Water

Increasingly common since 1980, persistent multi-year droughts will continue to advance with the warming climate, warns a new study. This publicly available forty-year global quantitative inventory seeks to inform policy regarding the environmental impact of human-induced climate change. It also detected previously 'overlooked' events.

New research reveals that drought and increased temperatures in a CO2-rich climate can dramatically alter how grasslands use and move water. The study provides the first experimental demonstration of the potential impacts of climate change on water movement through grassland ecosystems, which make up nearly 40% of Earth's land area and play a critical role in Earth's water cycle.

Engineering researchers have developed carbon capture systems that use molecules called quinones, dissolved in water, as their capturing compounds. A new study provides critical insights into the mechanisms of carbon capture in these safer, gentler, water-based electrochemical systems, paving the way for their further refinement.

In an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary study, an international team examined the social risks for Arctic regions associated with thawing permafrost. They identified five key risks related to infrastructure, transport and supply, water quality, food security and health. The scientists found that the thawing permafrost posed an increased risk of exposure to infectious diseases and release of contaminants, and interruptions of supply routes.

A new study analyzing a lake formed by a glacier surge in the Karakoram Mountains has revealed how satellite images can be used to monitor the potential for lake drainage hazards.

DDT soil pollution is still a major problem in many parts of the world. Researchers have developed a new method to manage ecological risks from the toxin by binding it with biochar. When they mixed biochar into contaminated soil at a former tree nursery, DDT uptake by earthworms in the soil was halved. This method may enable the growing of certain crops on land that is currently considered unusable due to the environmental risks.

Engineers have found a way to eliminate the fluid flow 'dead zones' that plague the types of electrodes used for battery-based seawater desalination. The new technique uses a physics-based tapered flow channel design within electrodes that moves fluids quickly and efficiently, potentially requiring less energy than reverse osmosis techniques currently require.

Methane from the destroyed Nord Stream pipelines spread over a large part of the southern Baltic Sea and remained for several months.

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) has not slowed down since the mid-20th century based on the North Atlantic air-sea heat fluxes over that time. This finding contrasts with studies that have estimated a decline in the AMOC, likely because previous studies rely on sea surface temperature measurements to understand how the AMOC has changed. However, sea surface temperature is not a reliable way to reconstruct the AMOC, according to the authors. Although the AMOC has not declined yet, scientists agree that the Atlantic overturning will slow in the future -- but whether the system can collapse entirely and when this collapse would happen is still up for debate. Such a scenario would have catastrophic consequences globally.

Experts are warning of the risks of spreading invasive and non-native species when moving large volumes of untreated lake, reservoir and river water.

Beneath sandy beaches, microbes filter chemicals from groundwater and safeguard ocean health. A new study reveals that sneaker waves provide a lens to explore the impending impacts of sea level rise on beach hydrology, chemistry, and microbiology.

Federal reservoirs could help meet the country's solar energy needs, according to a new study. Geospatial scientists and senior legal and regulatory analyst quantified exactly how much energy could be generated from floating solar panel projects installed on federally owned or regulated reservoirs.

A researcher conducted a survey on the use of private wells during the 2018 Western Japan floods in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture, which was affected by water supply disruptions.

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are used in the aerospace, automotive, and sports equipment industries. However, their recycling remains a major problem. In a recent study, researchers demonstrated a novel direct discharge electrical pulse method for the efficient, effective, and environmentally friendly separation of CFRPs to recover high-quality carbon fibers. This work is expected to pave the way for a more sustainable world.

Bats depend on open bodies of water such as small ponds and lakes for foraging and drinking. Access to water is particularly important for survival in the increasingly hot and dry summers caused by climate change, the time when female bats are pregnant and rear their young. A scientific team has now shown that access to drinking sites is hampered by wind turbines in agricultural landscapes: Many bat species avoid the turbines and water bodies located close to the turbines for several kilometers.

Wildfires increasingly threaten public drinking water systems, but guidance on how to address damage to these systems from a wildfire has been insufficient, conflicting or inaccurate. A new publication offers the first comprehensive guidance for public drinking water system staff, outlining the decision-making process for testing and recovering water distribution systems after a wildfire.

Scientists have mapped the amount of water stored beneath volcanic rocks at the crest of the central Oregon Cascades and found an aquifer many times larger than previously estimated -- at least 81 cubic kilometers. The finding has implications for the way scientists and policymakers think about water in the region -- an increasingly urgent issue across the Western United States as climate change reduces snowpack, intensifies drought and strains limited resources.

The way cricket frogs move across the surface of water has long been thought to resemble walking on water, but researchers have now discovered a different reality.

A new study provides the first comprehensive global estimates of the amount of water stored in Earth's plants and the amount of time it takes for that water to flow through them. The information is a missing piece of the puzzle in understanding the global water cycle and how that cycle is being altered by changes in land use and climate.

Laboratory experiments designed to deform ice at its pressure-melting temperature were like grabbing a bagel at the top and the bottom, then twisting the two halves to smear the cream cheese in the middle, according to new research. The resulting data could lead to more accurate models of temperate glacier ice and better predictions of glacier flow and sea-level rise.

Hydroclimate whiplash -- rapid swings between intensely wet and dangerously dry weather -- has already increased globally due to climate change, with further large increases expected as warming continues, according to a team of researchers.

An international team of scientists has called for the creation of an 18th addition to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which would aim to mitigate against the accumulation of space junk in Earth's orbit. They believe a new SDG18 could draw direct inspiration from one of the existing goals -- SDG14: Life Below Water -- with lessons learned in marine debris management being used to prevent another planetary crisis before it is too late.

Researchers analyzed 22 recent studies exploring HIV-related outcomes in the context of climate change and identified several links between extreme weather events and HIV prevention and care.

Researchers have found that the taller the Japanese black pine trees (Pinus thunbergii) along the coast, the deeper their roots penetrate the ground. Deeper roots make trees more resistant to damage from tsunamis and strong winds. Their findings suggest that the resilience of coastal P. thunbergii trees may be improved by inducing deep root growth, specifically in short trees.

Researchers have created a simulation that maps underground water on a continental scale. The result of three years' work studying groundwater from coast to coast, the findings plot the unseen path that each raindrop or melted snowflake takes before reemerging in freshwater streams, following water from land surface to depths far below and back up again, emerging up to 100 miles away, after spending from 10 to 100,000 years underground.

The Great Salt Lake has lost more than 15 billion cubic yards of water over the past three decades, is getting shallower at the rate of 4 inches a year, and an analysis of its water budget suggests reducing irrigation is necessary for saving it.

A new way to identify salts in nuclear waste melters could help improve clean-up technology, including at the Hanford Site, one of the largest, most complex nuclear waste clean-up sites in the world. Researchers used two detectors to find thin layers of sulfate, chloride and fluoride salts during vitrification, a nuclear waste storage process that involves converting the waste into glass. The formation of salts can be problematic for waste processing and storage.

The tiny particles that shed from clothing, packaging and other plastic products are winding up in the fish that people eat, highlighting a need for technologies and strategies to reduce microfiber pollution entering the environment.

Traditional methods of communicating how likely an area is to flood focus on designating which zones are 'high risk.' This study suggests that this framing may give developers and homeowners a false sense of security when settling directly outside of 'high risk' zones, believing them to be safe. This phenomenon is known as the 'safe development paradox,' and results in an over-concentration of development right next to areas most likely to flood.

New research shows that the sweeping land use changes and irrigation of the U.S. Corn Belt, along with the influence of the area's shallow groundwater, have significantly altered precipitation patterns in that vital agricultural region.

2024 was another year of record-breaking temperatures, driving the global water cycle to new climate extremes and contributing to ferocious floods and crippling droughts, a new report shows. The report found rising temperatures are changing the way water moves around the planet, 'wreaking havoc' on the water cycle.

Over the last 20 years, large floods were associated with up to 24.9 percent higher death rates from major mortality causes in the U.S. compared to normal conditions. A new study demonstrates the sweeping and hidden effects of floods --including floods unrelated to hurricanes, such as those due to heavy rain, snowmelt, or ice jams.

In the Arctic, the old, multiyear ice is increasingly melting, dramatically reducing the frequency and size of pressure ridges. These ridges are created when ice floes press against each other and become stacked, and are a characteristic feature of Arctic sea ice, an obstacle for shipping, but also an essential component of the ecosystem. In a recently released study scientists report on this trend and analyze observational data from three decades of aerial surveys.

Each year, most species of bacteria in a Wisconsin lake rapidly evolved, apparently in response to dramatically changing seasons, and then evolved back.

Steroid hormones are among the most widespread aquatic micropollutants. They are harmful to human health, and they cause ecological imbalances in aquatic environments. Researchers investigated how steroid hormones are degraded in an electrochemical membrane reactor with carbon nanotube membranes. They found that adsorption of steroid hormones on the carbon nanotubes did not limit the hormones' subsequent degradation.

A research team has shown wearable electronic textiles (e-textiles) can be both sustainable and biodegradable.

Chlorine plays an essential part in daily life, from keeping pools clean to preserving food. Now, a team of chemists developed a more environmentally friendly way to integrate chlorine into chemical building blocks for medications, plastics, pesticides and other essential products while reducing costs.

A research team has revealed that to use the aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system safely over the long term it is crucial to investigate the groundwater quality before operating the system and to continuously monitor the water quality.

Artificial intelligence can provide critical insights into how complex mixtures of chemicals in rivers affect aquatic life -- paving the way for better environmental protection.

Communities up and down the West Coast of the United States can expect atmospheric rivers to evolve as the climate warms. But residents in Southern California will see much different changes than residents in more northerly locations like Seattle

More American cities -- even those seen as affluent -- are home to people living without running water as people are being 'squeezed' by unaffordable housing and the cost-of-living crisis, new research finds.

A new study shows how remote sensing can help monitor and remove plastic debris from freshwater environments like the Mississippi River.

Scientists have unveiled groundbreaking research on the origins of lunar water, offering insights that could reshape our understanding of the Earth-Moon system and the broader solar system. The pioneering study explores the isotopic signatures of lunar water, revealing a mix of indigenous and cometary sources.

After several years of service under harsh weather conditions, the rotor blades of offshore wind parks are subjected to degradation and surface erosion, releasing sizeable quantities of particle emissions into the environment. A team of researchers has now investigated the effects of these particle on blue mussels -- a species also being considered for the multi-use of wind parks for aquaculture.

Taking inspiration from how nature --including lightning -- produces ammonia, a team has developed a reactor that produces the chemical commodity from nitrogen in the air and water, without any carbon footprint.

Researchers recently discovered that a virus, FloV-SA2, encodes one of the proteins needed to make ribosomes, the central engines in all cells that translate genetic information into proteins, the building blocks of life. This is the first eukaryotic virus (a virus that infects eukaryotes, such as plants, animals, fungi) found to encode such a protein.

Water oxidation offers a promising path to achieve sustainable energy by efficiently generating oxygen. This study investigates how optimizing Ru(II) photosensitizers, metal oxide catalysts, and pH conditions can enhance water splitting efficiency. By introducing a simplified method to estimate catalyst performance, researchers make it easier to design more effective systems. These findings provide crucial insights for advancing clean energy solutions and accelerating the transition to renewable energy.

The phytoplankton that populate oceans are known to play a key role in marine ecosystems and climate regulation. Like terrestrial plants, they store atmospheric CO2, and produce half of our planet's oxygen via photosynthesis. However, the mechanisms that control their distribution remain poorly understood.

Another advance has been made by experts in nano-scale chemistry to propel further development of sustainable and efficient generation of hydrogen from water using solar power. Experts have now identified a novel solar cell process to potentially use in future technologies for photocatalytic water splitting in green hydrogen production.

New technology could remotely identify various types of plastics, offering a valuable tool for future monitoring and analysis of oceanic plastic pollution. A new hyperspectral Raman imaging lidar system can remotely detect and identify various types of plastics, which could help address the critical issue of plastic pollution in the ocean by providing better tools for monitoring and analysis.

When one tectonic plate sinks beneath another, it generates magmas rich in volatiles such as water, sulphur and chlorine. As these magmas ascend, they release magmatic fluids, in which sulphur and chlorine bind to metals such as gold and copper, and transport these metals towards the surface of the Earth. As the extreme conditions relevant to natural magmas are very difficult to reproduce in the laboratory, the precise role of the different forms of sulphur in metal transport remains highly debated. However, an innovative approach has demonstrated that sulphur, in its bisulphide (HS-) form, is crucial for the transport of gold in magmatic fluids.

A new prototype device demonstrates an innovative approach to producing ammonia -- a key component of fertilizer -- that could transform an industry responsible for about one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate and land use change have and will continue to alter streamflow regimes and water quality through the 21st century, with consequences for drinking water treatment costs, flood protection, and other ecosystem services, according to the new report. The report is designed to inform forest sector decision-makers and the interested public about observed trends, anticipated futures, and critical issues based on authoritative synthesis and interpretation of existing science, data, and 50-year projections.

Colony surveys of common murres, an Alaskan seabird, show the full effects of the 2014-16 marine heat wave known as 'the blob.' Analysis of 13 colonies surveyed between 2008 and 2022 finds that colony size in the Gulf of Alaska dropped by half after the marine heat wave. In colonies along the eastern Bering Sea, west of the peninsula, the decline was even steeper, at 75% loss. No recovery has yet been seen, the authors write.

A new study has mapped 35 years of river changes on a global scale. The work has revealed significant effects on both downstream (44% decrease in water flow) and upstream (17% flow increase) rivers, including flooding, ecosystem disruption, hydropower development interference and insufficient fresh water supplies.

Plastic pollution is a growing problem in Japan, prompting cleanup efforts to recover plastic litter from water bodies. However, research on recovery rates from different river basins remains limited. In a recent study, researchers from Japan conducted a nationwide analysis of plastic litter recovery in over 100 river basins, shedding light on the impact of climate change, population density, and natural disasters. Their findings will help inform future cleanup strategies and improve plastic management.

Recycling all the human and livestock feces and urine on the planet would contribute substantially to meeting the nutrient supply for all crops worldwide, thereby reducing the need to mine fertilizers such as phosphorus and dramatically reducing the dependency on fossil fuels, according to a global analysis of nutrient recycling.

Using a new calculation method, researchers found in an international comparative study that investors value corporate environmental performance more than mere information disclosure. In some developed countries, beyond sustainability efforts, companies can improve environmental efficiency to enhance economic performance.

As the demand for lithium-ion batteries escalates with the proliferation of mobile phone, electric vehicles and even pacemakers, key components in these powerhouses, like cobalt, face significant ethical and environmental concerns related to their extraction. Now, scientists have pioneered a safer, more sustainable solution to separate cobalt from ores or recycled materials via precipitate.

Harbor seals in icy regions use icebergs shed by glaciers as safe platforms to give birth, care for young and molt. New research finds that as glaciers change with the climate, the resulting changes in size, speed and number of icebergs affect seals' critical frozen habitat. Mother seals prefer stable, slower-moving bergs for giving birth and caring for newborn pups, while in the molting season, they and the rest of the seal population favor speedier ice near the best foraging grounds.