Climate science, earth systems and environmental research.
A modelling study suggests that an earthquake on New Zealand’s Titri fault could increase flood exposure in the Taieri Basin by changing the ground and disrupting drainage. In one simulated rupture, Dunedin Airport was inundated to depths of 0.3–1.5 metres during an intense flood event.
Researchers found micro-litter fibers in Antarctic sea stars collected at Deception Island, South Shetland Islands. Sea stars sampled near research stations had higher amounts at one depth, supporting their potential use in monitoring pollution on the seafloor.
Researchers increased the production of hydroxyl radicals in an electrochemical wastewater-treatment system by adding iron ions that changed the hydrogen-bond structure of water near the electrode. The system maintained about 95% contaminant removal during 500 hours of flow operation and was estimated to cost 44.3% less than conventional boron-doped diamond electrodes.
A review of 51 Pacific salmon reintroduction programs in western North America found that most assessed populations were stable or increasing. The authors also describe ecological and cultural benefits, while emphasizing the need to identify and reduce risks linked to reintroduction and to inaction.
Terrestrial vertebrate communities in Australian mangroves and saltmarshes were shaped mainly by how connected they were to natural land, rather than by small-scale habitat features. The survey recorded 45 species in mangroves and 38 in saltmarshes across 115 sites in seven estuaries.
A study of a community forest in Thailand’s industrial Rayong Province finds that eco-city policy reshaped the forest’s governance and public message after years of pollution-related protest. The authors argue that the changes restored institutional legitimacy while setting aside deeper disputes over industrial pollution.
Pygmy owls in boreal Finland moved farther and used home ranges about twice as large as owls in the Italian Alps. Yet in both regions, the forest specialists consistently relied on mature, continuous forest and avoided open habitats and recent clear-cuts.
A new mapping method tracked individual fires across the frequently burned savannas of Western Australia’s North Kimberley. The study found that large fires became about half as large during a period of improved fuel management, although the available data cannot establish that management caused the decline.
Researchers mapped a multistep reaction in which chlorination of aspartic acid produces several disinfection by-products. Dichloroacetic acid was the main carbon-containing product, while other reaction paths formed trichloroacetic acid and dichloroacetonitrile.
A study links high-latitude North Atlantic phytoplankton blooms with wetter conditions and increased plant productivity across central Europe. Earth system model experiments suggest that chlorophyll helped drive this connection by absorbing sunlight, warming the sea surface and changing atmospheric circulation.
A model trained on results from 73 laboratory studies linked chemical structures with changes in the transfer of the RP4 antibiotic-resistance plasmid. Quaternary ammonium and long-chain alkyl compounds were associated with reduced transfer, while sulfonamide- and amine-containing compounds were associated with increased transfer.
Wastewater at three rural sewer sites in Freiburg, Germany, contained more trifluoroacetate than could be accounted for by drinking water, groundwater, rainwater and estimated dietary intake. The researchers say other human-use sources, including cosmetics, may contribute, but more data are needed.
A data-driven analysis of the central and western Baltic Sea identified ecosystem risk hotspots where low oxygen near the seafloor, depth-related constraints and fishing pressure occurred together. These areas also had relatively high species abundance, according to analyses of 2020 data covering 145 marine species.
A systematic review finds that nanoparticles made with plants, bacteria, fungi and algae can remove dyes, heavy metals and other wastewater pollutants through adsorption, chemical transformation and antimicrobial activity. But differences in how they are produced, along with unanswered questions about their environmental fate, could hinder wider adoption.
A 315-day gas-hydrate production test on Alaska’s North Slope produced gas at a higher-than-expected ratio to water. During about two months of continuous production, the gas rate showed no clear increase or decline, while monitoring detected changes linked to hydrate breakdown underground.
