Antarctic scientists begin hunt for sky’s ‘detergent’

To understand how the sky cleanses itself, a team of Australian and US researchers is heading to Antarctica to track down the atmosphere’s main detergent. By drilling deep into polar ice, the scientists hope to determine how the sky’s capacity to scrub away some ozone-depleting chemicals and potent greenhouse gases has changed since the Industrial Revolution — information that could help to improve global-warming projections.  https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07422-w
Article courtesy of Nature-International Journal of Science

Scientists find large amounts of methane being released from Icelandic glacier

Scientists have discovered that Iceland’s Sólheimajökull glacier, which covers the active volcano, Katla, is releasing up to 41 tons of methane every day through its meltwater during the summer months — equal to the methane produced by more than 136,000 belching cows.  https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=356744216134226621#editor/src=sidebar
Article Courtesy of Yale Environmental 360 by 

Why "Flammable Ice" could be the future of energy

Last year, Japan succeeded in extracting an untapped fuel from its ocean floor – methane hydrate, or flammable ice. Proponents argue that it will offset energy crises, but what are the environmental risks?
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20181119-why-flammable-ice-could-be-the-future-of-energy
Article courtesy of BBC Future Now by Martha Henriques

Uber Wants to Resume Self-Driving Car Tests on Public Roads

Nearly eight months after one of its autonomous test vehicles hit and killed an Arizona pedestrian, Uber wants to resume testing on public roads.  https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Uber-Wants-to-Resume-Self-Driving-Car-Tests-on-Public-Roads-499511181.html
Article courtesy of NBC Bay Area News-Tech Now by Tom Krisher

Massive crater under Greenland’s ice points to climate-altering impact in the time of humans

Hidden beneath Hiawatha is a 31-kilometer-wide impact crater, big enough to swallow Washington, D.C., Kjær and 21 co-authors report today in a paper in Science Advances. The crater was left when an iron asteroid 1.5 kilometers across slammed into Earth, possibly within the past 100,000 years.  https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/11/massive-crater-under-greenland-s-ice-points-climate-altering-impact-time-humans
Article courtesy of Science by Paul Voosen

Warming hurting shellfish, aiding predators, ruining habitat

Valuable species of shellfish have become harder to find on the East Coast because of degraded habitat caused by a warming environment, according to a pair of scientists that sought to find out whether environmental factors or overfishing was the source of the decline.  https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/warming-hurting-shellfish-aiding-predators-ruining-habitat-59119047
Article courtesy of ABC News by Patrick Whittle Associated Press

The remote Arctic town that is melting away

As the Arctic loses ice at dramatic rates, people in Qaanaaq, the northernmost town in Greenland, are finding their homes, livelihoods, customs and very survival at risk.
http://www.bbc.com/future/gallery/20181109-qaanaaq-greenland-is-melting-away-from-climate-change

Article courtesy of BBC Future by Anna Filipova

Can Better Photosynthesis Help Feed the World?

In June, Bill Rutherford and his team at Imperial College London discovered that photosynthesis using near infrared light — the type found in heavy shade — is possible, and even widespread, in cyanobacteria. This finding contributes to a growing body of research in the field of photosynthesis engineering, which aims to improve crop yields by using genetic techniques to improve a plant’s ability to capture sunlight and produce sugar.  https://undark.org/article/can-better-photosynthesis-help-feed/

        Article courtesy of UNDARK, Truth, Beauty, Science by Erin Zimmerman

Taking the Oceans’ Temperature, Scientists Find Unexpected Heat

Climate change is rapidly warming the world’s oceans, killing off aquatic organisms — like coral reefs and kelp forests — that anchor entire ecosystems. The warmer waters also cause sea levels to rise and make extreme weather events like hurricanes more destructive.  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/climate/ocean-temperatures-hotter.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront
Article courtesy of The New York Times by Kendra Pierre-Louis

A Vault of Glass and the Deepest Volcanic Eruption Ever Detected

Close to the Mariana Trench and nearly three miles below sea level, scientists found evidence of an underwater eruption that was only months old.  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/science/deep-sea-volcano.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront
Courtesy of The New York Time by Robert George Andrews

How a warmer Arctic could lead to more extreme weather

Climate experts are concerned we may soon start to see more extreme weather events in the Northern Hemisphere. The culprit? A warmer Arctic, which could potentially disrupt the polar jet stream.  https://www.dw.com/en/how-a-warmer-arctic-could-lead-to-more-extreme-weather/a-46107835
Article courtsey of DW.com

Prince of Wales: I warned of plastic danger 40 years ago but was dismissed as 'out of touch'

The Prince of Wales said he warned about the dangers of plastic 40 years ago but was dismissed as ‘out of touch’ and ‘anti-science’  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/31/prince-wales-warned-plastic-danger-40-years-ago-dismissed-touch/
Article courtesy of The Telegraph by Sarah Knapton