Earth & Environment
Testing the waters in Italy: Identifying co-seismic groundwater changes
Co-seismic groundwater changes can have profound implications for water quality. Many studies have investigated earthquake-induced hydrochemical changes; however, the underlying mechanisms remain disputed. Dr Gilberto Binda and colleagues have shown that in the aquifers of the Italian Apennines, changes in water chemistry, temperature, and flow rate can follow earthquakes, and are for the large part transient. However, many changes are […]
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Nutrient management strategies for sustainable mulberry plantations
Mulberry is a very important, economically multipurpose tree. One of its key uses is as a food source for mulberry silkworms that feast exclusively on its leaves. Therefore, finding ways to boost leaf yields/quality and growth of mulberry trees is of great interest to the silk production industry. Dr Songmei Shi and Professor Xinhua He, from Southwest University, China, have […]
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African (tectonic) retreat (seismically) shakes Greece and Turkey
The Earth’s surface is divided into rigid plates that move with respect to each other in response to heat loss from the interior. At the China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Professor Timothy Kusky is studying the evolution of tectonic plates through Earth history. Along with his colleagues, he has found that a devastating 2020 earthquake in the Aegean Sea resulted […]
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Saving sweet oranges: Catching plant diseases before they act
Dealing with pests and disease is often the bane of a farmer’s life. Anything that causes plant damage or death has huge economic implications and many plant diseases are highly transmissible. However, disease can only be treated when it is detected, and that often means waiting for symptoms to appear. Dr Maria Fatima das Graças Fernandes da Silva at the […]
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Neuron-less knowledge processing in forests
Dr Aviv Segev, Professor at the University of South Alabama, is researching the knowledge-related activity of forests. While trees do not have neurons, they can build a communication network, and Dr Segev analyses their use of the resources needed for survival. This study demonstrates that neuron-like relations occur in a forest knowledge-processing system. Results demonstrate that trees use mechanisms analogous […]
Museums and climate change: From passive bystander to agent of change
Museums have traditionally been institutions that maintain the stories of the past, implicitly supporting the Western ideological status quo. However, this role is rarely congruent with contemporary issues in our communities, such as climate change and social justice. With her critical paper, Dr Julie Decker, the CEO of the Anchorage Museum in Alaska, looks at how museums can become an […]
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Food security in an insecure world: Modelling self-sufficiency
When global food prices spiked in 2008, many governments embarked on programmes to improve their country’s food self-sufficiency – but have they been successful? At Setsunan University, Japan, Dr Tetsuji Tanaka and Dr Jin Guo are quantitatively assessing the effectiveness of a number of self-sufficiency policies. They have studied regional and global volatility in beef and wheat prices, and used […]
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The attraction of New Zealand: Gravity anomalies of the Taupō Volcanic Zone
New Zealand’s Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is characterised by faulting, subsidence, voluminous volcanism, and geothermal activity. The gravity anomalies this activity produces have been mapped for more than 70 years. Through a new programme of collection and analysis of these data, Dr Vaughan Stagpoole, Dr Craig Miller and colleagues of GNS Science have revealed known collapse calderas in greater detail […]
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The ultimate veg patch: Can phytotechnology save cultivated peatlands?
Intact, water-logged peatlands are a stable store of the world’s carbon, but if drained they can become near perfect (organic) soils for growing high-cost vegetables. It was thought that you couldn’t cultivate a peatland without ruining it and releasing its carbon into the atmosphere. Dr Jacynthe Dessureault-Rompré, with her team at Laval University in Québec, Canada, has been investigating whether […]
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Measuring an ecosystem’s response to climate change through sun induced fluorescence (SIF) in the Caatinga bioregion
Climate change is increasing global temperatures and the regularity and severity of droughts. Researchers are continually looking for innovative ways of measuring these effects on global ecosystems. The detection of chlorophyll fluorescence is one way of examining plants’ responses to environmental changes. Dr Edgard Bontempo and his team of researchers from FUNCATE and INPE aim to detect fluorescence through remote […]