Hacker News with Generative AI: Environmental Science

Satellite Spots Large-Scale River Waves for First Time (nasa.gov)
In a first, researchers from NASA and Virginia Tech used satellite data to measure the height and speed of potentially hazardous flood waves traveling down U.S. rivers.

Space Exploration, Remote Sensing, Environmental Science, Floods

5 points by geox 12 days ago | 0 comments

New DSL "MassQL" lets scientists query mass spectrometry data (news.ucr.edu)
Biologists and chemists have a new programming language to uncover previously unknown environmental pollutants at breakneck speed – without requiring them to code.

Science, Programming Languages, Data Analysis, Environmental Science

23 points by jacklondon 16 days ago | 10 comments

Paris Agreement target won't protect polar ice sheets, scientists warn (arstechnica.com)
Sea levels in some parts of the world could be rising by as much as 8 to 12 inches per decade within the lifetime of today’s youngest generations, outpacing the ability of many coastal communities to adapt, scientists warned in a new study published this week.

Climate Change, Environmental Science, Global Warming

12 points by rntn 17 days ago | 6 comments

State of the Art PFAS [pdf] (iplo.nl)

Environmental Science, PFAS, Research Reports

28 points by paulmist 20 days ago | 5 comments

Genetic-engineered bacteria break down industrial contaminants (arstechnica.com)
Over the last century or more, humanity has been developing an ever-growing number of new chemicals that have never been seen before by Earth's creatures.

Biotechnology, Environmental Science, Microbiology, Chemistry

5 points by PaulHoule 21 days ago | 0 comments

Microbes in Gowanus teach lessons on fighting industrial pollution (engineering.nyu.edu)
Using advanced DNA sequence analysis, a research team led by NYU Tandon School of Engineering's Assistant Professor Elizabeth Hénaff has discovered that tiny organisms in Brooklyn's highly contaminated Gowanus Canal have developed a comprehensive collection of pollution-fighting genes.

Environmental Science, Microbiology, Pollution, New York

25 points by eatonphil 22 days ago | 6 comments

Microbe that infests hospitals can digest medical-grade plastic ― a first (nature.com)

Microbiology, Medicine, Environmental Science, Plastic Pollution

26 points by rbanffy 26 days ago | 13 comments

Traffic noise reduces the stress benefits of listening to nature, study finds (uwe.ac.uk)
Road traffic noise reduces the wellbeing benefits associated with spending time listening to nature, researchers have discovered.

Traffic noise, Environmental Science, Wellbeing, Nature

12 points by rntn 27 days ago | 1 comments

National Snow and Ice Data Center changes service level to key sea ice datasets (nsidc.org)
Effective May 5, 2025, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) will decommission its snow and ice data products from the Coasts, Oceans, and Geophysics Science Division (COGS).

Climate Change, Data Science, Environmental Science, Research

5 points by waterthrowaway 29 days ago | 1 comments

Heat stress mitigation by trees and shelters at bus stops (sciencedirect.com)
Municipalities are attempting to create safe and comfortable transit systems in the face of climate change.

Climate Change, Urban Planning, Public Transportation, Environmental Science

144 points by rntn 33 days ago | 132 comments

Restoring oil wells back to nature with moss (uwaterloo.ca)
Researchers use moss in new method capable of restoring peatlands damaged by oil and gas exploration

Environmental Science, Remediation, Biology, Peatlands

8 points by geox 37 days ago | 0 comments

The satellite that will 'weigh' 1.5T trees (bbc.co.uk)
On Tuesday, the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched a first-of-a-kind satellite which uses a special radar system to reveal what lies beneath the canopy.

Space Exploration, Environmental Science, Remote Sensing

6 points by mrtedbear 39 days ago | 0 comments

Catastrophic fires and soil degradation: possible link with Neolithic revolution (springer.com)
The agricultural revolution of the Neolithic period in the Levant has puzzled researchers trying to resolve climatic vs. anthropogenic chain of events.

Agriculture, Climate Change, History, Environmental Science, Archaeology

12 points by Hooke 42 days ago | 1 comments

A 2k-year-old battle ended in fire, and a tree species never recovered (arstechnica.com)
The buried roots and stumps of an ancient forest in southern China are the charred remains of an ancient war and the burning of a capital city, according to a recent study from researchers who carbon-dated the stumps and measured charcoal and pollen in the layers of peat surrounding them.

Ancient History, Archaeology, Climate Change, Environmental Science

7 points by pseudolus 43 days ago | 0 comments

Remineralizing soils? The agricultural usage of silicate rock powders: A review (sciencedirect.com)
Soil nutrient depletion threatens global food security and has been seriously underestimated for potassium (K) and several micronutrients.

Agriculture, Soil Science, Environmental Science, Food Security, Sustainability

10 points by mooreds 44 days ago | 0 comments

The California grizzly bear, gone for 100 years, could thrive if brought back (latimes.com)
The last grizzly bear seen in California was 101 years ago.A new study found that reintroducing the mammal into the state’s mountainous wilderness is feasible.California could potentially host over 1,000 grizzlies — but it’s up to residents and policymakers to decide if that’s a good idea.

Wildlife Conservation, Environmental Science, California, Endangered Species

6 points by PaulHoule 46 days ago | 2 comments

Inactive components in agricultural runoff may contribute drinking water hazard (phys.org)
Inactive ingredients in agricultural, pharmaceutical, and other common products have typically been excluded from consideration as potential contaminants in drinking water.

Water Contamination, Environmental Science, Agriculture

6 points by PaulHoule 47 days ago | 1 comments

Scientists make water-repellent replacement for toxic 'forever chemicals' (phys.org)
A team of international scientists has invented a substitute for synthetic chemicals, called PFAS (perfluoroalkyl substances), which are widely used in everyday products despite being hazardous to health and the environment.

Science, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Materials Science, Sustainability

10 points by PaulHoule 50 days ago | 0 comments

Systematic assessment of emission reductions of carbon crediting projects (nature.com)
Carbon markets play an important role in firms’ and governments’ climate strategies.

Climate Change, Environmental Science, Carbon Emissions, Carbon Markets

8 points by georgecmu 52 days ago | 0 comments

Dead trees keep surprisingly large amounts of carbon out of atmosphere (phys.org)
Living trees absorb carbon, aiding climate change mitigation. But what role do dead trees play in carbon storage? UVM researchers found that large, downed trees in streams tie up tremendous stores of carbon—and this pool of carbon storage is growing over time. Moreover, large trees in streamside forests proved important for recruiting carbon into streams over time—reflecting the environmental value of big, old trees.

Climate Change, Environmental Science, Carbon Sequestration, Forest Ecology

91 points by PaulHoule 54 days ago | 86 comments

Six decades of plankton decline sparks call to protect the marine food web (phys.org)
The decline in plankton abundance in the North East Atlantic over the past six decades should serve as a red flag to policy makers about the need to protect some of the planet's most critical forms of life, a new study has warned.

Marine Biology, Climate Change, Environmental Science, Ecology

6 points by andyjohnson0 55 days ago | 0 comments

Dust in the wind: How cities alter natural airborne particles (phys.org)
Airborne dust pollution is a growing problem for residents of Utah and other Western states, especially with the exposed lakebed of Great Salt Lake potentially becoming more hazardous as the lake dries.

Environmental Science, Air Pollution, Utah

46 points by lentoutcry 59 days ago | 1 comments

Where does air pollution come from? (ourworldindata.org)
Millions of people die prematurely from air pollution every year. This problem has existed since humans started burning materials for fuel — first wood and biomass, then fossil fuels.

Air Pollution, Environmental Science, Public Health

233 points by kamaraju 66 days ago | 136 comments

Plastic-like materials that dissolve in the sea (riken.jp)
Microplastics—small fragments of plastics less than 5mm across—now infiltrate every corner of our planet, from remote regions of the deep ocean and the Arctic, to the very air we breathe.

Environmental Science, Microplastics, Pollution, Materials Science

5 points by geox 71 days ago | 0 comments

Microbes can capture carbon and degrade plastic – why aren't we using them more? (nature.com)
Microorganisms have shaped Earth for almost four billion years.

Microbiology, Environmental Science, Sustainability, Bioremediation, Pollution

8 points by GavCo 74 days ago | 2 comments

Carbon Dioxide Levels Highest in 800,000 Years (e360.yale.edu)
Temperatures and carbon dioxide levels hit new highs last year, according to a U.N. report detailing the dire state of the global climate.

Climate Change, Environmental Science, Global Warming

14 points by belter 76 days ago | 1 comments

Scientists break down plastic using a simple, inexpensive catalyst and air (phys.org)
Harnessing moisture from air, Northwestern University chemists have developed a simple new method for breaking down plastic waste.

Chemistry, Sustainability, Environmental Science, Plastic Waste

186 points by PaulHoule 78 days ago | 109 comments

Microplastics boost antibiotic resistance in E. coli, lab study suggests (thenewlede.org)
Co-mingling of tiny pieces of plastic with certain harmful bacteria can make the bacteria harder to fight with several common antibiotics, according to a new study that adds to global concerns about antibiotic resistance.

Science, Antibiotic Resistance, Environmental Science, Microbiology

7 points by PaulHoule 79 days ago | 0 comments

Methane Abatement Costs in the Oil and Gas Industry: Survey and Synthesis (ssrn.com)
There is growing recognition of the relative importance of anthropogenic emissions of methane as a contributor to global climate change.

Methane, Climate Change, Environmental Science, Economics

4 points by jonwachob91 82 days ago | 0 comments

Extracting DNA from the air – DNA evidence of human occupancy in indoor premises (nature.com)
Humans constantly shed deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) into the surrounding environment. This DNA may either remain suspended in the air or it settles onto surfaces as indoor dust. In this study, we explored the potential use of human DNA recovered from air and dust to investigate crimes where there are no visible traces available—for example, from a recently vacated drugs factory where multiple workers had been present.

Forensic Science, DNA, Environmental Science

248 points by punnerud 84 days ago | 93 comments