Environmental Science and Energy

A statistical analysis of temperature data since 1500 rejects the hypothesis that global warming is a natural fluctuation in the earth’s climate. The study presents a new approach to the question of whether global warming in the industrial era has been caused largely by man-made emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Read on for more details. 

Researchers have found that plant-emitted aerosoles—the extremely low-volatile organic compounds—consist of relatively large molecules. They show how these vapors are formed almost immediately when plant emissions are released into the air. Read on for more details.

Looking for alternate sources of renewable energy has been a constant endeavor and climate change has made this need more urgent. Using renewable energy sources like solar, water, and wind energy reduces dependence on fossil fuels and oil reserves which cannot be renewed. A new paper provides a detailed roadmap of how 139 countries will be powered entirely by wind, water, and sunlight by the year 2050.    

A recent study has shown that the need to be rewarded immediately is an obstacle in efforts to halt the effects of climate change. Read on to know more. 

Researchers at the University of Liverpool conducted a study to understand whether climatic changes affected the spread of Zika virus. They created an epidemiological model that analyzed the distribution of the vectors (the yellow fever mosquito and the Asian tiger mosquito), mosquito-biting rates, viral development rates within mosquitoes, mortality rates, etc. Read more about their research here.

For years, researchers have been curious about the rainy season in the Amazon that is timed a little differently than other tropical regions. The mystery is finally solved as researchers have now discovered that the trees in Amazon create their own rainy season. Imagine an ecosystem so self-sufficient that it makes its own rain.

A new project, SUSTAIN, in Iceland is all set to uncover the mysteries behind the formation of islands. Early next month, the team will drill two holes into the heart of Surtsey, a volcanic island, to analyze the interaction of volcanic rock, seawater, and subterranean microbes.

Generating renewable energy is the need of the hour and newer sustainable means of generating energy are constantly being researched. Several studies have established that wind speeds are higher over the ocean than over land. And because of this, it was thought that wind turbines in the ocean could generate much more energy than wind turbines on land. But research up until now was unable to tell us whether the ocean winds could actually be converted to electricity.      

Widely reported last month was the news of a trillion ton iceberg in the Antarctic’s Larsen C ice shelf that had developed ruptures. The cracks in the ice shelf grew larger and larger, and the thin thread of ice that was holding it together finally gave way.

Can you imagine what a pile of 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic would look like? Environmentalists have been advocating reduced use of plastics for years, but a new study with regard to the large-scale production of plastic could truly be the wake-up call humans need.