Plastic rocks, plutonium, and chicken bones: The markers we're laying down in deep time
Rocks keep time. Not on our human-scale time, but deep time: the almost unimaginable span of billions of years which have already come and gone.
Rocks keep time. Not on our human-scale time, but deep time: the almost unimaginable span of billions of years which have already come and gone.
Earth Sciences
Aug 7, 2023
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Microbes are doing a lot under the soil surface that can't be seen with the naked eye—from sequestering carbon to building the foundation of Earth's crust. But even tiny microbes are feeling the stress of a hotter, drier ...
Ecology
Aug 4, 2023
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44
Wildfires are an ancient force shaping the environment, but they have grown in frequency, range and intensity in response to a changing climate. At the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, scientists are ...
Environment
Aug 2, 2023
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Earth's soil contains large stocks of carbon—even more carbon than in the atmosphere. A significant portion of this soil carbon is in organic form (carbon bound to carbon), called soil organic carbon (SOC). However, SOC ...
Ecology
Aug 2, 2023
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About 400,000 years ago, large parts of Greenland were ice-free. Scrubby tundra basked in the sun's rays on the island's northwest highlands. Evidence suggests that a forest of spruce trees, buzzing with insects, covered ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 23, 2023
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Long-term use of cropland and cropland reclamation cause decreasing trend in soil organic carbon (SOC) stock. However, studies on effects of crop reclamation on SOC changes are rare.
Ecology
Jul 18, 2023
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Enhancing plants' ability to pull planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it belowground stably and sustainably is the aim of a team of scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. ...
Biotechnology
Jul 3, 2023
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When microorganisms decompose organic material in the soil, they actively release CO2 into the atmosphere. This process is called heterotrophic respiration. A novel model shows that these emissions could surge by up to 40% ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 22, 2023
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Worldwide, farmers are being challenged with a variety of issues, including growing populations, a changing climate and soil degradation, among many others. To combat these challenges, researchers are looking for solutions ...
Ecology
Jun 16, 2023
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Bioenergy crops such as miscanthus and switchgrass provide several environmental benefits, but low returns and profit risks are barriers for investment by farmers. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 15, 2023
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