https://phys.org/earth-news/environment/ en-us The latest news on the environment, environmental issues, earth science and space exploration. Eighty years ago, a massive tsunami devastated parts of Hawaii, Alaska, Washington and Oregon following an earthquake off the coast of Alaska. A Michigan State University team is launching a project to study the underwater fault system where it originated—and whether it still poses a risk today. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-scientists-probe-source-massive-tsunami.html Earth Sciences Mon, 14 Sep 2026 23:00:01 EDT news708611337 Within the next five years, global warming is set to breach the 1.5°C threshold at the heart of the 2015 Paris Agreement. This will have dire consequences, from rapidly melting ice sheets to ghostly white coral reefs. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-australia-climate.html Environment Mon, 14 Sep 2026 22:20:01 EDT news708611496 Have you ever wondered what Earth observation satellites see when they look down at the deep ocean or a dense tropical forest during the dead of night? The answer, for the most part, is nothing. Standard optical sensors require a steady stream of light to function, and in these photon-limited regions, they hit a hard physical boundary. But what if we could rewrite the rules of optical imaging? By borrowing techniques from quantum photonics, we can push beyond these classical limits and unlock a fundamentally new way to observe the darkest and most hidden environments on our planet. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-quantum-earth-photon-limited-environments.html Earth Sciences Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:20:03 EDT news708598068 Emotional mechanisms are frequently used to inspire good environmental behavior. But how effective are they at inspiring actual sustainable change? Perhaps not as much as previously believed, according to a new study that challenged participants to put their money where their mouths are. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-anger-compassion-spur-climate-donations.html Environment Mon, 14 Sep 2026 18:40:01 EDT news708619502 Methane emissions from the New York City metropolitan area are largely driven by natural gas use, according to a new study published today in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics by researchers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, part of the Columbia Climate School. The findings may offer cities an overlooked pathway for reducing methane emissions while potentially saving consumers millions of dollars lost to wasted natural gas. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-unused-natural-gas-nyc-million.html Environment Mon, 14 Sep 2026 15:40:06 EDT news708609640 Floods, wildfires, conflicts, earthquakes, economic shocks, hurricanes or epidemics: These unexpected and often dramatic events affect people's lives and jobs, destroy crops, wipe out livestock and stored food, contaminate water, block roads, cut off communities and severely affect access to markets and food. This is a distressing picture—one expected to get much worse in the near future because of climate change and an increasingly polarized world. Yet science says no: These natural and human-made shocks do not have to lead to more hunger by default. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-countries-disasters-food-crises-analysis.html Environment Mon, 14 Sep 2026 15:00:11 EDT news708604742 Microplastics are a modern environmental menace and a potential threat to human health. These tiny pieces of plastic, measuring from 1 to 5,000 micrometers, come mainly from larger plastics as well as sources such as paints and cosmetics. They are found in almost every corner of the planet, and a new study published in Science suggests rivers may be carrying far more of them into the ocean than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-rivers-microplastics-world-oceans-previously.html Earth Sciences Mon, 14 Sep 2026 14:10:01 EDT news708612492 Researchers have shown how dramatic sea-level rise over a 5,000-year period profoundly changed the coasts of northern Italy, Slovenia and northern Croatia. Successive shaping and reshaping of coastal features influenced the lives of Mesolithic and Neolithic people and the development of local communities. Land that hunter-gatherers once roamed and farmers later tended now lies deep beneath the sea. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-prehistoric-coastal-northern-adriatic.html Earth Sciences Mon, 14 Sep 2026 12:40:09 EDT news708602221 When people discuss architecture in Ghana, attention often focuses on modern buildings: concrete houses, glass offices, shopping malls and ambitious urban developments. Yet across the country, another architectural tradition continues to offer lessons about how people have built and lived for generations. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ghana-local-architecture-centuries-climate.html Environment Mon, 14 Sep 2026 12:20:12 EDT news708604262 One of the problems with how America deals with wildfires is the belief that there is one primary strategy that can end the nation's wildfire crisis. Whether that's detecting and putting out every fire fast, increasing logging and forest thinning, or allowing fires to burn under safe conditions, the default choice today is to pour more money and effort into the star approach of the moment. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-wildfire-strategy-doesnt-winner-dominance.html Environment Mon, 14 Sep 2026 10:40:07 EDT news708599462 Snails carry weather records on their backs that could be used to map prehistoric cyclones, a University of Queensland study has shown. The project led by School of the Environment researchers examined the rings on the shell of a Biggenden Banded Snail (Figuladra bayensis) collected from Coalstoun Lakes National Park in southeast Queensland. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-snail-shells-weather-capsules.html Earth Sciences Mon, 14 Sep 2026 10:00:04 EDT news708594242 Across Africa, people are restoring and managing mangroves, grazing lands and urban green areas in the face of increasing threats from climate change. Increasingly, they make decisions based on climate-related information supplied by governments, funders and researchers. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-africa-climate-local-knowledge-people.html Environment Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:40:08 EDT news708592742 "Resilience" is in danger of becoming a casualty of business buzzword bingo, but we know it matters. The World Economic Forum lists it as one of the most important skills for the future of work, and I've found it turns up on any list of key attributes, usually nestled under "attitude" or "personal effectiveness." https://phys.org/news/2026-09-employers-resilient-staff.html Environment Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:20:06 EDT news708592621 A new study has revealed that peatlands may break under their own weight before they reach their carbon storage potential. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-reveals-peatlands-capacity-carbon.html Environment Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:00:08 EDT news708592202 A surge in Indonesia's wood pellet and chip production is driving a new wave of deforestation, threatening the vast archipelago's remaining tropical forests, vital biodiversity hot spots and the land of Indigenous peoples, according to new satellite analysis from environmental nongovernmental organizations. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-japan-biomass-energy-boom-threatens.html Environment Mon, 14 Sep 2026 03:53:33 EDT news708576785 The central north Amazon, with extensive areas of high forest cover, natural savannas and vast, important Indigenous territories, was not previously considered the area most affected by climate change. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-unexpected-amazon-hotspot-central-north.html Environment Sat, 12 Sep 2026 14:00:01 EDT news708178181 Plans to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels depend on reaching net-zero emissions and, in many cases, actively removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. While this helps limit extreme weather, sea level rise, ecosystem loss and the risk of triggering irreversible climate tipping points, a new study, published in Science Advances, finds that reducing CO2 levels may have an unexpected effect. Climate simulations used in the study suggest that the Southern Ocean around Antarctica may switch from being an important carbon sink to being a prolific source of carbon. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-southern-ocean-flip-carbon-source.html Earth Sciences Sat, 12 Sep 2026 13:20:01 EDT news708343671 A catastrophic flood in Nepal that left thousands missing began with a collapse of ice and rock high in the mountains—a warning that disaster planning must prepare for chains of hazards, not isolated events, experts say. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nepal-disaster-exposes-cascading-threats.html Environment Fri, 11 Sep 2026 22:00:05 EDT news708348879 Loose fibers from functional clothing, discarded PET bottles or abandoned packaging: When such plastic materials enter the environment, they often persist there for a long time. UV radiation, precipitation and ozone cause them to become brittle—and over time, mechanical forces break them down into increasingly smaller particles. Swirled up by the wind, they are carried farther through the atmosphere. Until now, it was unclear how much microplastic ends up back in Swiss soil and water bodies through this process. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-microplastics-fall-rural-switzerland-adding.html Earth Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 17:00:01 EDT news708347009 When will the glacier in your valley disappear? Will the glacier you visited as a child still exist in 2050? And how much difference would limiting global warming make? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-glacier-website-users-explore-worldwide.html Earth Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 16:00:02 EDT news708346743 With Western wildfires increasing in size, duration and intensity, millions of Americans are now exposed to wildfire smoke each year. In California, 2020 and 2021 were particularly challenging, with a 10-fold increase in fires compared with any time in the state's history. Northern Nevada is positioned to receive much of the smoke from California wildfires, and Reno residents experienced months of smoke-shrouded skies during this time. Now, a new study gives us a deeper look into the potentially hazardous chemicals lurking in this smoke. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-wildfire-impacts-reno-air-quality.html Environment Fri, 11 Sep 2026 14:00:05 EDT news708345181 For the first time, important features of the Antarctic coastal zone have been mapped at high resolution around the continent by training an artificial intelligence tool to accurately recognize grounded icebergs in satellite radar images. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-antarctic-wide-grounded-icebergs-reveals.html Earth Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:40:02 EDT news708340082 Northern India experiences some of the world's worst winter air pollution, with dangerous episodes often prompting emergency control efforts. In major cities like Delhi, the Air Quality Index has reached levels above 999—over 30 times the World Health Organization's safety limit. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-seasonal-northern-india-months-severe.html Earth Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:20:04 EDT news708340021 The massive and deadly floods on the Nepal–Tibet border are a stark reminder of why the world needs to constantly update its understanding of the fragile ecosystem in the Himalayas. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nepal-himalayas-future-disasters.html Environment Fri, 11 Sep 2026 11:00:08 EDT news708340502 Our oceans are in trouble, and new research from Flinders University shows how changes in diatoms (microalgae) could further undermine the foundation of aquatic food webs—as well as vital deep-sea carbon capture or sequestration. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ocean-acidification-disrupt-diatoms-carbon.html Environment Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:05:45 EDT news708336308 Industrialized countries send millions of metric tonnes of used clothing, electronic equipment and other products to the Global South, along with the environmental and health costs tied to producing, consuming and disposing of those goods. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-western-consumption-global-south-environmental.html Environment Fri, 11 Sep 2026 07:20:01 EDT news708326461 A revolution in forecasting natural disasters is underway, say researchers in Switzerland who are training AI models using vast troves of NASA climate data to produce potentially lifesaving data at lightning speed. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-eye-ai-revolution-natural-disaster.html Environment Fri, 11 Sep 2026 03:53:40 EDT news708317582 The southern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is known as the Copperbelt because of its rich deposits of copper and other minerals. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-drc-cobalt-exports-unreported-uranium.html Earth Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 23:20:04 EDT news708262256 Switching to a more sustainable diet could halve food-related emissions in cities such as Amsterdam, while in cities such as Dhaka and Delhi, the focus should be more on making food production more sustainable as they widen food access. A new database by Leiden researchers shows that different cities need different approaches to achieve a more sustainable food system. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-global-database-reveals-cities-food.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 19:40:04 EDT news708272342 As extreme heat becomes more frequent and severe, many people are turning to informal adaptation strategies—rigging up plastic sheeting overhead for shade, sharing water at a community tap and creating neighborhood cooling areas. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-qa-overlooked-networks-resilience-communities.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:40:04 EDT news708277621