http://phys.org/space-news/environment/ en-us Phys.Org provides the latest news on the environment, environmental issues, earth science and space exploration. More than 13,000 ships per year, carrying more than 284 million tons of cargo, transit the Panama Canal each year, generating roughly $1.8 billion dollars in toll fees for the Panama Canal Authority. Each time a ship passes through, more than 55 million gallons of water are used from Gatun Lake, which is also a source of water for the 2 million people living in the isthmus. http://phys.org/news288539345.html Space & Earth - Environment Thu, 23 May 2013 15:00:02 EST news288539345 About 55.5 million years ago, geologically rapid emission of a large volume of greenhouse gases at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary (PETM) led to global warming of about 5oC, severe ocean acidification, and widespread extinction of microscopic organisms living on the deep-sea floor (foraminifera). http://phys.org/news288426701.html Space & Earth - Environment Wed, 22 May 2013 07:31:55 EST news288426701 Residents of Manhattan will not just sweat harder from rising temperatures in the future, says a new study; many may die. Researchers say deaths linked to warming climate may rise some 20 percent by the 2020s, and, in some worst-case scenarios, 90 percent or more by the 2080s. Higher winter temperatures may partially offset heat-related deaths by cutting cold-related mortality—but even so, annual net temperature-related deaths might go up a third. The study, published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change, was done by a team at Columbia University's Earth Institute and the Mailman School of Public Health. http://phys.org/news288172176.html Space & Earth - Environment Sun, 19 May 2013 13:10:13 EST news288172176 A global warming "pause" over the past decade may invalidate the harshest climate change predictions for the next 50 to 100 years, a study said Sunday—though levels remain in the danger zone. http://phys.org/news288187797.html Space & Earth - Environment Sun, 19 May 2013 13:10:09 EST news288187797 Eight Chinese and two Indian airlines face fines of up to several million euros for not paying for their greenhouse gas emissions during flights within the bloc, the European Commission said on Friday. http://phys.org/news288060949.html Space & Earth - Environment Sat, 18 May 2013 01:56:03 EST news288060949 (Phys.org) —Extraction of "unconventional" gas from sedimentary rocks such as shale could provide a clean energy source and help some regions to become energy independent, but concerns have been raised about risks such as the contamination of ground water. The current knowledge of these risks has now been assessed in a review published in Science this week. http://phys.org/news287982631.html Space & Earth - Environment Fri, 17 May 2013 04:50:05 EST news287982631 When UC Santa Barbara doctoral student Seeta Sistla and her adviser, environmental studies professor Josh Schimel, went north not long ago to study how long-term warming in the Arctic affects carbon storage, they had made certain assumptions. http://phys.org/news287935211.html Space & Earth - Environment Thu, 16 May 2013 15:00:18 EST news287935211 A comprehensive analysis of peer-reviewed articles on the topic of global warming and climate change has revealed an overwhelming consensus among scientists that recent warming is human-caused. http://phys.org/news287856808.html Space & Earth - Environment Wed, 15 May 2013 19:00:02 EST news287856808 Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that conserving rainforests in the Amazon River Basin will increase the amount of electricity that hydropower projects in the area can produce. The study is the first to quantify the impact of regional rainforest cover on energy production. Its findings reveal that rainforests are more critical than previously thought in generating the rainfall that drives river flow, and ultimately power production, in tropical areas. The research shows that if deforestation continues to increase in the Amazon, energy projections for one of the world's largest dams, the Belo Monte in Brazil, decline by one third. http://phys.org/news287658109.html Space & Earth - Environment Mon, 13 May 2013 15:00:16 EST news287658109 Almost two thirds of common plants and half the animals could see a dramatic decline this century due to climate change – according to research from the University of East Anglia. http://phys.org/news287575088.html Space & Earth - Environment Sun, 12 May 2013 13:00:20 EST news287575088 The large-scale expansion of agriculture in the Amazon through deforestation will be a no-win scenario, according to a new study. Published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters, it shows that deforestation will not only reduce the capacity of the Amazon's natural carbon sink, but will also inflict climate feedbacks that will decrease the productivity of pasture and soybeans. http://phys.org/news287338494.html Space & Earth - Environment Thu, 09 May 2013 19:00:01 EST news287338494 The growing global demand for energy, combined with a need to reduce emissions and lessen the effects of climate change, has increased focus on cleaner energy sources. But what unintended consequences could these cleaner sources have on the changing climate? http://phys.org/news287135054.html Space & Earth - Environment Tue, 07 May 2013 08:44:37 EST news287135054 It's difficult to imagine how a degree or two of warming will affect a location. Will it rain less? What will happen to the area's vegetation? New Berkeley Lab research offers a way to envision a warmer future. It maps how Earth's myriad climates—and the ecosystems that depend on them—will move from one area to another as global temperatures rise. http://phys.org/news286954321.html Space & Earth - Environment Sun, 05 May 2013 13:00:36 EST news286954321 (Phys.org) —Universal access to modern energy could be achieved with an investment of between 65 and 86 billion US dollars a year up until 2030, new research has shown. http://phys.org/news286773222.html Space & Earth - Environment Fri, 03 May 2013 04:13:57 EST news286773222 (Phys.org) —In the quest to decrease the world's greenhouse gases, Cornell scientists have discovered that biochar – a charcoal-like substance – reduces the nemesis nitrous oxide from agricultural soil on average by about 55 percent and stanches emissions into the atmosphere. The research is reported in the journal Scientific Reports on April 25. http://phys.org/news286440873.html Space & Earth - Environment Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:40:04 EST news286440873 As temperatures warm, plants release gases that help form clouds and cool the atmosphere, according to research from IIASA and the University of Helsinki. The new study, published in Nature Geoscience, identified a negative feedback loop in which higher temperatures lead to an increase in concentrations of natural aerosols that have a cooling effect on the atmosphere. http://phys.org/news286350656.html Space & Earth - Environment Sun, 28 Apr 2013 13:00:04 EST news286350656 Sea surface temperatures in the Northeast Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem during 2012 were the highest recorded in 150 years, according to the latest Ecosystem Advisory issued by NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC). These high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are the latest in a trend of above average temperature seen during the spring and summer seasons, and part of a pattern of elevated temperatures occurring in the Northwest Atlantic, but not seen elsewhere in the ocean basin over the past century. http://phys.org/news286195937.html Space & Earth - Environment Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:52:39 EST news286195937 After years of scientific uncertainty and speculation, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill show exactly how trees help create one of society's predominant environmental and health concerns: air pollution. http://phys.org/news286106672.html Space & Earth - Environment Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:04:39 EST news286106672 Most of us want to swim in a lake where we can see our toes. Clear, oxygen-rich water supports not only human swimmers, but also intricate webs of animal and microbial life. That life can be disrupted when too many nutrients—from fertilizers, pollution, and other factors—overload the system. In those cases, aquatic ecosystems can cross a tipping point: the nutrients cause algae to bloom, and the extra bacteria eating the extra algae use up all the oxygen in the water. The end result is a murky, green lake that is difficult to restore, despite herculean interventions. http://phys.org/news285926575.html Space & Earth - Environment Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:03:11 EST news285926575 Running two computer models in tandem, scientists from the University of New Hampshire have detailed for the first time how thermoelectric power plants interact with climate, hydrology, and aquatic ecosystems throughout the northeastern U.S. and show how rivers serve as "horizontal cooling towers" that provide an important ecosystem service to the regional electricity sector—but at a cost to the environment. http://phys.org/news285852995.html Space & Earth - Environment Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:36:42 EST news285852995 (Phys.org) —Researchers from Hariot-Watt University's Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology, in Edinburgh, Scotland have started a Kickstarter project with the aim of securing funds to assist in the development of swarms of undersea robots whose mission is to restore damaged coral reefs. http://phys.org/news285498468.html Space & Earth - Environment Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:07:56 EST news285498468 (Phys.org) —Marine scientists have long understood the detrimental effect of fossil fuel emissions on marine ecosystems. But a group led by a UC Santa Barbara professor has found a point of resilience in a microscopic shelled plant with a massive environmental impact, which suggests the future of ocean life may not be so bleak. http://phys.org/news285233209.html Space & Earth - Environment Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:26:56 EST news285233209 With coastal areas bracing for rising sea levels, new research indicates that cutting emissions of certain pollutants can greatly slow down sea level rise this century. http://phys.org/news285141825.html Space & Earth - Environment Sun, 14 Apr 2013 13:00:08 EST news285141825 Harvard researchers are adding statistical nuance to our understanding of how modern and historical temperatures compare. http://phys.org/news284824030.html Space & Earth - Environment Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:47:38 EST news284824030 (Phys.org) —Changes in Arctic vegetation due to climate change have probably been underestimated, according to a new computer analysis which shows that tree and shrub cover in the region will increase more than previously expected, accelerating climate change and possible adverse effects on wildlife. http://phys.org/news284802437.html Space & Earth - Environment Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:47:27 EST news284802437 Which is more important, pandas or pinot? Researchers say that is a question conservationists and wine-growers will have to answer in the coming years as climate change sparks a hunt for cooler places to grow wine grapes, even if those places are home to sensitive animal populations. http://phys.org/news284658062.html Space & Earth - Environment Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:41:14 EST news284658062 Flights will become bumpier as global warming destabilises air currents at altitudes used by commercial airliners, climate scientists warned Monday. http://phys.org/news284637638.html Space & Earth - Environment Mon, 08 Apr 2013 11:00:45 EST news284637638 A new study has found that pollution from fine particles in the air – mainly the result of burning coal or volcanic eruptions – can shade corals from sunlight and cool the surrounding water resulting in reduced growth rates. http://phys.org/news284557786.html Space & Earth - Environment Sun, 07 Apr 2013 13:00:08 EST news284557786 (Phys.org) —Isolated coral reefs can recover from catastrophic damage as effectively as those with nearby undisturbed neighbours, a long-term study by marine biologists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS) has shown. http://phys.org/news284318802.html Space & Earth - Environment Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:26:52 EST news284318802 (Phys.org) —A new study published today in Nature by researchers at the University of New Mexico indicates the immense amount of fresh water used by plants and its movement during their life cycle has significant implications for future predictions about climate change. http://phys.org/news284282944.html Space & Earth - Environment Thu, 04 Apr 2013 08:29:22 EST news284282944