environmental science research for everyone
How does a living fish have a radiocarbon age of ~9,000 years BC? A recent study revealed that very old carbon from ancient groundwater actually provides a life-sustaining source of energy to the contemporary food web of wetlands in dry (“arid”) climates.
Read moreSavannas and woodlands are being restored in the Midwest– but how is that restoration affecting birds? The new habitat can be a good thing for bird conservation.
Read moreThe primary goal of conservation is to protect species in their natural habitats, but this can be extremely challenging. Captive breeding in zoos and aquariums may play a vital role in conserving endangered species, but good data must be readily available.
Read moreFor storms along the Gulf Coast, first-person recordings are only reliable for the past 150 years. But knowing more about when storms happened in the past helps us understand how the climate is changing and how to reduce storm risks for coastal communities. To do that, we have to use even more unusual records: tree rings.
Read moreA couple of days ago, right around sunrise, we sailed out of the Straits of Magellan and into the southern Atlantic Ocean, bound for the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic waters known as Iceberg Alley. Giant petrels soared against a clear blue sky, and gentle waves rocked the ship—although we didn’t expect that to last! I am aboard the JOIDES Resolution, a research vessel and drilling ship, and we are intentionally sailing into some of the planet’s wildest seas and the area of greatest iceberg concentration in the Antarctic.
Read more“Why are there rapids in the cypress swamp?”, I ask myself. It is a weird scene. White water is tumbling through the cypress forest out towards Lake Pontchartrain from the southwest, traversing a completely flat landscape. A strong current tears out under the bridge into the lake. “That would be a fun kayak,” I think. I am cruising down Interstate 10 right where it touches the edge of the lake just upriver from New Orleans. I quickly remember that the Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carré Spillway. Again.
Read moreAs the song goes, “you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone; they paved paradise, and put up a parking lot.” (Joni Mitchell). Now, what if, instead of a parking lot, they paved a mega-city?
Read moreThe Earth is warming. No climate scientist would disagree with that conclusion. Right? Nevertheless, controversy persists. Some climate change deniers point to a “global warming hiatus” after 1998. And there’s that striking warm peak during WWII. What’s with that? A new statistical analysis of temperature records addresses these and other questions that nag some who follow climate science. Statistical analysis may not seem sexy or easy, but the math in this article once again confirms profound climate realities facing humanity—and scientists.
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