The Potomac River in Washington, D.C. is showing multiple benefits from restoration efforts, newly published research suggests. Reduced nutrients and improved water clarity have increased the abundance and diversity of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the Potomac, according to direct measurements taken during the 18-year field study.
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A partnership to advance technologies for clean energy vehicles led by the University of Michigan will receive $12.5 million over the next five years under the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC), U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced.
If corn producers continue using the same cultivars, plants selected for their desirable characteristics, global warming could cause production to drop from 1.3 to 10 percent between 2010 and 2039. (more…)
Nearly 25 years after the worst nuclear accident in history, new scientific findings suggest that the effects of the explosion at Chernobyl have been underestimated. Experts last month published a series of studies indicating that, contrary to previous findings, populations of animals decreased in the exclusion zone surrounding the site of the former nuclear power plant, and that the effects of radioactive contamination after the outbreak had been “overwhelming.”
Many still remember traffic jams in Europe, caused by the April eruption of Eyyafyatlayokudlya. Scientists around the world genuinely fear the catastrophic consequences of volcanic activity.
Could Impact Water Supplies for Millions and Cause Flood Conditions
Many of Asia’s glaciers are retreating as a result of climate change. (more…)
WASHINGTON — Large changes in the Sun’s energy output may cause Earth’s outer atmosphere to contract, new research indicates. A study published today by the American Geophysical Union links a recent, temporary shrinking of a high atmospheric layer with a sharp drop in the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation levels. (more…)
In the aftermath of the explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, a dispersed oil plume was formed at a depth between 3,600 and 4,000 feet and extending some 10 miles out from the wellhead. An intensive study by scientists with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) found that microbial activity, spearheaded by a new and unclassified species, degrades oil much faster than anticipated. This degradation appears to take place without a significant level of oxygen depletion.
