https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Earth's largest mass extinction occurred about 252 million years ago, wiping out the majority of marine and terrestrial life, disrupting the global carbon cycle for several hundred thousand years, and earning the title "the Great Dying." Global warming, changing temperature gradients, shifts in nutrient cycling, and oxygen depletion wiped out 81% of all marine life at the time. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-algae-life-outlast-extinction.html Ecology Thu, 13 Nov 2025 14:50:01 EST news682267796 A deeper look into carbon flux is now possible—thanks to a deep pool of scientific collaboration. And for once, the spotlight is on Asia. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-asia-global-carbon-conversation.html Earth Sciences Thu, 21 Aug 2025 04:00:01 EDT news674907842 In a large-scale study with almost 400 partners, researchers worldwide have collected data on tree species, to which scientists from Bayreuth have contributed their knowledge about the Kilimanjaro region. The study, which has now been published in the journal Nature Plants, improves our understanding of the different leaf types of trees and thus enables us to draw conclusions about ecosystems and the CO2 cycle. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-importance-tree-carbon-dioxide-storage.html Ecology Tue, 24 Oct 2023 11:31:44 EDT news617365901 Plants take in CO2 to grow. They extract it from the atmosphere and use it to build organic compounds by means of photosynthesis and water. Terrestrial ecosystems have absorbed an average of about 32 percent of CO2 emissions caused by human activity over the last six decades. Whether and to what extent terrestrial vegetation can continue to function as a carbon sink in a changing climate is a key question in climate science and is of vital political relevance. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-droughts-carbon-dioxide-uptake-tropics.html Earth Sciences Thu, 01 Jun 2023 10:21:25 EDT news604833674 In a new journal article, EPFL professor Tom Battin reviews our current understanding of carbon fluxes in the world's river networks. He demonstrates their central role in the global carbon cycle and argues for the creation of a global River Observation System. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-rivers-global-carbon.html Earth Sciences Thu, 19 Jan 2023 08:39:04 EST news593339941 Soil respiration is fundamental in terrestrial ecosystems, where plants and microbes dominate the production of carbon dioxide released to the atmosphere. The scientific understanding of the processes underpinning soil respiration remains incomplete, limiting our ability to accurately predict how the global carbon cycle will respond to the changing climate. https://phys.org/news/2022-04-paired-gas-biogeochemical-tracer.html Earth Sciences Thu, 21 Apr 2022 09:56:10 EDT news569753766 "Streams to the river, river to the sea." If only it were that simple. https://phys.org/news/2022-03-reveals-inland-coastal-waterways-climate.html Environment Wed, 16 Mar 2022 12:00:02 EDT news566650370 The global spread of vast forest plantations and agricultural monocultures are turning once diverse landscapes into areas of land supporting single plant species, with profound implications for our terrestrial water cycle, according to new research. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-intensive-monoculture-peril.html Environment Tue, 22 Sep 2020 08:33:25 EDT news519982400 An international team of researchers, including scientists from the University of York, has discovered a set of enzymes found in fungi that are capable of breaking down one of the main components of wood. The enzymes could now potentially be used to sustainably convert wood biomass into valuable chemical commodities such as biofuels. https://phys.org/news/2018-02-fungal-enzymes-secret-renewable-energy.html Biochemistry Fri, 16 Feb 2018 09:23:30 EST news437995399 (Phys.org) —Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may get the lion's share of attention in climate change discussions, but the biggest repository of carbon is actually underfoot: soils store an estimated 2.5 trillion tons of carbon in the form of organic matter. https://phys.org/news/2014-03-neutrons-simulations-soil-carbon.html Environment Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:00:02 EDT news315470455 When the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere rises, the Earth not only heats up, but extreme weather events, such as lengthy droughts, heat waves, heavy rain and violent storms, may become more frequent. Whether these extreme climate events result in the release of more CO2 from terrestrial ecosystems and thus reinforce climate change has been one of the major unanswered questions in climate research. It has now been addressed by an international team of researchers working with Markus Reichstein, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena. They have discovered that terrestrial ecosystems absorb approximately 11 billion tons less carbon dioxide every year as the result of the extreme climate events than they could if the events did not occur. That is equivalent to approximately a third of global CO2 emissions per year. https://phys.org/news/2013-08-extreme-weather-events-fuel-climate.html Earth Sciences Wed, 14 Aug 2013 13:00:01 EDT news295672903 (Phys.org)—A US scientist has proposed that a new planetary boundary be used to analyze the effects of human activities on the planet. He warns that there are definite biophysical limits to growth in human population, economies and consumption, and that limits in some variables might already have been reached. https://phys.org/news/2012-09-planetary-boundary-effects-human.html Environment Fri, 21 Sep 2012 05:29:42 EDT news267424171 Two recent international studies are poised to change the way scientists view the crucial relationship between Earth's climate and the carbon cycle. These reports explore the global photosynthesis and respiration rates -- the planet's deep "breaths" of carbon dioxide, in and out -- and researchers say that the new findings will be used to update and improve upon traditional models that couple together climate and carbon. https://phys.org/news/2010-07-earth-carbon-terrestrial-ecosystems.html Earth Sciences Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:00:02 EDT news197545620