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155 news posts in Environment

Environment

20 Jul 2022

Heat wave: article collections on the global impact of rising temperatures

As the temperature rises this summer, we have gathered our top article collections on how heat effects us and the planet. With collective views of over 1 million, researchers were fired up by topics spanning from plant heat stress and weather extremes in the urban environment to marine heatwaves and human heat acclimation. Article collections: Wild fires 16 articles | 104,000 views Addressing our current understanding of wildland fires, with a specific focus on engineering approaches to mitigate the harmful effects of fires Human heat acclimation 13 articles | 95,000 views Recent advances in our understanding of the physiological mechanisms underlying the adaptive process in vulnerable populations, and whether heat acclimation is beneficial for all populations Marine heatwaves 23 articles | 285,000 views A comprehensive overview of current research on marine heatwaves from across the range of marine science disciplines, covering physical processes through ecological impacts Drought and water scarcity 19 articles | 76,000 views Highlighting critical gaps in our understanding of water scarcity and setting urgent priorities for research and action, providing an international platform for generating an integrated perspective on this complex and socially constructed environmental hazard Overheated animals 7 articles | 29,000 views Demonstrating that climate change […]

Environment

05 May 2022

How bees prove to be skilled mathematicians and 3 other amazing science stories you may have missed

By Colm Gorey, Science Communications Manager Image: Shutterstock.com At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of thousands of articles published each year, many often fly under the radar. Here are just four amazing papers you may have missed. What are the odds? Honeybees join humans as the only animals known to be able to tell the difference between odd and even numbers A study published to Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution has created quite a ‘buzz’ among academics after it was found honeybees possess maths skills beyond what was originally thought. Previous studies have shown honeybees can learn to order quantities, perform simple addition and subtraction, match symbols with quantities, and relate size and number concepts. However, this time around, the bees were tasked with solving a parity experiment which involves categorizing two sets of objects as ‘odd’ and ‘even’. The bees were split into two groups: one trained to associate even numbers with sugar water and odd numbers with quinine, a bitter-tasting liquid familiar to gin drinkers. The second group was trained in the reverse with odd numbers linked to sugar water, and even numbers with quinine. Amazingly – […]

Environment

20 Apr 2022

Most read articles of March 2022: Secrets of ancient leftovers revealed and endangered shark discovered in pet food

By Colm Gorey, Science Communications Manager, Frontiers Image: Shutterstock.com Each month, Frontiers shines a spotlight on some of the leading research across a wide range of topics. Here are just some of the highlights that resonated strongly with readers on our news site in the month of March. Leftovers in prehistoric pots let scientists peek into the kitchen of an ancient civilization How do you reconstruct the cookery of people who lived thousands of years ago? Bones and plant remains can tell us what kind of ingredients were available. But to reconstruct how ingredients were combined and cooked, scientists need to study ancient cooking vessels. “Fatty molecules and microscopic remains from plants such as starch grains and phytoliths – silica structures deposited in many plant tissues – get embedded into vessels and can survive over long periods,” said Dr Akshyeta Suryanarayan, a researcher at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain, and co-author on a recent study in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. In their study, Suryanarayan and co-authors analyzed such ‘leftovers’ in Copper and Bronze Age vessels – including pots, vases, goblets, jars, and platters – from today’s Gujarat, India. “Our study is the first to combine starch grain […]

Environment

28 Mar 2022

Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry 2021 Editor Awards

Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry is pleased to announce the inaugural edition of our Editor Awards. In 2021, Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry posted 28 themed article collections across our 7 specialty sections, highlighting cutting-edge themes and contemporary issues within their respective fields. We also launched various Community-Driven initiatives that were spearheaded by members of our Editorial Board. We could not have achieved these milestones without the dedication and collaboration of our Associate and Review Editors. With these awards, we aim to highlight those Associate Editors and Review Editors who we believe have gone above and beyond in the past year to make excellent contributions to our journal. All of our editorial board members have been pivotal in the continued growth and visibility of important research in the field of Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry. This success was achieved by safeguarding the quality of articles published in 2021 during the peer-review process, as well as by suggesting and leading highly relevant and contemporary article collections. We are very proud of our journal, and its community, and are grateful for each member’s support. Every member of our board helps Frontiers achieve its goal of making science open, allowing us to live healthy lives on a healthy […]

Environment

25 Mar 2022

Frontiers in Environmental Science 2021 Editor Awards

We are pleased to announce the first edition of the Frontiers in Environmental Science Editor Awards. In 2021, our journal published over two thousand articles and posted 134 Research Topics across our portfolio of 14 specialty sections. We launched the Drylands section last year, and so far we have already added two new sections in 2022 – Environmental Citizen Science and Environmental Systems Engineering. These accomplishments would not be possible without our fantastic Editors, who contributed to the growth of the journal by safeguarding the quality of the articles we have published during peer-review, as well as by suggesting and leading article collections on the themes of great significance in their respective fields. With these awards, we would like to recognise Associate Editors and Review Editors from our Editorial Board, who went above and beyond in the past year. Thanks to you, our journal can truly flourish and further realize Frontiers’ goal to make science open, so we may all live healthy lives on a healthy planet. Many congratulations to our finalists and a big thank you to all our Editors. Frontiers in Environmental Science Outstanding Associate Editors Awards Yang GaoOcean University of ChinaAtmosphere and ClimateMonika MortimerChina Jiliang UniversityBiogeochemical DynamicsAlex Oriel […]

Environment

25 Mar 2022

Last of the giant camels and archaic humans lived together in Mongolia until 27,000 years ago

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Camelus knoblochi would have dwarfed the modern domestic Bactrian camel, Camelus bactrianus, which also has two humps. Image credit: Bandurka/Shutterstock.com This is the first report of fossils of a species of giant camel, Camelus knoblochi, from today’s Mongolia. The author show that the species’ last refuge in the world was in Mongolia until 27,000 years ago. There, they coexisted with archaic humans and the much smaller wild Bactrian camel C. ferus. Climate changing leading to desertification and possibly hunting by humans and competition with C. ferus drove C. knoblochi into extinction. A species of giant two-humped camel, Camelus knoblochi, is known to have lived for approximately a quarter of a million years in Central Asia. A new study in Frontiers in Earth Science shows that C. knoblochi’s last refuge was in Mongolia, until approximately 27,000 years ago. In Mongolia, the last of the species coexisted with anatomically modern humans and maybe the extinct Neanderthals or Denisovans. While the main cause of C. knoblochi’s extinction seems to have been climate change, hunting by archaic humans may also have played a role. “Here we show that the extinct camel Camelus knoblochi persisted in Mongolia until climatic […]

Environment

23 Feb 2022

Sharp drop in flower abundance caused by climate crisis will leave pollinators searching further for food

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Image credit: Ellen D Moss Researchers simulated the warmer, wetter conditions predicted for northern Europe under climate change, by locally heating agricultural fields by 1.5 ºC and increasing irrigation by 40%. These conditions immediately lead to changes in the community of wildflowers and their associated insects. Most plant species were ‘losers’: they grew fewer flowers, secreted less nectar, and set fewer or lighter seeds. This reduced the food resources for pollinators, stimulating them to visit a wider range of plants. It is predicted that global average temperatures will have risen by between 0.9 and 2.0 ºC around the middle of this century, according to the IPCC’s intermediate emission scenario RCP4.5. As a result, many species, especially specialists with highly specific requirements for food, habitat, and reproduction, won’t be able to adapt. Because approximately 35% of our crops depend on insects for pollination, it is necessary to study impact of global warming on the fitness of insects and the wildflowers on which they depend for food. Once we understand the likely changes, we may be able to mitigate the negative effects for wild and crop plants. Here, a study by scientists from Newcastle University in […]

Environment

21 Feb 2022

Peace has led to more deforestation in Colombia

By K.E.D. Coan, science writer Difference between reserve and cattle ranches in Colombia. Image credit: Sebastian Di Domenico / Shutterstock In the tropics, when conflict affected countries transition to peace, deforestation often increases. But the reasons behind this trend are neither simple nor generalizable, reports a new study from Colombia. By looking at a range of agricultural and societal drivers at multiple scales, this research shows that different factors promote forest loss. Accounting for these variations will be important for developing more effective conservation strategies in the future. The consequences of peace and armed conflict for deforestation depend on the location, reports a new publication in Frontiers in Environmental Science. Using Colombia as a case study, this work presents one of the most comprehensive studies to date comparing forest loss to drivers such as coca cultivation and cattle farming during periods of peace and conflict. These insights will help make conservation efforts more effective by taking into account the land use, politics and socioeconomics on a local level. “There are other studies that show increased pressure on forests after peace agreements, but our results show that it’s very hard to generalize deforestation in the context of conflict,” said co-author Raphael […]

Environment

26 Jan 2022

Scientists decode 450 years of boom and crisis in Europe from ages of building timber

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Roof truss of the Chapelle Saint-Denis in Marmoutier in Alsace, France, from the 16th century. Credit: Willy Tegel Scientists have reconstructed European socio-economic cycles between 1250 and 1699 in unprecedented detail, by using the power of tree rings to reveal the exact age of more than 54,000 pieces of timber from historical buildings. Tracking building activity across the years, estimated from felling year of timber from historical buildings, can yield an unrivaled economic record for premodern Europe. That is the conclusion from a vast study by a consortium of scientists across Europe, published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. By dating timber from tree rings – to the exact year of felling – from historical buildings, and statistically analyzing the distribution of building years, the authors deduce multiple periods of socio-economic prosperity and downturn between 1250 and 1699, independent from other historical data. Crucially, they show how different European regions were differentially affected, and at different times. When historical records are too scant to reconstruct large-scale demographic and societal changes, environmental measures can be used. For example, numbers of shipwrecks have been used in past research to chart trade intensity, pollen to reconstruct agricultural […]

Environment

17 Dec 2021

No more ‘We’re going to Ibiza’? Between 56 and 65% of beach area in the Balearic Islands will be permanently lost due to the climate crisis

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Image credit: Anna Ok / Shutterstock.com Scientists use complex mathematical modeling of sea states, sea level rise, and local geography to predict the permanent loss of between 56 and 65% of the current area of sandy beaches in the Balearic Islands by the end of the 21st century, depending on the global warming scenario. During extreme weather conditions such as the strongest storm surges with the highest waves, between 84 and 86% of the beach area will be flooded. The impact of the climate crisis on coastal areas has been well documented, but new research has shown the impact it may have on the beaches found on the Balearic Islands in the north-western Mediterranean. Findings published in Frontiers in Marine Science showed that the archipelago – heavily reliant on tourism – could lose most of its beaches. “Much of the income of touristic regions in the Mediterranean comes from beach and sun tourism: more than 25% in the case of the Balearic Islands. This means that it is essential to predict the fate of these beaches under climate change,” said first author Miguel Agulles, a PhD student at the Oceanographic Center of the Balearic […]

Environment

26 Oct 2021

Waters off French coast in winter may be a deadly trap for small, foraging turtles

By Tania Fitzgeorge-Balfour, Science writer A tracked loggerhead turtle on the beach with satellite tracker attached to its shell. Image: Oceane Cottier Aquarium La Rochelle SAS Turtle habitat boundaries should be updated to include European waters, suggests a new study tracking stranded turtles rescued from the French coast. Their movements after release back into the Bay of Biscay appear related to their size, with larger individuals swimming westwards towards their birth home in the US or Africa, and smaller individuals potentially trapped in the region for winter. These findings will inform strategies to ensure stranded turtles survive after their release. The documented habitat boundaries of the loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley and green turtles are questioned by a new study suggesting that stranded turtles rescued from European French Atlantic and Channel waters could be visiting the area to forage for food. Published in Frontiers in Marine Science, satellite tracking data reveals that while some turtles may be able to return home, after their rehabilitation and release to Florida in the US, or Cape Verde off the African coast, younger individuals are at risk of being trapped in the region. “Stranded turtles that were tracked swimming westwards presumably towards their birth homes, after […]

Environment

06 Oct 2021

Surprising discovery in Arctic songbird may reveal how it survives challenging migrations

By K.E.D Coan, science writer Snow buntings in winter. Image: Mircea Costina/Shutterstock.com There is still much to learn about how Arctic migratory birds adjust their physiology during different phases of their life. For example, between winter and summer habitats, or during migration. A recent study published to Frontiers shows the first evidence that snow buntings keep their winter traits through migration. These findings may help researchers understand why snow bunting populations are declining, as well as expanding what is known about how buntings, and other species, endure Arctic weather. Snow buntings are equipped for winter even while migrating to their breeding grounds, shows a recent study in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. There have been major declines in biodiversity around the world and the snow bunting population has dropped 60% over the last 45 years. The specific cause of this drop is unknown, and this study is among the first to look at the physiological changes that occur during the different life stages of this species (ie between winter and migration). This work provides clues into the future survival of snow buntings, as well as new insights into how species generally endure the harsh cold of the Arctic. ► Read original […]