https://phys.org/earth-news/environment/ en-us The latest news on the environment, environmental issues, earth science and space exploration. Hannah Ray J Childs propelled her kayak into a rapid on Iowa's Maquoketa River on a recent afternoon and dipped her paddle in the water to swing the front of her boat into the air. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-iowa-pollution-health-threat-disrupts.html Environment Thu, 04 Jun 2026 21:00:01 EDT news699794945 Current estimates of hydrogen's climate impact are now sufficiently robust to inform policy and business decision-making, according to researchers in a new review article on the climate impacts of hydrogen emissions. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-hydrogen-emissions-key-maximizing-climate.html Environment Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:00:02 EDT news699804961 National governments and multilateral institutions face difficult challenges reconciling environmental goals, such as biodiversity conservation and addressing climate change, with economic development goals. In a first-of-its-kind analysis done for 146 countries around the world, an interdisciplinary research team led by researchers at the University of Minnesota has found large potential gains in biodiversity, climate and economic development from improved land use and land management. The findings are published in Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-smarter-biodiversity-climate-economic-gains.html Environment Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:00:01 EDT news699807601 Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) have, for the first time, been able to record a debris flow over a distance of two kilometers at the Illgraben (VS). The study reveals where and how waves form within the flow and what happens when they pass over check dams. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-massive-surge-illgraben.html Earth Sciences Thu, 04 Jun 2026 18:20:04 EDT news699804841 Waterlogged land areas such as marshes, bogs and fens are the world's largest natural source of methane. Even the smallest of wetlands emit this powerful greenhouse gas. In a study from The University of Texas at Austin, researchers have identified tens of millions of easily overlooked small wetlands across the globe and found that they have a substantial collective impact, accounting for 24% of the world's total non-forested wetland emissions of methane. This research is published in Nature Climate Change. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-easily-overlooked-small-wetlands-big.html Environment Thu, 04 Jun 2026 18:20:01 EDT news699806401 Climate change is making southern Africa hotter. While much attention has focused on climate impacts such as droughts, floods and food insecurity, another crisis is unfolding quietly inside classrooms. Research has shown that some schools are becoming dangerously hot places for children to develop, learn and play. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-school-hot-world-children-health.html Environment Thu, 04 Jun 2026 18:00:01 EDT news699797147 Residents in informal settlements in Lagos—who are among the most vulnerable to climate change—have developed sophisticated, multi-scale climate adaptation systems and are earning a living from climate action, a new study by Brianna Castro, assistant professor of urban sustainability at the Yale School of the Environment, found. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-climate-vulnerable-residents-nigeria-makeshift.html Environment Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:20:02 EDT news699795541 Mangrove forests, once considered one of the world's most threatened coastal ecosystems, are showing signs of recovery worldwide, according to new research from Tulane University that finds decades of losses largely offset by regrowth and expansion. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-global-mangrove-forests-rebound-climate.html Earth Sciences Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:00:06 EDT news699695101 Ozone pollution has worsened in much of the continental United States over the past decade, fueled by wildfires and the long-distance transport of unhealthy air, according to a new study titled "Fires reverse progress toward ozone air quality standards in the U.S.," led by University of Iowa researchers and published in the journal Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-wildfires-reverse-decade-ozone-cleanup.html Earth Sciences Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:00:03 EDT news699782161 Arctic communities are increasingly exposed to dangerous weather events due to climate change and rely on accurate weather forecasts. However, conditions in the lower atmosphere remain poorly observed in the Arctic because monitoring systems are expensive and difficult to deploy. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-demand-arctic-balloon-sharpen-local.html Earth Sciences Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:40:06 EDT news699792062 For the first time, mighty ocean waves generated in the Southern Ocean have been accurately measured all the way to the tiny ripples they form on the shores of Alaska. Professor Ian Young, from the University of Melbourne's Department of Infrastructure Engineering, is lead author on a landmark study that analyzed data from 300 drifting ocean buoys to gain a detailed understanding of how storms in Antarctica drive waves all around the globe. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-buoys-track-ocean-km-storms.html Earth Sciences Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:00:05 EDT news699790321 Earth is divided into two halves: the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Both reflect equal amounts of sunlight (albedo) even though they have different landmasses and weather patterns, especially cloud distribution. Why this is so is an ongoing mystery waiting to be solved. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-earth-hidden-east-west-symmetry.html Earth Sciences Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:00:06 EDT news699787932 The quality of recycled plastic tends to be higher when the waste is pre-sorted by households compared with plastics recovered from mixed waste at a recycling facility in the Netherlands, research in Nature suggests. While mixed waste (not pre-sorted) collections may increase overall recycling volumes, this comes at the cost of reduced quality of the recycled product. The findings highlight the need to improve recycling collection and sorting systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-home-recycling-higher-quality-plastic.html Environment Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:00:04 EDT news699787949 You may have heard the rumors of a "monster El Niño." It's not the first time we've heard forecasts like this in Australia, but this time, they aren't coming out of nowhere. Early signs in the Pacific have been building for months and forecasts now point to a high likelihood of a moderate to strong El Niño developing in 2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-godzilla-el-nio.html Earth Sciences Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:40:07 EDT news699786181 Although the clean energy transition offers major opportunities, a new report from University of Aberdeen researchers warns that current governance arrangements may leave coastal communities bearing the cost of energy transition while seeing limited long-term benefits. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-coastal-communities-effects-inequality-marine.html Environment Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:20:06 EDT news699783542 Depression, anxiety and sleep disorders are among the conditions often treated with antidepressant drugs. Yet, up to 90% of these drugs pass through the body into wastewater. They're also difficult to remove during water treatment, presenting a possible risk of environmental contamination and threats to ecological and human health. Now, researchers reporting in Environmental Science & Technology have found some antidepressant drugs at levels that could be harmful to aquatic wildlife in North Carolina waterways. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-reveals-elevated-antidepressant-waterways.html Environment Wed, 03 Jun 2026 19:40:03 EDT news699723362 There's no sign that methane emissions are declining globally. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-methane-policy-climate-crisis.html Environment Wed, 03 Jun 2026 19:00:03 EDT news699723062 An international team of scientists has discovered that plants are not responding to global warming in the way researchers long assumed. Scientists have expected that ecosystems would keep pace with warming by raising the temperature at which photosynthesis works best. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-boost-carbon-uptake-efficiency-global.html Earth Sciences Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:40:03 EDT news699718621 El Niño is a recurring climate event with impacts across the globe. It has three phases: one cold (known as La Niña), one neutral, and one warm (El Niño). https://phys.org/news/2026-06-strong-el-nio-approaching.html Earth Sciences Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:20:04 EDT news699722761 For more than 30 years, manufacturers of ski and snowboard waxes have used PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—to make skis and snowboards glide faster over snow. These synthetic chemicals were highly effective and common in competitive racing just about everywhere. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-pfas-wax-chemicals-linger-rooms.html Environment Wed, 03 Jun 2026 17:40:05 EDT news699722461 The Hadley circulation, a key atmospheric conveyor belt transporting heat and moisture from the tropics to the subtropics, directly influences subtropical aridity, the positions of tropical rainfall belts, and extreme weather risks. However, climate models have long shown inconsistencies in simulating its upper-level intensity (UP-HCI), undermining the reliability of future projections. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-attribution-constraints-reveal-stronger-future.html Earth Sciences Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:20:02 EDT news699720576 Many rivers flow into the Arctic Ocean north of the Arctic Circle—including the Lena in Siberia and the Mackenzie River in Canada. The deltas of these large and small rivers store large amounts of carbon, which is bound there in frozen soils and sediments. Climate change, however, is destabilizing the deltas from the ocean and land side and also from the air. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-arctic-river-deltas-climate-pressure.html Earth Sciences Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:10:01 EDT news699720242 A new study in Nature Communications finds a critical climate tipping point in Tibetan permafrost ecosystems. Warming of 2–4 degrees Celsius triggers a self-reinforcing cycle of carbon release that could significantly accelerate climate change, according to the work. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ancient-carbon-tibetan-permafrost-triggering.html Earth Sciences Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:20:04 EDT news699718093 Plastic pollution is widespread in the world's oceans. A new study of northern fulmars from the North Atlantic shows that plastic pollution is also common in northern marine areas. The research is published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-northern-fulmar-seabirds-plastic-stomachs.html Environment Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:00:03 EDT news699715981 Air pollution does not have to exceed federal limits to potentially harm human health, according to a new published study from the University of Mississippi. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-safe-air-pollution-health.html Environment Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:20:02 EDT news699709021 Florida State University research published in Science Advances demonstrates a new framework for predicting the motion of kilometer-scale underwater waves that complicate satellite readings of the ocean. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-swot-satellite-clearer-ocean-hidden.html Earth Sciences Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:00:11 EDT news699703741 The environmental footprint of data centers already rivals some of the world's largest countries, according to a United Nations University report, which also predicts their water and energy use and pollution will double in just four years as use of artificial intelligence grows. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-nation-sized-environmental-footprints-ai.html Environment Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:30:01 EDT news699708016 Everyone has a storm story—whether it's that time you just escaped a downpour, or the hailstorm that wrote off your car. Even though hailstorms are relatively rare, they cause significant damage. Two new studies shed light on how hail might change as the world warms. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-climate-shift-hailstorms-earth-poles.html Environment Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:00:01 EDT news699700994 A hailstorm can undo a season's work in minutes. It can strike quickly and unevenly, shredding wheat, bruising fruit, flattening crops—while also leaving neighboring paddocks untouched. In a new Nature Climate Change study, scientists from UNSW Sydney say the geography and seasonality of that risk is changing. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-hail-conditions-winter-crops.html Environment Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:40:07 EDT news699701581 Picture a pile of trash the size of Manhattan and taller than one and a half Empire State Buildings. That's how much plastic waste the world is predicted to be generating every year by 2050 if nothing is done to change course. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-lot-recycled-plastic-overseas-widespread.html Environment Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:20:04 EDT news699700442