Earth and Environmental Sciences
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New study provides rule of thumb to estimate land sustainability in river deltas
A new study finds that the well-established Hack’s law may help engineers control water flow and reduce flood risks along river deltas.
Following in the footsteps of Jane Goodall: A wildlife pathologist’s story
Dr. Karen Terio works to understand, diagnose, treat and prevent disease in a host of animals, from dolphins to turtles to chimpanzees and cheetahs.
Team tracks vegetation recovery from sudden permafrost collapse
Some Arctic regions regain their “greenness” within a decade of a sudden permafrost collapse, while others can take a century or more to recover, researchers report.
Engineered yeast gives the U.S. a green edge in the critical minerals market
There is a new, environmentally friendly method for mining rare-earth elements used in consumer electronics, clean energy, defense and biomedical imaging. By using oxalic acid made by sugar-eating engineered yeast, the new technique extracts almost all the rare-earth elements from low-grade ore.
Still standing but mostly dead: Recovery of dying coral reef in Moorea stalls
The hollowed-out skeletons of a bleached reef in the Pacific Ocean are changing scientists’ understanding of the factors that promote — or hinder— coral reef recovery.
Study documents conflict between commerce and conservation at mining operation in Bangladesh
A new study using multidecade satellite imagery and face-to-face human interviews tracked the environmental and societal impacts of gravel mining in the Lubha River, Northeast Bangladesh. The researchers found that the river had recovered its natural shape within just four years after gravel mining stopped. However, the local economy did not bounce back nearly as quickly.
New water-treatment system removes nitrogen, phosphorus from farm tile drainage
Scientists have developed a system to reduce levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that flow through farm tile drains and pollute the environment.
Book looks at treasure trove of scientific data from 19th-century HMS Challenger voyage
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The voyage of the HMS Challenger in the 1870s was a sprawling 3-1/2-year expedition to explore the world’s oceans. The scientists aboard the vessel collected 100,000 specimens of sea creatures, discovered 5,000 new species, mapped the ocean floors and took hundreds of measurements of sea temperature and chemistry that formed the basis […]
Study: 72% of Illinois wetlands no longer protected by federal Clean Water Act
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois once harbored more than 8 million acres of wetlands. By the 1980s, all but 1.2 million wetland acres had been lost, filled in for development or drained to make way for agriculture. Now, thanks to a 2023 Supreme Court decision, roughly 72% of the remaining 981,000 acres of Illinois wetlands are […]
Study identifies hotspots of disease-carrying ticks in Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists analyzed the distribution of three potentially harmful tick species in Illinois, identifying regions of the state with higher numbers of these ticks and, therefore, at greater risk of infection with multiple tick-borne diseases. The study found that, of the three species tracked, the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, is most prevalent […]
New model can accurately predict a forest’s future
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — One of the great challenges of ecology is to understand the factors that maintain, or undermine, diversity in ecosystems, researchers write in a new report in the journal Science. The researchers detail their development of a new model that — using a tree census and genomic data collected from multiple species in […]
Paper: Decarbonize agriculture by expanding policies aimed at low-carbon biofuels
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A team of agricultural economists, environmental scientists and policy experts envisions a path toward a carbon-neutral agricultural future by expanding the reach of policies designed to promote low-carbon biofuels for transportation and aviation. In a new paper in the journal Science, the researchers propose policies that would reward farmers for adopting “climate-smart” […]