Tag: environment
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Uncovering an ancient Antarctic rainforest
New research indicates that the icy continent was once home to a temperate rainforest, Shruti Sundaresan reports. When one speaks of Antarctica, we tend to automatically think of snow, ice, glaciers and penguins. However, research shows that the icy continent once had quite a temperate-rainforest-like climate!. The study was carried out by an international team…
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Sound: an invisible pollutant
When we think of ocean pollution, most of us visualise floating plastic, oil spills, or maybe even ocean acidification from rising CO2 levels. Samantha Cargill investigates why we now have to add noise pollution to the mix, too. Marine life exists in a world of sound. Almost all of the creatures in our oceans compose…
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‘Australia is on fire.’ Updates for a devastated country
‘Australia is on fire.’ This has been the headline on most news outlets and across social media for the past few weeks now. But Australia has annual bushfires. What makes this one so different? Firstly, the fires that have been spreading across the country have been on a level that is unprecedented. Across the country,…
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New evidence suggests climate change is affecting animal behavior
Weather and climate have a significant influence on life on Earth. Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a specific time and place. It is described by several elements such as temperature, precipitation, wind, and clouds. Climate refers to the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area. When we talk about climate change,…
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A tale of two wildfires: the Amazon Rainforest and the Congo Basin
When NASA released satellite imaging of the Brazil forest fires on the 24th August, it quickly became apparent that Brazil was not the only country set alight. The image, taken from NASA’s Terra Satellite, displays red bands of fire in Brazil, around Bolivia’s border with Brazil and a large band across Central Africa. Emerging from…
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Early melting of snow in the Arctic drives advancing springtime
New research indicates that spring snow melt, and to a lesser extent temperature, are key drivers of the timing of spring in the Arctic. These findings, from studies of plants from coastal sites around the Arctic, are important for understanding and documenting how the region is responding to climate change. The Arctic is warming more…
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Shrimp with cocaine: Surprising pollution in Suffolk waterways
Illicit drugs in their powdered form can end up in all sorts of strange places. For one, we have all heard that banknotes contain traces of cocaine, which was one reason the UK introduced plastic bank notes in 2016. However, according to a recent study from King’s College London in collaboration with the University of…
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McDonald’s gets a makeover
A sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nostril. An albatross killed by ingesting mouthfuls of plastic. A beach covered in plastic rather than sand. While it’s easy to recall these unfortunately iconic images, finding solutions to reduce such waste and pollution is much more difficult. However, one surprising corporation is making great…