Researchers from the University of Plymouth and Plymouth Marine Laboratory (UK) have suggested that a combination of sewage overflows and coastal winds could be sending billions of airborne microplastic particles into the world’s coastal towns and cities. Their study has for the first time drawn together existing research which has highlighted the presence of microplastics in sewage overspills, and the role of the wind in picking up and transporting sea spray and sea foam into the air and onto land.

Northern Australia's annual monsoon season brings relief to drought-stricken lands and revitalises crops and livestock for farmers. But a study of 150,000 years of climate records shows that the monsoon is likely to intensify, triggering a higher risk of flooding while worsening the impact of droughts in East Asia.

In a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers show that warmer summer temperatures increase tree growth, but less snow on the ground slows this growth significantly—meaning that New England forests’ ability to store carbon in future climate scenarios is likely overestimated. 

Some species of fig trees store calcium carbonate in their trunks – essentially turning themselves (partially) into stone, new research has found. The team of Kenyan, U.S., Austrian, and Swiss scientists found that the trees could draw carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere and store it as calcium carbonate ‘rocks’ in the surrounding soil. 

In a study published in National Science Review, researchers present multiple lines of observational and modeling evidence for a ~4% decline in global atmospheric oxidation capacity in 2020, reflected by a drop in hydroxyl radical (OH) concentrations. Using satellite-based carbon monoxide data, as well as methane and methyl chloroform observations, the study reveals that this OH reduction occurred in both hemispheres—approximately 2.4% in the Northern Hemisphere and 5.7% in the Southern Hemisphere—driven by distinct mechanisms. In the Northern Hemisphere, reduced NO_x emissions due to COVID-19 lockdowns led to lower OH and tropospheric ozone levels, while in the Southern Hemisphere, massive emissions of reactive carbon from unprecedented Australian wildfires caused OH depletion but tropospheric ozone increases. This contrast in tropospheric ozone anomalies is further corroborated by satellite data. The findings help explain one of the record-breaking rises in atmospheric methane in 2020 and underscore the critical role of both natural and anthropogenic factors in shaping Earth’s atmospheric chemistry and global methane budget.