A University of Missouri researcher is pioneering an innovative solution to remove tiny bits of plastic pollution from our water.

Contrary to expectations, wetlands do not need to be completely flooded to provide the greatest climate benefit. Instead, the water table should be below the soil surface and remain stable, according to a new study from the University of Copenhagen. The greenhouse gas methane and microorganisms in the soil are a game changer.

Low algal growth despite high iron supply: A new study in Nature Geoscience uncovers a surprising link between West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat and the growth of marine algae over the past 500,000 years. The team's findings suggest that global warming could potentially result in a reduced uptake of carbon dioxide in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is considered unstable, continues to shrink. 

Iron-rich sediments transported by icebergs from West Antarctica failed to support algae growth in the Southern Ocean, because the iron was highly “weathered” and not readily bioavailable to algae—thus reducing the ocean’s carbon dioxide uptake.

A thin, soft and slippery layer of clay-rich mud embedded in rock below the seafloor intensified the 2011 Japan earthquake that produced a tsunami that claimed tens of thousands of lives and decimated coastal communities along with the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. 

 

The discovery was made by a global research team who, onboard the world’s most advanced drilling-equipped science vessel, Chikyu, sailed to the Japan Trench in late 2024 to investigate what caused the Tōhoku-oki fault to rupture and trigger the earthquake. 

The researchers drilled up to 7,906 metres below the sea surface, setting a Guinness World Record for the deepest scientific ocean drilling ever conducted. 

Babies and very young sauropods – the long-necked, long-tailed plant-eaters that in adulthood were the largest animals to have ever walked on land – were a key food sustaining predators in the Late Jurassic, according to a new study led by a UCL (University College London) researcher.

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan recently examined how different kinds of pesticides and fertilizers affect mandarin oranges across Japan. Analysis showed that while reducing pesticides enhanced the diversity of microbes in the soil, it also led to an increase in fruit disease caused by leaf pathogens. The real-world data from commercial farms thus indicate a trade-off above ground with potential ecological benefits below ground. The study offers important insights for the advancement of sustainable agricultural technologies and future policy development.