change threatens extinction for 82 percent of California native fish

Thu, 30 May 2013 17:00:00 EDT

Of 121 native fish species in California, researchers predict 82 percent are likely to be driven to extinction or very low numbers as climate change speeds the decline of already depleted populations.

New maps show how shipping noise spans the globe

Thu, 30 May 2013 15:28:28 EDT

Scientists have modeled shipping noise on a global scale.

Small dams on Chinese river harm environment more than expected, study finds

Thu, 30 May 2013 09:50:50 EDT

A fresh look at the environmental impacts of dams on an ecologically diverse and partially protected river in China found that small dams can pose a greater threat to ecosystems and natural landscape than large dams. The research team's surveys of habitat loss and damage at several dam sites on the Nu River and its tributaries in Yunnan Province revealed that, watt-for-watt, the environmental harm from small dams was often greater than from large dams.

Improving 'crop per drop' could boost global food security and water sustainability

Wed, 29 May 2013 14:43:43 EDT

Improvements in crop water productivity -- the amount of food produced per unit of water consumed -- have the potential to improve both food security and water sustainability in many parts of the world, according to a new study.

Arctic current flowed under deep freeze of last ice age, study says

Wed, 29 May 2013 13:34:34 EDT

During the last ice age, when thick ice covered the Arctic, many scientists assumed that the deep currents below that feed the North Atlantic Ocean and help drive global ocean currents slowed or even stopped. But in a researchers have now shown that the deep Arctic Ocean has been churning briskly for the last 35,000 years, through the chill of the last ice age and warmth of modern times.

Geochemistry survey at Chatham Rise reveals absence of modern day greenhouse gas emissions

Wed, 29 May 2013 10:16:16 EDT

Geochemistry analysis of fossil sediment injection structures off the New Zealand coast in February and March reveal no presence of modern day expulsions of methane gas, a potential contributor to global 'greenhouse effect' warming.

Microplastic pollution prevalent in lakes, too

Wed, 29 May 2013 09:29:29 EDT

Researchers have detected microplastic pollution in one of Western Europe's largest lakes, Lake Geneva, in large enough quantities to raise concern.

Scientists develop CO2 sequestration technique

Tue, 28 May 2013 14:37:37 EDT

Scientists have discovered and demonstrated a new technique to remove and store atmospheric carbon dioxide while generating carbon-negative hydrogen and producing alkalinity, which can be used to offset ocean acidification.